''Batwheels'' is an American computer-animated

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

that premiered on September 17, 2022, on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

, and on October 17, 2022, on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

's preschool block,

Cartoonito Cartoonito is a brand name used by Warner Bros. Discovery for a collection of television networks and programming blocks that target preschool-age children. The name combines the "cartoon" with the Spanish suffix "ito", meaning "small". As of 2 ...

Plot

The Bat-Family's vehicles are brought to life by the Batcomputer to form the "Batwheels", a team led by the

Batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit a ...

or "Bam", to fight crime in

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...

Characters

The Batwheels

* The

/ Bam (voiced by

Jacob Bertrand Jacob Bertrand (born March 6, 2000) is an American actor who began his career as a child actor appearing in the 2009 film ''Duress'' and playing guest roles on television series such as '' The Cape'' and '' The Middle''. He is known for playing t ...

), the insecure leader of the Batwheels. * Redbird (voiced by Jordan Reed), Robin's car and the youngest of the Batwheels. * Bibi (voiced by Madigan Kacmar), Batgirl's small but impulsive motorcycle. * Buff (voiced by Noah Bentley), a good-hearted monster truck who serves as the Batwheels' muscle. * The Batwing (voiced by

Lilimar Lilimar Hernandez (born June 2, 2000), also known mononymously as Lilimar, is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Sophie in the 2015–2016 Nickelodeon television series ''Bella and the Bulldogs'', as Sage in the 2018–2019 Nick ...

), Batman's sophisticated and confident supersonic jet. * The Batcomputer (voiced by Kimberly D. Brooks), the team's trainer, supervisor, dispatcher, and mother figure. * M.O.E. (Mobile Operation Expert) (voiced by

Mick Wingert Micky R. Wingert (born July 4, 1974) is an American voice actor. He is known for his role as the voice of Master Po and Zeng in '' Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'', taking over the roles from actors Jack Black and Dan Fogler, respective ...

), Batman's sarcastic robot mechanic.

The Bat-Family

* Bruce Wayne / Batman (voiced by

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

), a vigilante from Gotham City and father figure to the Batwheels. Hawke previously turned down the role for

Joel Schumacher Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designer. H ...

's ''

Batman Forever ''Batman Forever'' (on-screen title is simply ''Forever'') is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The third installment o ...

''. * Duke Thomas / Robin (voiced by A.J. Hudson), a mystery-loving member of the Bat-Family who wants to prove himself in the eyes of Batman. * Cassandra Cain / Batgirl (voiced by

Leah Lewis Leah Lewis (born December 9, 1996) is a Chinese-American actress, model and singer who began her career as a child actress. She is best known for her roles as Ellie Chu in the 2020 Netflix film ''The Half of It'' and as Georgia "George" Fan i ...

), a daredevil tech-savvy member of the Bat-Family, who serves as a "big sister" figure in the group. * Oliver Queen / Green Arrow (voiced by MacLeod Andrews), a vigilante archer from Star City and a friend of Batman's.

The Rogues' Gallery

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...

(voiced by

), Batman's archenemy and the self-proclaimed "Clown Prince of Crime". *

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...

(voiced by Chandni Parekh), The Joker's partner-in-crime and girlfriend. * Selina Kyle / Catwoman (voiced by

Gina Rodriguez Gina Alexis Rodriguez-LoCicero (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Glo ...

), a cat-themed burglar. * Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin (voiced by

Jess Harnell Jess Harnell (born December 23, 1963) is an American voice actor and singer. His notable roles include Captain Hero in the animated TV series '' Drawn Together'', Wakko Warner in '' Animaniacs'', Ironhide in the first three ''Transformers'' fil ...

), an elegant penguin-like criminal. * Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze (voiced by Regi Davis), an ice-themed supervillain with a mechanical suit. * Edward Nigma / The Riddler (voiced by SungWon Cho), a riddle-obsessed criminal. *

Toyman The Toyman is the name of three supervillains and one adolescent superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, mostly as an adversary for Superman. The most well-known incarnation of the Toyman is Winslow Percival Schott, a criminal w ...

(voiced by

James Arnold Taylor James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is known for portraying Ratchet in the '' Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in '' Final ...

), a toy-themed villain who is Superman’s enemy. * Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy (voiced by Kailey Snider), a plant-themed villain.

The Legion of Zoom

* Prank (voiced by Griffin Burns), Joker’s funny and pranking van. * Jestah (voiced by Alexandra Novelle), Harley’s fun-loving ATV. * Quizz (voiced by

Josey Montana McCoy Josey Montana McCoy is an American actor. Biography McCoy grew up in the small Appalachian town of Inez, Kentucky. His summers were spent on an outdoor stage near his home called Jenny Wiley Theatre where he fell in love with performing. He g ...

), Riddler’s quiz loving helicopter. * Ducky (voiced by Ariyan Kassam), Penguin’s mischief-causing duck on a boat with wheels vehicle. * Snowy (voiced by

Xolo Maridueña Xolo Maridueña (; born June 9, 2001) is an American actor. His roles include Miguel Diaz in the Netflix series ''Cobra Kai'', Victor Graham in the NBC TV series '' Parenthood'', and Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in the upcoming DC Extended Univer ...

), Mr Freeze’s bad but gentle snow crawler. * Badcomputer (voiced by SungWon Cho), an A.I. computer software inside a scoreboard who wants to replace the Bat Computer as the most powerful computer on Earth. * Crash (voiced by

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in ''R ...

), Badcomputer’s crash-dummy like robot minion.

Episodes

Shorts

Production

Development

In October 2020, it was announced that an animated preschool series centered around the

was in development at

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...

, set to premiere on

's then-upcoming preschool block

and

. According to

Tom Ascheim Tom Ascheim is an American television producer and executive. He most recently served president of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics from July 2020 until May 2022. From 1998 to 2003, Ascheim was the general manager of Noggin, wh ...

, president of the now-defunct

Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

, the series was greenlit due to its concept being fit for the studio's focus on preschool projects. Michael G. Stern serves as developer and co-executive producer, with Simon J. Smith as supervising producer, and Steven Fink and Caroline Karmel producing. Stern was brought into the project early in development, as WB explored ideas for preschool-oriented DC shows, while Smith was brought after Stern wrote the first scripts for the series. In December 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, with Stern and Smith being promoted to executive producers.

Writing

While writing the series, Stern wanted to avoid "kiddifying" the characters, as he felt children should be introduced to the characters through faithful portrayals and was also requested to respect the characters. For Batman, he wrote the character to stay faithful to most interpretations, with only his violence being toned down. He also wrote the villains with "a lane" that stayed faithful to their classical portrayals while still fitting the target audience, such as portraying

as a fun-loving prankster. When creating the Batwheels, the writers wanted them to be perceived as "lovable" and "fun" characters for the audience, in order to avoid the children only watching the show for Batman. In order to accomplish this, they tested the personalities for each character with a test group, who received the characters positively. The writers also wanted to avoid portraying the Legion of Zoom as mere copies of their owners, to which they gave each vehicle their own characteristics, such as portraying Prank, the Joker's van, as "a surfer dude".

Music

The series' score was composed by Alex Geringas, while the theme song was performed and produced by Andy Sturmer, who previously composed the themes for the series ''

The Batman Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman or The Batman may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Characters * Batman (Terry McGinnis) * Batman (Thomas Wayne) * Batman (Earth-Two) * Batma ...

'' and '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold''. Sturmer also co-wrote the theme alongside Stern.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{HBO Max 2020s American animated television series 2020s American children's television series 2020s preschool education television series 2022 American television series debuts American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American children's animated superhero television series American computer-animated television series American preschool education television series Animated Batman television series Animated preschool education television series Animated television shows based on DC Comics Cartoon Network original programming Cartoonito original programming English-language television shows HBO Max original programming Television series by Warner Bros. Animation