Take the usual enjoyment of almost any animated Batman adventures (they are available in a variety of styles, and varying levels of reverence, all are great though), add a dash of Home Alone, and sprinkle liberally with a surprising amount of nods to Batman & Robin, and the end result is Merry Little Batman, an amusing Bat-bauble to enjoy at this time of year.
To summarize the plot in the most basic way, Batman (Luke Wilson) is called away to a false emergency, leaving young Damian Wayne (Yonas Kibreab) home alone at Christmas. Well, Alfred (James Cromwell) is around, but he’s not the best company. And he isn’t quite up to the challenge when the Joker (David Hornsby) aims to get himself a little Bat-trophy for the holiday season.
With the main screenplay credit going to Morgan Evans and Jase Ricci, although it takes a whole messy history to make every main incarnation of Batman, Merry Little Batman has your usual superhero movie lessons about responsibility and readiness mixed in with a healthy sprinkling of Christmas cheer. Director Mike Roth already has experience with anarchic animated adventures, making him a good choice to helm this, and he helps this maintain a unique identity throughout. It comes close to the Teen Titans Go! style, but manages to reference plenty of Bat-history without feeling too meta or iconoclastic.
As surprising as it may seem, Wilson is a good vocal choice for Batman here, presenting a different side of the character compared to many others we have seen. This is him in kindly father mode, and Wilson works well with the material, and switches it up slightly when ready for a fight. Kibreab is enjoyably full of energy and optimism, a child with a skillset that makes him both a boon and a danger when enemies are in the vicinity. Cromwell makes an excellent Alfred, and Hornsby is a brilliant fit for the Joker (although I have seen/heard others who disapprove), and the rest of the cast all fit their roles nicely (whether it’s Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, The Penguin, Bane, or anyone else along for this Gotham City sleigh ride).
I can see this not going down well with some viewers, especially if you prefer the more traditional style of animation used in most of the WB Batman features, but I had a blast with it, and I know many other people felt the same way. It feels put together with real care and affection, and it’s a reminder that DC have been doing consistently better in the field of animation than they have with their live-action outings. If you didn’t realise that by now, have fun exploring their huge back catalogue.
7/10
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I agree that a lot of DC's animated offering are better than their live action ones, though lately it's been more hit-or-miss and like live action I think they do better in out-of-continuity stories.
ReplyDeleteI am behind on one or two of the latest ones, but bought loads in an iTunes bundle that featured plenty I loved (including the Batman Ninja movie that I know few people liked as much as I did).
DeleteI watched all the ones that are on MAX right now because I'm probably going to cancel my subscription in a week or two. The Ninja one got a little too silly for me.
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