How To Watch The Batman Animated Movies In Order

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

If you think there are a lot of live-action Batman movies, know there's dozens more animated films starring the Dark Knight. Some of the animated Batman movies stand out as the best, and are essential watches for any DC Comics fan.

For the truly daring Batman fans who watch them all, understand it's a task almost as gargantuan as when Batman goes out every night to protect Gotham City from the superstitious and cowardly. There's not quite too many animated Batman movies to count them all, but there's just enough that doing so might give you a headache. But if you're ready to take the plunge, here's a guide that'll be handy to keep on your perilous journey.

There is also not some grand canon of animated Batman; there's a handful of sequels or shared universe entries, sure, but plenty of standalone movies too. To account for these different continuities, this list will sort the animated Batman films into different eras by accounting for the movies that do share continuity links. From there, movies will be listed in release order.

A handful of animated Batman movies are in continuity with the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), or cartoon TV shows that started with "Batman: The Animated Series" and concluded with "Justice League Unlimited." 

• "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" (1993)

• "Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero" (1998)

• "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" (2000)

• "Batman: The Mystery of Batwoman"(2003)

• "Batman and Harley Quinn" (2017)

"Mask of the Phantasm" works as a standalone adventure (and features actor Kevin Conroy's greatest Batman moment), as do "Mystery of Batwoman" and "Batman and Harley Quinn." "Sub-Zero" benefits from first watching the Mr. Freeze episodes "Heart of Ice" and "Deep Freeze," while "Return of the Joker" requires familiarity with "Batman Beyond."

"The Batman vs. Dracula" (2005) is in canon with 2004-2008 cartoon "The Batman," but it works fine as a standalone story. If you're familiar with Batman, you don't need to be familiar with "The Batman" to enjoy "The Batman vs. Dracula."

"Batman: Gotham Knight" (2008), released as a tie-in with "The Dark Knight" and supposedly set in continuity with the Christopher Nolan Batman films. (One of the segments was written by "Dark Knight" trilogy co-writer David S. Goyer.) Supposedly set after "Batman Begins," "Batman: Gotham Knight" acts as a prequel to "The Dark Knight."

Shortly before Adam West's passing, he reappeared as Batman (with old Robin co-star Burt Ward) in two animated movies: "Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders" (2016) and "Batman vs. Two-Face" (2017), featuring William Shatner as the villainous Two-Face. These two are best designed for fans of the 1960s Batman show.

"Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold" (2018) is a spin-off of 2008-2011 cartoon, "Batman: The Brave and the Bold." As long as you're familiar with the basics of Batman and Scooby-Doo, you should be prepared to watch it.

The DC Animated Universe was not the end of Kevin Conroy's time as the Dark Knight; he continued to play Batman in cartoons, animated films and video games until his death in 2022.

Conroy's time as Batman included a loose duology of films that paired Batman up with Superman (Tim Daly, who starred on "Batman: The Animated Series" brother show "Superman: The Animated Series.") This duology is:

• "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" (2009). Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown, also a DCAU role reprisal) is elected U.S. President and brands vigilantes as criminals. Meanwhile, a Kryptonite meteor that could wipe out all life on Earth barrels towards the planet.

• "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" (2010). Kara Zor-El (Summer Glau), Superman's long lost cousin, arrives on Earth and struggles to control her powers. Darkseid (Andre Braugher) abducts her to become one of his Female Furies, forcing Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman (Susan Eisenberg) to mount a rescue mission.

The majority of animated "Batman" films are one-offs, with many adapting famed Batman comics. You don't have to read those comics beforehand, though — the movies are designed to welcome in new viewers to these classic stories.

• "Batman: Under the Red Hood" (2010)
• "Batman: Year One" (2011)
• "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns," Part 1 (2012) and Part 2 (2013)
• "Batman: Assault on Arkham" (2014)
• "Batman: the Killing Joke" (2016)
• "The LEGO Batman Movie" (2017)
• "Batman: Gotham by Gaslight" (2018), which pits Batman against Jack the Ripper in Victorian Gotham.
• "Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (2019)
• "Batman: Death in the Family" (2020)
• "Batman: Soul of the Dragon" (2021)
• "Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham" (2023)
• "Merry Little Batman" (2023)
• "Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires" (2025)

"Batman: Assault on Arkham" (2014) is set in continuity with the "Batman: Arkham" games, but you don't need to play them to watch it.

"The LEGO Batman Movie" (2017) is a comedic take on the Dark Knight, one that spun out of LEGO Batman's (Will Arnett) popularity in 2014's "The LEGO Movie." However, it also stands on its own.

"Batman: Death in the Family" (2020) is connected to "Batman: Under The Red Hood," but it's not a clean sequel, prequel, or even remake. It's a choose-your-own-adventure film based around Joker's (John DiMaggio) murder of Robin II, Jason Todd (Vincent Martella). Viewers can choose to let Robin die (as in the original film), have Robin narrowly survive, or have Batman (Bruce Greenwood) die saving Robin.

After 2013's "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox," DC and Warner Bros. decided to start setting many of their animated movies in a shared universe. The initiative was designed with synergy in mind for DC's then ongoing comic reboot, the New 52, but also adapted some older comic stories too. The resulting films had a uniform art style and ongoing story arcs across installments.

Four Batman films, starring Jason O'Mara as the Dark Knight, were made as part of this universe.

• "Son of Batman" (2014), a loose adaptation of Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's 2006 comic arc.

• "Batman vs. Robin" (2015), combining Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo's "The Court of Owls" and Peter Tomasi & Patrick Gleeson's "Born to Kill."

• "Batman: Bad Blood" (2016), another loose Morrison adaptation, this one of their series "Batman & Robin" where Dick Grayson (Sean Maher) steps up as Batman for an absent Bruce Wayne.

• "Batman: Hush" (2019), adapting the "Hush" storyline by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee but with a major change.

Batman also appears in several other movies in this continuity. The full watch order for the DC Animated Movie Universe is:

• "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox" (2013)

• "Justice League: War" (2014)

• "Son of Batman" (2014)

• "Justice League: Throne of Atlantis" (2015)

• "Batman vs. Robin" (2015)

• "Batman: Bad Blood" (2016)

• "Justice League vs. Teen Titans" (2016)

• "Justice League Dark" (2017)

• "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract" (2017)

• "Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay" (2018)

• "Constantine: City of Demons" (2018)

• "The Death of Superman" (2018)

• "Reign of the Supermen" (2019)

• "Batman: Hush" (2019)

• "Wonder Woman: Bloodlines" (2019)

• "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War" (2020)

The DC Animated Movie Universe underwent a reboot after "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War," shifting to a new universe with a new art style and voice cast. This universe is sometimes called the "Tomorrowverse" after the debut film, 2020's "Superman: Man of Tomorrow." (Not to be confused with the upcoming James Gunn "Superman" sequel called "Man of Tomorrow.")

There was only one solo Batman film in the Tomorrowverse: "Batman: The Long Halloween," based on the 1996-1997 mini-series of the same title, by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale. One of the most beloved Batman comics ever, "The Long Halloween" influenced both "The Dark Knight" and "The Batman," but the animated film is the only adaptation with the complete story.

The movie, like the book, is a murder mystery, following a serial killer picking off the Gotham mob, but who only strikes on holidays. As more gangsters are killed, super-villains like the Joker (Troy Baker), Poison Ivy (Katee Sackhoff), Scarecrow (Robin Atkin Downes) and ultimately Two-Face (Josh Duhamel) take over. 

"The Long Halloween" runs thirteen issues; the story spans an entire year, and different issues are tied to different holidays. To account for its long length, the movie was released in two-parts in 2021 and 2022, similar to the previous "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" animated film.

Barring an ending with some DC hero cameos (which is not in the original comic), "The Long Halloween" stands apart from the Tomorrowverse and can be watched alone. 

For all that Batman is held up as the mature and dark superhero, kids still love him — and toy companies notice. The "Batman Unlimited" toyline by Mattel even inspired three animated promotional films and a webseries. In keeping with the movies' intention to promote a toyline, Batman (Roger Craig Smith) is joined by other heroes in this movies, including Nightwing (Will Friedle), Red Robin (Yuri Lowenthal), Green Arrow (Chris Diamantopoulos), the Flash (Charlie Schlatter) and Cyborg (Khary Payton).

The three "Batman: Unlimited" movies are:

• "Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts" (2015), which features Batman and friends teaming up against an alliance of all the animal-themed villains in Gotham City.

• "Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem" (2015), set on Halloween, with Batman and co. fighting against horror-themed villains like the Scarecrow (Brian T. Delaney) and Silver Banshee (Kari Wuhrer). If you're expecting a Batman movie to scare you, though, look elsewhere.

• "Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants" (2016). Mr. Freeze (Oded Fehr) turns Bane (Carlos Alazraqui) and Killer Croc (John DiMaggio) into super-sized monsters, forcing Batman and other heroes to fight them with huge mechs.

All three films are aimed squarely at children and put action first. If you want to introduce your toddler to Batman for the very first time, you could do worse.

DC Comics has a type of story called "Elseworlds," which takes familiar heroes and puts them in unfamiliar settings. There have been a handful of Batman Elseworlds movies, such as the aforementioned "Gotham by Gaslight" or "The Doom That Came to Gotham," inspired by the cosmic horror stories of H.P. Lovecraft.

One Batman Elseworlds that inspired a follow-up was 2018's "Batman Ninja," which takes Batman to feudal Japan. However, rather than simply reinterpreting the story of Batman within feudal Japan, the movie is a time travel story. All of Gotham City, including Batman's allies and enemies, are sent back to feudal Japan by super-villain mad scientist Gorilla Grodd.

The movies' 3-D animation carries an anime-inspired look (courtesy of character designs by "Afro Samurai" creator Takashi Okazaki). Like an anime, the movie's original audio track is in Japanese and includes some prolific seiyuu such as Kōichi Yamadera ("Cowbop Bebop") as Batman and Yuki Kaji ("Attack on Titan") as Damian Wayne/Robin.

The "Batman Ninja" films are, thus far:

• "Batman Ninja" (2018).

• "Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League" (2025), wherein Batman and his allies return to the present only to find it's not how they left it; in this new timeline, the Justice League are criminal Yakuza bosses.

"Batman Ninja" is available to stream on YouTube, "Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League" is streaming on HBO Max.