Batman: The Animated Series 2x9 REACTION!! "Baby Doll"

[@BlindWave]

GO BEYOND with Blind Wave BEYOND at blindwave.com where you can watch Full Length and 1MONTH Early Access!! Blind Wave BEYOND Members and Raw Rider Patrons can watch the Full Length Reaction HERE: blindwave.com/video/batman-the-animated-series-2x09-full/

[@mikechicago6200]

This is my favorite BTAS episode

[@goteamslugs]

@@mikechicago6200 Mine too.

[@joshuawilliams3886]

A woman perpetually trapped in her childhood finding comfort in a man robbed of his own. Something incredibly compassionate and powerful in how Bruce reaches out to Mary and stands by her side as she goes through a breakdown at the end, about how he truly cares for these individuals he fights. He wants them to get better, to recover, to reintegrate themselves back into society happy and healthy. Resting his hand on her head at the end, letting her just cry, just let all that grief and anger out, means the world to her.

[@ArlanKels]

In some ways she was a victim of "hollywood", using her but never making sure she was mentally well. This is a huge issue in the industry, a lot of actors and actresses end up messed up and they're just discarded like useless trash.

[@jonasquinn7977]

What’s arguably even more tragic is that in one of the BTAS comics written by Bruce Timm it’s said that there was a hormone treatment that theoretically could have cured Marie but it had to be done by a certain age but her parents and agent never told her about it because it was more profitable for her to be an eternal child star.

[@darthroden]

Yeah that's pretty messed up, but not beyond how many child actors were treated because of greed by their own parents in real life.

[@RonanJaPianist]

@@darthrodenreminds me of Jeannette actress from ICarly

[@MrChava54]

"I didn't mean to..." That gentle hand he puts on her head destroys me EVERY time...

[@alexsilva28]

Same. I was not expecting teary eyes at the end of that episode

[@goteamslugs]

Yup.

[@thewerewolff7248]

Baby doll was created for the show and unfortunately has yet to make the full leap to the comics like Harley. The best she’s got is a background cameo in a elseworld story called white knight.

[@Swenglish]

She'd make a good team-up with Clayface. They're somewhat separated by theme, but both are has-been actors (well, some versions of Clayface are) and both mirror different aspects of Batman very well. The Ventriloquist could be interpreted in an adjacent way, too, and potentially have a meaningful role in the same story.

[@primepm8861]

@@Swenglish Be hilarious addition to the Harley Quinn show. But I fear Invincible might have them beat with Monster Girl.

[@rlacksgh9673]

Batman beating up someone who looks like a little girl isn't exactly gonna help with the sales, I imagine.

[@alexsilva28]

yeah she should be in more stories. She's had cameos here and there but a one off book has potential

[@goteamslugs]

She's had at least four appearances. She also appeared on the cover of one comic. It would be neat to have a leap. Or even a movie. would you want animated or live-action?

[@deshaunfortune912]

The goons working for the ventriloquist were well aware that he was a puppet. They just also knew realized that he was a genius planner for heist, and that gave them a lot of money. That’s why they worked for him.

[@vladsmasher]

Fun fact: Brian Daly (the guy who got kidnap at the beginning of the episode) is voiced by Robbie Rist, who played Cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch (which is who Spunky is based off of) and voices Choji in Naruto and Michelangelo in the 90s live action tmnt movies.

[@saturdaymorningfan3123]

He also played the kid with glasses in kidd video and both shows animated his character to look like him so this eerie looks like an unofficial kidd video crossover and both look the same just the one here is older.

[@Jjop017]

Did you see her assistant? She was taking on both Batman and Robin and seemed loyal to Baby Doll. The assistant was probably the loyal enforcer keeping those guys in line. Baby Doll probably pays well and treats them decently. Not every criminal Gotham treats their goons well. I would probably work with her if my choices are Joker and some of the other villains.

[@mikechicago6200]

Baby Doll is an underapreciated villain and man her backstory is sad and man i wish more she appeared!

[@vgtrp]

While I can see that, I don’t know what else you can do with her, and when they did bring her back it didn’t work out.

[@alexsilva28]

@@vgtrp Ah you never know. They could always pair her with other villains

[@goteamslugs]

@@vgtrp Well, there could be plot where someone makes her a robotic suit that resembles a real full-grown woman. One idea I had is where she finds a bunch of misfits she sympathizes with. Whether it be physical abnormalities, or mental. Even those with rare personality types. And there would be some situation where she would have to stand up for them.

[@johnnysparkle]

Paul Dini has stated that Baby-Doll's creation was somewhat reverse-engineered from "the idea of when you're a villain in Gotham City you also become this kind of weird celebrity.

[@syabilaazri7834]

To be fair, the villains in Gotham City is already like celebrity with how many drama they already cause in the city

[@goteamslugs]

I see it now. I never realized that. Thank you and God bless.

[@mikechicago6200]

Man that ending was so impactful and tearjerking.....kudos to Marys VA!

[@FunkatronicGeek]

I imagine that with all the supervillains in Gotham, there is a thriving henchman/goon market going on. People hired by the likes of the Joker and Penguin, willing to get into costume to have matching themes with their "boss" of the week. This is actually a plot pot point in "Kim Possible", if I remember correctly

[@johnnysparkle]

When reviewing the storyboards for this episode, BS&P told the production staff that Baby-Doll can't bash Batman in the face with Mr. Happy Head.

[@goteamslugs]

Heh. :)

[@unicornburger16]

This episode is one of the few things I knew about this show cause I saw that last scene on Twitter. Always great to see a gentler, helpful Batman.

[@goteamslugs]

Yep.

[@LightShadowOnyx]

I have to say baby doll is up there with mr. freeze when it comes to the backstories of batman's rouge galleries both have sad backstories

[@goteamslugs]

Indeed.

[@amodelmannequin]

this was, inexplicably, my favorite episode lol

[@goteamslugs]

Mine as well. :)

[@GeminiRosche]

This is by far one of the finest episodes BTAS has to offer

[@goteamslugs]

Yes.

[@Alphasnowbordergirl]

I'm guessing her condition is like John Frankelin's who played Isaac from children of the corn. He was 25 in that role where he looks still like a child and basically has proportional dwarfism, looking like a child unlike the normal dwarfism where torso grows properly but not the limbs.

[@goteamslugs]

Or Jyoti Amge.

[@stonewall4318]

I always had the head canon that the assistant was Baby Dolls younger sister, and that was the reason why she was willing to go so far for her.

[@legionaireb]

15:30 - That is LITERALLY how Object Permanence develops. It's not some deficiency of physical development, it's something babies learn.

[@Ironmew05]

Yes! This is one of my all-time favorite episodes! Thanks for the reaction!😊

[@Narutoanime16g]

I like how all of Batman’s villains and Batman himself they just need mental help & reminds me of the Adam West Batman episode about actors & acting being type cast cause of how you look or some such

[@dianaruman8723]

She looks like Darla Dimple from Cats Don't Dance.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

Shirley Temple inspired a lot of expies.

[@lupe6381]

The goons were dressed as Gilligan and the Skipper to go with comedy sitcom theme 😂

[@goteamslugs]

Yes, I've seen people pointing that out. "Hit em' with a frying pan!" =]

[@morgan9775]

Baby doll is like the little girl from cats don’t dance

[@inukaiser]

Both are based on Shirley temple

[@DCComicsGamer]

This episode, over time, went from one of my least favorites to the one that makes me cry every time. It’s so tragic.

[@goteamslugs]

:)

[@chrisscout17]

One of my most favorite episodes. Interesting how baby doll wasn't used in anything else besides this show.

[@goteamslugs]

Yes, well she did have a handful of comic appearances.

[@DocuzanQuitomos]

"But if she never ages... her brain doesn't develop?" This could be a side effect, realistically speaking (there are some cases where brain damage or malformation in the brain has the unwanted side effect of altering the aging process of the body); but for the sake of the series (to be age appropriate) and the sake of the plot (to have a thinking adult in the body of a child) we can say her condition doesn't affect her brain much (in some cases, people with altered aging conditions don't necesarily have big side effects in their brain development; but those conditions only deage you some of years of what should be your real age, they don't stick you permanently in one specific stage). "But her solution to her life problems was a bit childish..." In a darker take of the episode, maybe this could be the most accurate outcome; but we can also interpret this: Marie Dahl really never had a normal childhood, just like most kid stars don't have one. She had the added problem her process of growing up (mentally) was always influenced by acting and what acting represents; going back to happier times where the burdens of "failling to grow up" no longer goes through healthy behaviors; there is not a moment of her life and happy years that's not involved in acting and being adored for "being a kid". In other conditions, with adequate therapy, she might have found another way (and she knows it, once she has come back to her senses). But mental breakdowns are not always logical and collected. "This is a one time character?" It's a character only for the series, but it's not the only time she was used (she will return in the future, some episodic times). But these kind of characters are always interesting in another front: should they always return in the same way for mistery stories? I mean, we like them as criminals for the challenge they pose in the story... but that also means we doom their stories to never really evolve anywhere past their flaws ("I can't age; I'm going to be criminal"); robbing (in her case and in the long run) a bit the emotional gut punch that's the realization she had in the end of this episode that, in her quest for what she pictured as happiness, she's gone too far. Nice reaction.

[@Dork_Knight96_]

This episode gives me WandaVision vibes. Or vice-versa. Grown woman haunted by her past, trying to create the perfect life cause she can't face reality. I wish Baby Doll would make more comic appearances

[@goteamslugs]

Yes. I think she's made six comic appearances, and also appeared on the cover of one comic.

[@galaxypaintbrush9310]

Fun fact the actor that plays the dad in baby doll is played by Alan young the same guy who plays Scrooge mcduck in a lot of media he’s In

[@petermacdonough9077]

ALISON LA PLACA played the voice of Baby-Doll!!! She played Rachel's boss in Friends named Joanna❤

[@JenABlue-ed1bw]

Systemic hypoplasia doesn't exist IRL as far as I know, and if it did it would almost definitely kill anyone who had it in the womb--their organs just wouldn't develop past a fetal stage and they'd be miscarried. But hypoplasia that only affects certain organs and not others is a thing, and based on those, I guess in theory if you had hypoplasia that somehow affected every organ but only after it reached toddler levels of development you *could* get someone with an adult psyche in a 4yo's body. Brains are different--they reach adult size by age 7, sometimes younger, and then after that it's just making and pruning synapses the rest of your life. (The age 25 thing is a myth--if you define development as adult size and number of cells, which is what it means for something like hypoplasia, it's fully developed between ages 3 and 7. If you define development as the process of making and pruning synapses, it never finishes as long as you're alive. Maturity =/= brain development.)

[@vinsanity40k]

i never watched this taking batman's definition literally. like baby doll was immortal. rather, she continued to mature on the inside but her body just stopped developing on the outside. and that is something i actually saw real world documentation of.

[@darrenvanderhorst5856]

That kind condition does exist

[@goteamslugs]

Yes . . What does "Jyoti Amge" have? For the record, she cannot run or jump.

[@goteamslugs]

@@vinsanity40k Would this mean that these people would be unaffected by UV rays? I guess so, since their bodies would rarely create new material . .

[@jrcarter9175]

I'm surprised you guys apparently missed the visual reference in the two henchmen. They're based on Gilligan and the Skipper.

[@goteamslugs]

"Hit em' with a frying pan!" :)

[@deshaunfortune912]

Shirley Walker is the composer for BTAS.

[@muhammadhabibieamiro3639]

Yes more batman

[@kyletonarella4353]

I find it funny Baby Doll's henchmen are molded after Gilligan & Skipper

[@goteamslugs]

Yes. "Hit em' with a frying pan". :)

[@goteamslugs]

Poor miss Dahl . . You might think her selfish at first, but not once you understand that the limelight represented her security . . She wanted to be seen for who she was, not for her appearance, or what she did. Just like tall people get tired of being remarked at for being so tall. They want to be remembered for who they are as a person. Not their height. I had an interesting thought, ordinary people's skin replicates damaged skin cells from UV rays overtime. Which is why elderly people look and function the way they do. Does hypoplasia merely prevent the body from growing, or does it actually prevent (or help prevent) these genetic mutations? Furthermore, in the horror movie "Orphan", Esther wore fake teeth, which implies that some adult growth features do still grow - such as teeth. Because Baby Doll/Mary Dahl's voice isn't childish when she talks normally, has her body developed puberty? Maybe, as growth and puberty are two different facets . . it doesn't have to make complete sense. I could be wrong, but her face seems to sag the first time she drops the act and looks depressed. Though this could just be to depict her weariness . . "If everyone thinks you're no more than a no good conniving fox, then you mine as well be nothing else." - Nick Wylde; "Zootopia" In real life, there is a case like this in a woman by the name of "Jyoti Amge", however it is not from systemic hypoplasia. She cannot run or jump.

[@martinhrbacek9448]

I love how her voice change when she realise she is actualy adult.

[@matthewpaul6904]

Did that nanny ever come back. I liked her character

[@jamesstutz6907]

Baby Dolls name was inspired by Roald Dahl's relative.

[@goteamslugs]

Neat.

[@TheBigE9999]

Seriously, put her hin the next Harly Quinn season! She'd be great in that setting

[@michaeljeacock]

yes, this does really happen. remember Gary Coleman.

[@goteamslugs]

And Jyoti Amge. She also went into acting, and is also thirty. Only she seems rather content.

[@thegodlessvulcan]

I shudder to think what modern comic writers would do with this character today.

[@trappestarrgaming3422]

It would either be so amazing it gets talk abt like the mr. freeze redo or get thhe writer put on "certain" list..

[@goteamslugs]

Oh yes . . I don't even want to think about it my friend.

[@BillFinger27]

Dang, this is one of my most anticipated reactions for this series, but Eric isn't here.

[@seanpatrickcain2]

Nostalgia Critic and CR brought me here

[@masterbeast-sz1yq]

I like this character 👌

[@goteamslugs]

Me too. :)

[@JamesOnDeck]

There are not a lot of bad Batman TAS eps, but this is definitely one of them

[@123haninhk]

Whaaaa, Eric missed out one of the best episodes from the show?

[@batsignal3469]

Hasbulah has a similar condition. Mainly you age but physically your appearance doesn't reach puberty just maintain your childlike physique.

[@goteamslugs]

I've seen a lady with a condition like this, but I don't remember what it was called. Her name was "Jyoti Amge".

[@WhiteFangofWar]

I wasn't a fan of this one on first watch with how Dahl looks transplanted from another Warner Bros. show, but appreciate what they were trying to bring across with it. Another typecast actor like Simon Trent/Gray Ghost reacting to it much worse.

[@melaniepumes]

Wasn't ut a black actor of sitcom who had a similar disease and he's carrier after the end of the showturn like a nightmare ?

[@superseries3913]

Guys,you could react for X-MEN EVOLUTION? Its a great cartoon

[@knoober3756]

This is one of those episodes that people think are great because the ending is so strong, but the actual caper itself is kinda lame