T&K's XMas (2023) Advent Calendar: Day 18 - A Merry Little Batman

2023, d. Mike Roth - AmazonPrime

A new animated Batman Christmas movie for kids? What could go wrong?

Lest I become one of those frothing-at-the-mouth internet-rage-trolls that needs to have everything Batman be "edgy" and "dark" like the inside of my brain, I must state that A Merry Little Batman isn't a Batman movie meant for teen or adult Batman fans. It's for the kids, and for parents to enjoy with their kids.

There's only about maybe 8% faithfulness to the comics here. Rudimentary stuff like Alfred is Bruce's butler and Damian is Bruce Wayne's kid. Is the Damian in this story the offspring of Batman and Talia Al Ghul? Uncertain. The audience could insinuate that Catwoman is his mother should one wish, I think the show intentionally left Damian's maternal lineage vague.

In this Gotham, Batman has cleansed it of all crime years ago and is living the retired life. 8-year-old Damian, coddled by his father, wants nothing more than to be a superhero like his dad once was.  Bruce gifts Damian a utility belt for Christmas but with training and helpful supplies, not weapons and such.

Bruce is called away to Nova Scotia by the Justice League leaving Damian in Alfred's care, but Damian wants to practice at being a superhero, so he tricks Alfred into leaving. He's home alone and a couple of burglars, sent by the Joker,  break into Wayne Manor, but Damian manages to fend them off...except his utility belt is stolen. He needs to get it back, or his dad will never trust him as a super-hero.

In his escapades to retrieve his belt, he encounters The Joker, Penguin, Bane, Poison Ivy and more, and his inexperience as a hero leads to chaos in Gotham, which ultimately helps the Joker steal Christmas.  The Joker, however sees promise in the little guy and welcomes him into the thrall of super-villainy should he wish. Which he obviously doesn't. 

With the help of Batdad (an onboard AI in his batsuit) and eventually Alfred and Batman, he saves Christmas for all.

If there's a closest relative in Bat-media, I think the Lego Batman Movie is it. It's silly but earnest and heartfelt, really reaching for the feels of a little boy whose dad holds on too tight that he refuses to let him grow, as well as a little boy who so desperately wants what he desires that he doesn't realize the harm his selfishness might cause, even if his heart is in the right place.

I don't know that I ever would have thought "Luke Wilson" for Batman (he's barely convincing as a second-rate sidekick in Stargirl) but he has the soft touch the production was going for. Likewise Mythic Quest's David Hornsby isn't ever what I would have considered for the Joker, but he quite suits this Joker. Jonas Kibreab does a pretty great job in the lead role as Damian, even if he's unlike any Damian we've seen before. (For those that don't know, in the comics and other media, Damian is the love child of Talia Al Ghul and Batman, but she keeps Bruce from knowing about him for a decade. During that time Damian is trained by the League of Assassins, and so when he finally encounters his father, his moral compass is very, very skewed, and Bruce takes custody of him to try and set him right.  Here, Bruce has Damian as a baby, and he's just a hyper, precocious kid. Basically Damian in name only.)

The animation style is based off legendary British cartoonist Ronald Searle, not really something anyone would typically look at and think "Batman". It's really off kilter.  I know I've seen this style before but I can't exactly put a pin in it. I've no doubt seen Searles work before, and his influence has certainly spread. But this particular look, with the extreme dismorphia, and the sketchy appearance. It's like Rocky and Bullwinkle meets Yellow Submarine meets Samurai Jack meets Dav Pilkey meets any number of Cartoon Network productions from the past 30 years. I dunno. It's really different, but familiar.  Enjoyable, but also off-putting.

I have to admit I have that nerd-troll screaming in the back of my head "THIS. ISN'T. BATMAN!!!", all sweaty and red-faced. Bruce seems to still be in his prime, even if he's retired, but his old adversaries are positively geriatric. That's a hard thing to reconcile for a Bat-fan.  As are a lot of the jokes, which pit Bruce as a doting father, which seem so out of character for almost any interation of Batman (just like Batman's egocentricity in Lego Batman Movie was similarly off-putting). It's not that Batman can't be these things, it's just that I don't want him to be. 

So this will be a lot of fun for a lot of people. It's very well done and has a charming, youth-centered, festive story. But if you're a Bat-nerd with certain Bat-expectations, you'll probably want to avoid this. The poster should have a big banner that reads "No Edgelords Allowed".