It’s rare to find an animated movie that engages kids while also entertaining the pissed off teenage siblings that were dragged to the theater along with the disgruntled parents that had to pay an arm and a leg for a popcorn and a soda for each member of the family. Most are unavailingly corny and cheesy and everyone over the age of 7 cannot wait to get out of there.
But like its sort of predecessor, 2014’s “The LEGO Movie,” “The LEGO Batman Movie” combines clever one-liners and quick wit, along with pop culture references that go above the kids’ heads but placate the adult watchers. I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Batman, huskily-voiced by Will Arnett, is seemingly the studly superhero everyone thinks he is. But in reality, he’s alone in huge estate with no one but his computer, ‘Puter. He won’t even say that his archnemisis, the Joker (voiced by Zack Galifianakis), is his archnemisis. Afraid of relationships, this crime fighter is a loner, much similar to the Bruce Waynes of the long line of live-action Batman movies.
Like “The LEGO Movie,” this films features a slew of numerous characters and famous figures in Lego form, including Voldemort, King Kong, Superman, and Harley Quinn. Batman’s sidekick Robin (voiced by Michael Cera) comes in the form of an orphan that he adopts while distracted by the sharp-tongued new police commissioner, Barbara Gordon (voiced by Rosario Dawson).
This movie has a creative storyline filled with homages to the previous Batman films, but cleverly interjects humor and creates a movie that can stand alone. The jokes and one-liners are unpredictable, quirky, and are sure to deliver loads of giggles and titters from toddlers and grandparents alike.
As a high schooler that doesn’t want to seem uncool by going to a child’s movie without a younger sibling or cousin or random kid I’m babysitting, I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to see this film. But if I do find myself in a theater watching Legos banter and attempt to save the world, at least I’ll be entertained for the next two hours.