A Batman holiday special sounds like a dream for any comic book fan, and we’re finally getting one in Merry Little Batman… well, sort of. Although the Dark Knight doesn’t play a huge role in this family-friendly adventure, there’s still enough wholesome fun and festive cheer to go around, making the animated feature one for families to enjoy this holiday season.
The movie follows Damian Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne/Batman, as he finds himself all alone at Wayne Manor, having to confront the enemies of Gotham when his dad goes away. Merry Little Batman hits a lot of familiar holiday tropes — the most obvious being Home Alone, but there are some other references that savvy Christmas film watchers will pick up on.
The tone is very TV-Y7, with lots of potty humor and slapstick. A few jokes are designed to satiate adults, but it’s a bit surprising there aren’t more meta jokes. It seems the expectation is for parents to put this on for their kids and not watch along with them. However, it is kept jovial by its soundtrack, which contains some inspired picks of familiar but not overly obvious festive tunes.
Merry Little Batman is fun for the younger members of your family
Merry Little Batman is at its best when it explores the father-son dynamic between Damian and Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, they get split up for a significant majority of the runtime, and Damian goes on a solo mission. It’s cute enough for what it is, but during those really emotional moments, one will be wishing that the movie had been more of a two-hander.
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The film adds very little new to the holiday genre in terms of themes. The message is all about the importance of love, family, and compassion in the holiday season. Compared to the Batman media we’ve been getting for the past few decades, this is obviously much more lighthearted and wholesome — which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Outside of David Hornsby’s rendition of the Joker, which is truly atrocious, the voice cast of Merry Little Batman is mostly fine. Luke Wilson makes for a passable (if mostly forgettable) Caped Crusader, and James Cromwell gets a few solid laughs as the butler, Alfred. However, the real shining star is Yonas Kibreab, who is incredibly charming and effervescent as Damian Wayne.
The animation style is mostly what you’d expect of a project that was first commissioned for Cartoon Network and Max: colorful and childish, with the feeling of a children’s storybook. This isn’t the richly detailed Gotham of BTAS or the DC Animated Universe — it’s a separate vision tailor-made for the kiddos, essentially free of the dark, gothic approach many are used to.
If you meet it on its own level, Merry Little Batman is cute and enjoyable enough as a holiday outing for the elementary school audience. Unlike some of the other family-oriented DC outings (Teen Titans GO! To the Movies comes to mind), this is unlikely to have much crossover appeal to older viewers. But hey, it’s not made for them.
Merry Little Batman streams on Prime Video beginning December 8.
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Rating: 6/10
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