In Merry Little Batman, it’s Christmas time and Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian, is running amuck through Wayne Manor. He is excited about the festivities, but in truth he is far more interested in playing out crime-fighting scenarios with the pet cat, as part of his ‘training’ to become a superhero.
But as far as Bruce is concerned, Damian won’t need to become a superhero. After finding out he was going to become a father eight years ago, Bruce cleaned up all of the crime in Gotham City, to make it one of the safest places in the world to raise a child.
However, when Batman is called away on a mission, and a pair of crooks attempt to rob Wayne Manor, Damian is forced to spring into action. This in turn prompts Damian to don a Batsuit, and become the latest crime-fighter of Gotham.
Directed by Mike Roth, Merry Little Batman features the voice talents of Luke Wilson, Yonas Kibreab, James Cromwell, and David Hornsby. The movie is a Christmas-set, animated adventure story, which is new to stream on Amazon Prime Video from today.
Suitable for a family audience, but aimed more specifically at younger Bat-fans, Merry Little Batman is daft romp filled with light touches and elements of comedy. The film places its focus on Damien Wayne rather than Bruce Wayne/Batman, and is essentially an origin story to introduce a new hero.
In the film, Damien gains access to all the various Bat-gadgets and high-tech crime-fighting tools (including the Batbike), and he gets to put them to good use in a battle between good and evil. This battle includes a clash with the Joker, as well as encounters with other iconic villains including Bane, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze.
In terms of its quirky animation style, as well as its general sense of adventure, Merry Little Batmanshould prove perfectly fine for its intended target audience. The film plays very much like something you would see on Nickelodeon, and I doubt the younger generation will have any major problems with it.
As for parents and adult Bat-fans, I suspect this may be a different story entirely. The animation is a little off-putting and the story does wear thin quite quickly.
The film is filled with various in-jokes for long time fans, which may help take the edges off, but I’m not sure it’ll be enough. This isn’t something which hits the same level of cross-generational fun that say, The Lego Batman Movie does, so it’ll probably be a one-time watch for anyone above the age of 12.
Well-intentioned and perfectly fine as a children’s film, Merry Little Batman is OK for what it is. The colourful design aesthetic, the whacky villains, and the young central hero should be enough to entertain, while the Christmas setting should prove popular at this time of year.
As for anyone else, simply accept this particular Bat-film (and this version of Batman) is not really for you and don’t sweat it. There are aspects you may like, there are many you may not, but the kids will have fun regardless.
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