Batwheels

Batwheels is an American animated superhero children's television series that premiered on September 17, 2022, on HBO Max. It made its linear premiere on October 17, 2022, on Cartoon Network's preschool block Cartoonito. A second season premiered on January 12, 2024, and will continue in October, with a Halloween special.

Plot
The Bat-Family's vehicles are brought to life by the Batcomputer to form the "Batwheels", a team led by the Batmobile or "Bam", to fight crime in Gotham City.

The Batwheels

 * The Batmobile / Bam (voiced by Jacob Bertrand) - The insecure leader of the Batwheels.
 * Redbird / Red (voiced by Jordan Reed in season one and Titus Blake in season two) - Robin's car and the youngest of the Batwheels.
 * Batgirl Cycle / Bibi (voiced by Madigan Kacmar) - Batgirl's small but impulsive motorcycle.
 * Bat Truck / Buff (voiced by Noah Bentley) - A good-hearted monster truck who serves as the Batwheels' muscle.
 * The Batwing / Batwing / Wing (voiced by Lilimar) - Batman's sophisticated and confident supersonic jet.
 * The Batcomputer / BC (voiced by Kimberly D. Brooks) - The team's trainer, supervisor, dispatcher, and mother figure.
 * M.O.E. (voiced by Mick Wingert) - Short for Mobile Operation Expert, M.O.E. is Batman's kindhearted yet sarcastic robot mechanic.

The Bat-Family

 * Bruce Wayne / Batman (voiced by Ethan Hawke) - A vigilante operating in Gotham City and father figure to the Batwheels. Hawke previously turned down the role for Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever.
 * 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) - 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. He operates in Star City.
 * Dick Grayson / Nightwing (voiced by Zachary Gordon) - A superhero who used to fight crime with Batman but currently fights crime in different cities.

The Legion of Zoom

 * Badcomputer (voiced by SungWon Cho) - An A.I. computer software inside a scoreboard and temporarily in a television who wants to replace the Bat Computer as the most powerful computer on Earth.
 * Crash (voiced by Tom Kenny) - Badcomputer's crash-dummy like robot minion.
 * Prank (voiced by Griffin Burns) - Joker's funny and pranking van.
 * Jestah (voiced by Alexandra Novelle) - Harley Quinn's fun-loving ATV.
 * Ducky (voiced by Ariyan Kassam) - Penguin's mischief-causing duck on a boat with wheels vehicle.
 * Quizz (voiced by Josey Montana McCoy) - Riddler's quiz-loving helicopter.
 * Snowy (voiced by Xolo Maridueña) - Mr. Freeze's bad but gentle snow crawler who is also Buff's friend.

The Rogues' Gallery

 * The Joker (voiced by Mick Wingert) - Batman's archenemy and the self-proclaimed "Clown Prince of Crime".
 * Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn (voiced by Chandni Parekh) - Joker's partner-in-crime and girlfriend.
 * Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin (voiced by Jess Harnell) - An elegant penguin-like criminal.
 * Edward Nigma / The Riddler (voiced by SungWon Cho) - A riddle-obsessed criminal.
 * Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze (voiced by Regi Davis) - An ice-themed supervillain with a mechanical suit.
 * Selina Kyle / Catwoman (voiced by Gina Rodriguez) - A cat-themed burglar.
 * Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy (voiced by Kailey Snider) - A plant-themed villain.
 * Jack Nimball / The Toyman (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) - A toy-themed villain who is also an enemy of Superman.

Minor

 * Kitty (voiced by Kinza Khan) - Catwoman's playful cat car who likes to have fun.
 * Goldie (voiced by Chandni Parekh) - Green Arrow's arrowplane who is Batwing's flying friend.
 * A.D.A.M (voiced by Adam West with archived dialogue) - Batman's early Batmobile.
 * Nightbike (voiced by Nick Fisher) - Nightwing's motorcycle.
 * Grundy (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) - A dump truck-styled monster truck.

Season 1 (2022–23)
All episodes were directed by Antoine Charreyron.

Development
In October 2020, it was announced that an animated preschool series centered around the Batmobile was in development at Warner Bros. Animation, set to premiere on Cartoon Network's then-upcoming preschool block Cartoonito and HBO Max. According to Tom Ascheim, president of the now-defunct Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, 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 October 2021, during that year's DC FanDome convention event, Cobra Kai star, Jacob Bertrand, the voice behind Bam the Batmobile, announced a sneak peek of the show. In December 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, with Stern and Smith being promoted to executive producers.

Casting
During the aforementioned 2021 DC FanDome convention event, Cobra Kai star, Jacob Bertrand, announced himself to be the voice behind Bam the Batmobile; while announcing a sneak peek of the show, he announced Ethan Hawke as the voice of Batman, three decades after the actor turned down the role in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever. whilst A.J. Hudson announced himself to voice the Duke Thomas incarnation of Robin.

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

Awards and nominations
The show was nominated for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children for the episode "To the Batmobile!" at the 51st Annie Awards.