Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, an all-new half-hour long animated preschool special “Secret Origin of the Batwheels” is racing onto Cartoonita on HBO Max on September 17th, on Batman Day. A new first-look clip features a scene from the special that gives us a sneak peek at Ethan Hawke as the voice of Batman in Batwheels.
This new Preschool special introduces viewers to Bam (the Batmobile), Bibi (the Batgirl cycle), Redbird (Robin’s sports car), Batwing (the Batwing jet plane), and Buff (the Bat truck), and tells the backstory of how this team of young quirky sentient super-powered vehicles came to be. The special will officially launch on Cartoonita on Cartoon Network and HBO Max.
Batwheels marks DC’s first entry into preschool media, offering very young viewers a high-speed, vibrant CGI-animated iteration of the caped crusader. It also marks the first time that actor Ethan Hawke voices the Batman character.
Series Description
The description for the premiere of the series is listed as follows: “When Batman, Robin, and Batgirl are captured, the Batcomputer brings the Bat-vehicles to life. The newly-minted Batwheels must defend the Batcave and face off with the Legion of Zoom – all without Batman’s help!”
The series description is listed as follows:
“They are a team of incredible crime fighters who have banded together to oppose evil, combat crime and clean up the streets of Gotham City. They are…okay they’re NOT Batman and Robin. They’re the Batwheels – an awesome group of sentient super-powered crime-fighting vehicles defending Gotham City alongside Batman, Robin, and Batgirl.
“Having just been created by the Batcomputer, our heroes are essentially kids with little to no life experience. Led by Bam, the Batwheels – Bibi, Redbird, Batwing, and Buff – must navigate the growing pains of being a newly formed super-team as well as the growing pains that come with just being a kid. This relatable and aspirational series will follow the journey of the dynamic team as they thrill and entertain with their heroic adventures as well as demonstrate to kids the value of self-confidence, friendship, and teamwork.”
Voice Cast for the Show
As mentioned, Ethan Hawke will be playing Batman in the animated show, joined by Jacob Bertrand as Bam, Gina Rodriguez as Catwoman, Xolo Maridueña as Snowy, Jordan Reed as Redbird, Madrigan Kacmar as Buff, Lilimar as Batwing, Kimberly D. Brooks as the Batcomputer, Mick Wingert as Moe and The Joker, AJ Hudson as Duke Thomas/Robin, Josey Montana McCoy as Quizz, Leah Lewis as Cassandra Cain/Batgirl, Griffin Burns as Prank, Alexandra Novelle as Jetstah, Ariyan Kassam as Ducky, SungWon Cho as Badcomputer and The Riddler, Tom Kenny as Crash, Chandri Parekh as Harley Quinn, Jess Harnell as The Penguin, Regi Davis as Mr. Freeze, and James Arnold Taylor as Toyman.
While the premise of the show very much resembles the premise for DC League of Super Pets which depicts the super-powered pets of the Justice League banding together when the Justice League are captured. With the Batfamily having been captured, Batcomputer creates sentient vehicles to save Gotham City and possibly the drivers they were intended for.
While not a particularly unique concept, the series is bound to be a hit with the kiddies as they learn some great lessons from the vehicles of their favourite superheroes. Plus, Ethan Hawke has the perfect raspy vocals to voice Batman.