Home Alone meets Batman in Merry Little Batman, Prime Video’s thoroughly enjoyable dip into the DC Universe. The upbeat animated holiday film is filled with DC villains and other characters audiences have come to love through the decades. If only other DC movie held this much spunk, vigor, and cohesiveness. All eyes are on you now, DC Studio titans James Gunn and Peter Safran.
This tale gives us young Damian Wayne (Yonas Kibreab), a kid who so eagerly wants to be a superhero like his father, Batman a.k.a. Bruce Wayne (Luke Wilson). When a surprising series of events finds Batman heading off to thwart a potential disaster, Damian is left home alone, only to stumble upon a villainous plot to steal Christmas. Does he have what it takes to save the day?
The intriguing premise comes from writers Morgan Evans, Ethan Cohen, and Jase Ricci. Mike Roth (Regular Show) directs the outing, which also stars James Cromwell (as Alfred) and David Hornsby (voicing The Joker.) It’s great fun from beginning to end, Merry Little Batman has the makings of an instant Christmas classic.
Super Kid to the Rescue
Merry Little Batman is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and based on characters from DC Comics. That gives the writers and director plenty of opportunity to cull from various iterations of Batman, whether that be lifting musical references from the popular TV show theme song back in the 1960s to including nearly every Batman villain featured in the BatVerse. The result is a humorous and very fun romp with stellar voice talent and sharp animation.
The plot offers viewers a single-father Batman who, at this point, is practically retired. (There’s some fun discovering who Bat Mamma may be.) Knowing he’d have to raise Damian, the caped crusader worked overtime to rid Gotham of criminals altogether. The past few years have been golden, and thanks to Batman, this crime-free Gotham is cheery and sparkly. What could go wrong? One phone call later and Batman must head back to work — on Christmas Eve no less.
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Miffed that he can’t join his father, Damian concocts his own plan to practice his well-meaning yet underdeveloped superhero skills. He tricks Alfred into heading to the store and suddenly has Wayne Manor all to himself. All too quickly, a pair of criminals break in, and Damian sneakily steps up to save the treasured house. It all stems back to a sinister plot and soon enough familiar foes appear, such as The Joker, Poison Ivy (Therese McLaughlin), Bane (Chris Sullivan), Penguin (Brian George), and Mr. Freeze (Dolph Adomian) as Damian heads out to Gotham.
Perfect Villains, Animation, and Humor
Merry Little Batman tends to feel like the animated offspring of George Clooney’s Batman & Robin, itself rather animated in its execution. The thrill here, however, is how well the writers crafted the tale. Damian was typically known as Robin in the DC Comics and television shows, but the clever twist in this version finds the character being much younger and full of zest. He’s sharp, smart, and determined. He creates his own “little Batman” costume until he stumbles upon another one in his father’s lair. Ultimately, Damian must stop Christmas from being stolen from Gotham by the villains, and boy, director Mike Roth has a ball with every action sequence featuring Damian with a villain — or three.
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David Hornsby is a hoot, lending his voice as The Joker, a nice amalgam of Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson, two Joker alums who played the role way over the top. Not that anybody complained. Dolph Adomian’s Mr. Freeze voice goes by way of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s take on the character, yet another self-referencing “bat” moment. Brian George and Therese McLaughlin are just fine as Penguin and Poison Ivy respectively. Reid Scott pops up as Commissioner Gordon, fully prepared to light up the revered bat symbol.
As the story finds Damian wading through a thick sinister plot to rob Gotham of Christmas, he must confront his fears and become brave. One of the best creative elements of the film is the terrific balance of precision animation and remarkable voice talent. This is an animated feature, and one about Batman, so the stakes were already high. Thankfully, the action scenes become a wickedly fun embarrassment of riches and all of them are handled with aplomb.
What great fun it is to watch Damian evolve from a pantry shelf-climber to somebody capable of swinging into a room full of villains, fully prepared to take them on. The little kid/big city spin works well all around. The animators nailed the look and feel of this world, so much so, you find yourself not quite wanting to leave it. There’s a bevy of whimsy all around, and you’ll find yourself smiling during several familiar inclusions — The Justice League, The Wonder Twins, and, our favorite, “Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg…” Yes. They went there. Between its pitch-perfect tone, great animation, slew of “bat” references, and groovy gadgetry, Merry Little Batman is one of the most festive and enjoyable holiday tales of the season.
Merry Little Batman streams globally on Prime Video beginning December 8. You can watch the film through the link below and check out the trailer:
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