The DC Animated Universe (DCAU) is the shared universe of animated DC Comics television, film, video game, and other multi-media adaptations produced from the early 1990s to mid-2000s; beginning with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 and ending with Justice League Unlimited in 2006.
While there have been several animated projects based upon DC Comics characters over the decades, what is commonly accepted as the "DC animated universe" refers to the stable of TV series and films that spin off from Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), the first TV show in this continuity. Two characters outside of the normal Batman canon, Zatanna and Jonah Hex, appeared on the show, but the first series to indicate a shared continuity with other well-known characters was the subsequent show, Superman: The Animated Series, in which the title character had encounters with heroes such as the Flash and Green Lantern.
Older shows such as Super Friends and newer shows such as The Batman, Legion of Super Heroes, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and Young Justice are not part of this continuity. The direct-to-video DC Universe Animated Original Movies, such as Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier and Batman: Gotham Knight, are also not considered part of the DCAU, despite utilizing similar character designs and several of them featuring much of the same voice cast as previous DCAU series.