When Batmania Ruled the World

All day we’ve been celebrating the 30th anniversary release of the 1989 Batman movie…and the mania that surrounded its release. Although the hype was created purely to help the flick make bank at the box office, there was something about the excitement leading up to Batman that almost felt pure. Looking back on the following video clips, it’s hard not to be nostalgic about the release of Batman. (Despite what your feelings on the movies quality may be).

Here’s Michael Keaton during an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman in which Keaton accidentally reveals a spoiler from the film. So if you somehow haven’t scene the film yet, you may want to avoid this.

When Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert reviewed Batman they were as cantankerous as always. I really miss these guys.

Here’s my personal favorite of the clips featured here, an assortment of news reports that illustrates how far-reaching Batmania was in 1989.

Featuring Robert Wuhl in character as Alexander Knox, this commercial for MTV’s Steal the Batmobile contest features the immortal line “if you’ve got the cojones, we’ve got the car.” Interestingly enough, the car was given to the winner without an engine…essentially making it an oversized prop instead of a rad roadster. Plus, the person who won the Batmobile had to pay taxes on it, meaning that the car was a lemon in more ways than one.

Here’s footage from the Los Angeles premiere of Batman, complete with plenty of fans of celebs.

Michael Gough reprieved his Alfred character for this special Diet Coke ad.

Batman was also a hit in toy aisles across the country, with a line of ubiquitous action figures from Toy Biz. I personally spent most of July looking for a Bob the Joker’s Goon figure to no avail.

You could literally make Batman a part of you by ingesting Ralston’s cereal based on the Caped Crusader’s 1989 cinematic outing.

Doing the Batdance was quickly replaced by the Lambada, but for awhile it dominated the dance floor.

Caped Crusaders’ “There’s a Bat in My House” proved that Prince wasn’t the only one to get funky with Batman-inspired music.

Finally, let’s travel to Japan for a look at how the Batman Nintendo game was marketed there. This was a fun one. Ahh, the warm fuzzies of nostalgia!

Previously on MovieFanFare: Share Your Memories of Seeing Batman Here!