How Neil Patrick Harris Meets Cartoon's Batman

Neil Patrick Harris is taking over the world.
The star of sitcoms, savior of the Emmys, master of Web video, is now attempting to be awesome in animation.
Harris is featured as the title villain in next Friday’s episode of Cartoon Network’s “Batman: The Brave and the Bold.” The half-hour musical is entitled “Mayhem of the Music Meister.”
It’s not the first time NPH (the abbreviation is helpful on Twitter) has led a criminal choir. He was Dr. Horrible himself in Joss Whedon’s online musical “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.”
On “Batman,” NPH is the flamboyant Music Meister, who was picked on as a kid in the choir until he discovered a register that enables him to control people’s minds with his melodies.
He makes his first appearance as Super Heroes Aquaman, Green Arrow and Black Canary interrupt Super Villains Clock King, Gorilla Grodd and Black Manta as they attempt to hijack the launch of a new communications satellite.
Suddenly they all join in song and dance under the thrall of the Music Meister.
“Good guys or bad guys, it really doesn’t matter. You all are slaves to my hypnotic patter,” he sings.
He’s planning to use the satellite to spread the sound of his voice globally. And only Batman can stop him.
What’s a musical without a bit of romance? This episode features a cartoon love triangle. Black Canary wants Batman, the Music Meister wants the Black Canary and Batman wants the Music Meister, behind bars that is.
“If he could love me as much as he loves fighting villains,” she pines.
There are a number of cute touches during the show. A curtain falls before the first commercial break. There’s a rogues gallery of bad guys form a chorus complaining that the Caped Crusader “really drives us bats.” And in the traditional Super Villain fail, instead of simply killing Batman and Black Canary when he has a chance, he drops him in a “Death Trap” ringed with lasers, acid and swinging blades and bombs, then leaves, allowing the heroes to escape.
In the end, guess who wins? Guess who sings (using a Bat Auto Tuning Amplifier to bring his normal baritone to a higher pitch)?
While the music isn’t really memorable and at times the lyrics strain, it’s undeniable that NPH is hot. Video from his performance as the Music Meister has already gone viral on YouTube.
So this caper may not exactly be kid stuff, and it’s not Tony-worthy on its own, but it is a pretty neat gimmick for fans of both Batman and Doogie.