Merry Little Batman is bizarrely entertaining, fun and very Christmassy

Christmas films form a genre very apart from the others in cinematography, the stories focused on this holiday aim to be more familiar and with a message of peace and prosperity for everyone.

Since the beginning of cinema we have had great stories that transport us to magical and hopeful worlds where everything that is dreamed of is possible, Christmas is the time of year in which we all share feelings with our loved ones, forming a tradition that It has been present for many generations.

We know the problems that Warner Bros. as a studio has gone through during 2023, it seems that superheroes are no longer so fashionable or have fallen into the tedium of locals and strangers, but what happens when we mix these 2 genres? We have already fractionally seen the result in Batman Returns (1992) by director Tim Burton, a story that takes place during these festivities and that to this day can be dark, controversial, and already a classic in the genre it occupies.

Amazon Prime and Warner Animation close this year with Merry Little Batman, a film that retakes these dates as part of a story that we will have to see to believe but more to enjoy.

What is the film about?

Little Damian Wayne (Yonas Kibreab) wants to be a superhero like his father, Bruce Wayne (Luke Wilson), better known as Batman, when the Justice League demands Batman to save the world, Damian, who has been left alone on Christmas in Gotham discovers a sinister and evil plan by the Joker (David Hornsby) to steal Christmas, Demian will have to make use of all the knowledge he has and go from the game to real action not only to show his father that he has a heart of hero but also to save them all.

The animated films from Warner Animation Studios have had their ups and downs, simple stories with a good narrative or some only serve to entertain, what we cannot deny is the quality of their animations, they have gone from traditional to digital and again Traditionally, Merry Little Batman is an example that the conception of a project can take time if it is in the right hands so that the result is something that we all as an audience expect.

Batman is undoubtedly the most important character in the company, whether in DC Comics or Warner Bros., his appearances on the big screen or in television series guarantee media success. It is nice when a project focused on this character comes with an animation and a Very stylized design, the flexibility it has is what also allows its representations to be changing and very attractive.

In this case, the story takes place somewhere in the multiverse that is so fashionable today and focuses on Batman/Bruce Wayne and his son Damian, it reliably explores not only its peculiar meaning about their relationship but also these holiday festivities.

One night before Christmas, the restless and fanciful Damian Wayne plays fighting crime as Batman, to his surprise and disappointment his father has eradicated crime from the city, making it the safest in the world by locking up all the villains, creativity with The fact that this feat is told is fun, we can see how it goes from being a city with dark environments to being more friendly, bright and pleasant for the citizens but especially for the children, Bruce is retired and spends more time at home, he spends more time organizing other things and keeping an eye on Damian and less time with the cape and hood.

Understandably, they portray the father as very overprotective after we all know his origin and the death of his parents and he wants to ensure that his son does not suffer the same problems and traumas as him, his philosophy of life has partially worked for him and we have As an example, the Christmas gift that Bruce gives to Damian, a bat-belt of harmless tools that will help him have fun in his games, but the child in question prefers real devices like the ones his father uses, suddenly Bruce is called to go to a mission of the Justice League, that toy belt represents more than we can imagine, out of mischief and irresponsibility, Bruce takes it off and gives it to Alfred Pennyworth (James Cromwell) to keep safe until he returns.

Using his infallible but childish ways of persuasion, a disappointed and sad Damian sends Alfred on a futile search for marshmallows for his traditional Christmas hot chocolate, alone in the house and without supervision he regains the belt to practice and impress his father. when he returns, but he doesn’t count on the fact that a couple of thieves who work for the Joker (David Hornsby) will enter the mansion, endangering the little boy’s life, when in a burst of bravery he takes matters into his own hands to stop them and prove to himself that he can be a superhero on par with his father.

Merry Little Batman as a film is between a shameless mockery and a tribute to all those Christmas films that we already know, mainly Home Alone (1990) by director Chris Columbus where the same thing happens, a boy who is left alone at home and who has to defend it from thieves, its narrative is between a comic and an illustrated children’s story that little by little reveals its secrets and with it we discover a message.

The script by Morgan Evans and Jase Ricci takes no restrictions when presenting things, the plot is designed to appeal to an audience of all ages respecting its own rules, and the subplots are designed so that each character has their personality and time on screen, although their development is not what we expected, it is perfectly understood what the motivations of each one are for doing what they do and that this, in turn, has symmetry with the message they want to give.

Director Mike Roth is no stranger to this type of story, we already saw him in childish and sophisticated things in the animated series Care Bears: Adventures in Care-A-Lot (2007 – 2009) and Phineas and Ferb (2008 – 2011) in which the children’s concept focuses more on the path of the hero than simply entertaining. For Roth, it is important to bring audiovisual teaching to his younger audience and a reflection to the older audience.

Writer Morgan Evans (Teen Titans Go) tells this story about the arrival of the age of thinking more about responsibility and the consequences that this can bring for better or worse and about what it is and means to become a hero, to reach to be yourself, having your way of thinking and being, appreciating the effort and education of your parents, the Christmas tone is used as a link to establish the characters, making them almost perfect.

This goes two ways, on the one hand, we have the son, and on the other, we have the father, who must face the passage of age and learn to let his little son make his own decisions about what and who he wants to be, one of the more inventive aspects lies in the fact that Bruce’s traumatic melancholy is replaced by a more authoritarian and overprotective mood, the conflict and problems that arise between this Batman and his hyperactive son only proves how much they love each other.

Throughout the 92-minute duration, Damian learns many things such as patience, intelligence, and cunning which is what it takes to be a hero, everything is perfectly done in a way in which as viewers we can identify with a child who is growing and discovering what he wants to be, his dreams and his desires, without a doubt this is a work aimed almost entirely at children who adults enjoy with that sarcastic humorous touch that represents the fight against crime.

The ending is extremely predictable and is what we have been waiting for from the beginning, the plot takes us and brings us from one place to the other, resolving the subplots and leaving nothing for later, everything concludes in a round and concrete way, something precise Without being pretentious that it does something beyond just entertaining, it works well as a Christmas movie but also as a timeless movie that we can watch and enjoy at any time.

The aesthetics of its animation have a very different touch from what we are used to seeing, generally, the animations can vary depending on what you want to tell, in this case, it is more bizarre with more cheerful touches, and the quality of the final product is fully cinematic The thick lines in the outlines of the drawings as well as the details of the design in the background, each action sequence has an amazing traditionally animated fluidity that gives it a very personal and particular touch that is one of a kind.

The production design is impeccable down to the smallest of details that makes no effort to go unnoticed, it is just an element to highlight that is present at all times, each character was drawn and animated to be unique and unrepeatable with watercolor textures, which we are seeing is like a moving painting that blends and interacts perfectly well with the dark fixed backgrounds while the character in turn shines on his own.

This has been the great surprise of this year that is now ending and it does so in a wonderful way. It is a cheerful Christmas movie that also manages to teach children valuable life lessons in this crazy adventure through Gotham City, something that we would undoubtedly like to see. More often, a simple but fresh idea that lacks originality and does not care about having it is simply something that gives more and that if carried out in the right way can be a success and be positioned as a new animated representation of the Bat-family for a more modern audience that left Batman: The Animated Series from 1992 far behind.

The voice cast is made up of Yonas Kibreab, Lucas Wilson, James Cromwell, David Hornsby, Dolph Adomian, Brian George, Therese McLaughlin, Chris Sullivan, Cynthia McWilliams, Michael Fielding, Natalie Palamides, Reid Scott, Fred Tatasciore and Carmine Infantino who make a great job, they interpret and live each of their characters.

The music by Patrick Stump has pieces with modern touches without losing its funky and R&B style and uses Christmas samples only when necessary, a good job that stands out as much as the production to which it belongs.

In conclusion, there is not much more to tell about Merry Little Batman, it is a worthy and honest work that must be seen to be able to appreciate it in all its detail, an excellent family film that mixes everything that the Christmas season represents for many of us, it is These types of projects with these results, what Warner Bros. lacks with its live-action films, knowing specifically what it wants to tell without imitating or without wanting to compete with others is simply knowing how to do things well and this clearly shows it. beginning to end.

Merry Little Batman is now available on Prime Video.

The Aztechin team wishes you happy holidays!