Back in 2014 there was a surprise little movie that took the world by storm called The Lego Movie. Going into it I thought it would be a pun-filled toy movie but it actually was a visually gorgeous, funny, heartfelt treatise on the way children play and think. The Lego Movie showed the randomness of a child’s brain and it had an emotional story between a father and a son that nobody was expecting. It was also so beautiful the way everything flowed like a world of legos really would. In my opinion, The Lego Movie is one of the best animated films of the last 5 years.
So, it was with great anticipation that I went to see the spin-off film The Lego Batman Movie today. The trailers have been hilarious and as I am not the biggest Batman fan I was looking forward to seeing everyone else’s sacred franchise taken down a few pegs. And the result? While I do not think it is as good as The Lego Movie, it is still an entertaining spoof comedy movie that I think any animation or comic book movie fan will enjoy.
The best thing about Lego Batman Movie is the pacing. The jokes start literally before the WB logo and they never stop. This version of Batman is dry, sarcastic and lonely. Most of the movie is various characters like Robin, Barbara Gordon and Alfred trying to get through to him and make him lower his pride to admit he needs help. Robin voiced by Michael Cera is Bruce Wayne’s ward Dick Grayson and is energetic and clingy. Of course, this rubs Batman the wrong way!
But the main thrust of the film is from Zach Galifianakis’ Joker who is upset with Batman because he won’t admit they are arch-rivals and need each other. You get some especially good jokes about Batman v Superman and other Batman versions within the interactions with Joker.
The jokes come quick in Lego Batman Movie and Will Arnett is amazing in the role but they also pack in quite a bit of story into the 104 minute run time. There’s a lot of action and literally every Warner Bros character I could think of.
The animation was also bright and colorful and a lot of fun to watch. The only problem is it lacked the flow of legos that we had in the Lego Movie. When Emmet in Lego Movie would dive into water the waves looked like legos. You don’t really get that here. I guess that’s fine because it is a comic book world where Lego Movie was more of a fantasy world, but I was more dazzled by Lego Movie’s animation.
Also, there’s something about The Lego Movie that felt more memorable. Maybe it’s partly me not being that big of a Batman fan. It felt enjoyable but not something that will stick with me for years to come like Lego Movie did. It’s more of a solid entertaining animated comedy rather than a game changer.
But those are a small criticisms to a very good film. Your entire family will like it and it was certainly nice to see something self-aware and humorous from the world of comic book films and DC.
If you see it let me know what you think. How does it compare with Lego Movie to you?
Overall Grade- B+
I’ve not watched the movie yet, but I’m hearing very good things. It’s a solid start to 2017’s animation library and hopefully some more winners follow. I’m especially interested in The Breadwinner.
I loved the Lego Movie so I’m glad to hear good things about this one@
Definitely let me know what you think when you see it
I’m looking to see this at some point; The Lego Movie was good, and a lighthearted take on the Batman franchise does sound wonderfully intriguing. I have also nominated you for the Mystery Blogger award: https://anibproductions.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/the-mystery-blogger-award-a-surprising-honor/
I tink The Lego Batman movie is less memorable than the first film because the story is not as strong. It’s mainly a conduit to make a lot of jokes. Maybe it’s because they’re so hilarious in the first half that the 2nd half feels less so by comparison. Regardless, I really enjoyed this film overall. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing it again just to catch all the gags I missed.
Yeah I think you are right about the story. I want to see it again also. In fact, I may go today
So I FINALLY got my chance to see The Lego Batman Movie in a crowded cinema, full of children, parents and students closer to my age, and it was a buzzing, joyous experience to say the least! Arnett is the perfect lighthearted foil to Kevin Conroy’s Dark Knight, and his dynamic with Robin and Alfred had some amazing comedic moments. They managed to make the idea of Robin as an essential Batman character convincing! Not to mention the copious references to the Adam West series, including the classic “pow!” sound effects in one action bit, it was a blast!
Its fascinating how history repeats itself in different ways. In the 90s, the animated movies (Mask of the Phantasm and Return of the Joker) were taking Batman seriously and faithfully and had a good handle on their storytelling, but the live action movies went all camp and were clearly not trying to be anything more than flashy, neon-coloured blockbuster cash cows. Now it’s reversed, with serious mishandling of the darker live action Batman franchise, eaten alive by executives and questionable creative choices, and the animation division going for a bright and colourful Batman with clear direction and a good story. For some reason, WB can’t have it both ways, so one hopes they can turn it around before rebooting the DC Cinematic Universe becomes the only viable solution. They certainly won’t stop at just Lego or just live action.
Finally, on the SPOILERS part of my comment, I really liked how the Joker was able to recruit a swath of classic villains (most of them from WB properties) to overrun Gotham. Lord Voldemort was cool and the Daleks were a funny addition as well. Wasn’t sure what the Jurassic Park dinosaurs were doing there, since the T. rex is not as much of a villain as the Raptors. My favourite of all of them was the Eye of Sauron with how axe-crazy he was, flooding Gotham with Lava and yet suave and cunning by seeing through the heroes’ plans, often literally! The Joker’s team was pretty much invincible while he was around. I thought it was hilarious that he was the only villain who figured out Bruce Wayne was Batman but decided not to tell the other bad guys! Also, he wasn’t sucked back into the Phantom Zone, his “body” was still in Gotham…. could this be the set up for a Lego Middle-earth Movie, perhaps?? 😛