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Color me shocked when I found out that Warner were not only releasing a Batman animated movie this year, but a Christmas themed one at that. The way they’ve been run lately, it’s not entirely shocking that this one snuck under my radar, I guess. “Merry Little Batman” is unlike any Batman animated movie I’ve ever seen. The animation style is wild, somewhat in the vein of “Chowder,” and focuses on a completely separate non-canonical narrative.
After years of fighting crime in Gotham, the city is finally crime free. Bruce, now a doting father for his son Damian, is called in to action by the Justice League. Leaving Damian with Alfred, the aspiring crime fighter finds himself alone in Wayne Manor on Christmas Eve. He must now transform into “Little Batman” in order to defend his home and Gotham City from the crooks and supervillains intent on destroying the holidays.
“Merry Little Batman” is essentially “Home Alone” but set in Wayne manor, as young Damian Wayne uses his own wit and cunning to take on two bumbling super villains. It works in some ways and doesn’t in other ways. I’m not sure what the whole idea was behind “Merry Little Batman” was because everything about this movie feels so set apart from the usual Batman fare, that it’s almost not Batman. Along with the wild animation style, it’s also interesting to note that Bruce Wayne and Damian Wayne are also drastically different.
Bruce (Luke Wilson) is depicted as an affable, well meaning single father while Damian (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) is a cherubic, charming, and courageous kid who is desperate to be a superhero like his dad. Their dynamic is so different it might even irritate the more hardcore sector of the Batman fan base. Nevertheless, “Merry Little Batman” sets its sights on the younger kids in the audience, focusing mainly on Damian who is pretty much Kevin McAllister, here. “Merry Little Batman” is apparently an unofficial pilot for “Bat-Family,” an upcoming animated series also on Amazon Prime.
The humor is charming, the mood is entertaining, and I admired the sense of innocence embedded in what is usually a dark universe. Your mileage with “Merry Little Batman” may vary, but I admired it for aiming for something completely different.