LEGO Batman The Movie DC Superheroes Unite

My family has enjoyed the previous Lego movie releases for Star Wars, but considering the superhero obsession in our household I had to pick this film up. The movie itself runs 71 minutes, almost a feature length which is quite a bit more than we've gotten with the previous Star Wars specials. The movie begins with Batman and Superman taking on Lex Luthor and flashes back to the "Man of the Year" award ceremony which quickly gets out of control when the Joker leads a group of villains (including the Penquin, Harley Quinn, Riddler, Two-Face and Catwoman) to crash the party. And what better way to stop a villain team up then by getting together a few "super" friends like Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Cyborg and The Flash. There are plenty of other characters that show up along the way as well. While this film utilizes the spirit of the cut-scenes from LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes , it is not a straight repackage of them. Many scenes have been added and the others reanimated and re-cut and improved upon for the release, all for the better. If you've played the game, you get the gist, but this is a much higher quality of animation and gives you the story in a much more cinematic way. The film itself is fun for all ages, with enough Lego humor for the kids and plenty of jokes that will probably be over their heads including references to the Batman films going all the way back to the 1960s. Kudos to the design team for their parody of the original 1989 Batman film opening, as well as the use of that iconic Danny Elfman music and the John Williams Superman score. The voice work is solid and though I prefer the voice cast of Arkham Asylum, this group of actors does a wonderful job portraying these characters in a more kid friendly way. The bonus features are great as well and include a short feature called "Building Batman" behinds the scenes in the Lego animation studio with a few kids getting to work with the resident animator, 2 episodes of The Brave and the Bold and one from Teen Titans, a Lego Batman stop-motion short, and 5 winning shorts from the Lego DC Universe Super Heroes Video Contest. There are various languages options but unfortunately no commentary which I would have loved to hear from the director or lead animator about the production. The pack-in of Clark Kent with the "S" exposed is a nice add on for Lego collectors as well. Ultimately this is a great release. It's a fun film for all ages and a worth a look. Read more

I'm not sure where to begin -- the animation is EXCELLENT! This isn't just a "bunch of cut scenes from the video game" and most/all of the animation is completely ORIGINAL to this movie. FABULOUS STUFF!!! The humor is just great -- very well-written dialogue that kept my kids & I giggling. My wife even bellowed out a huge laugh at a couple scenes, and she's generally not much into "comic book-y stuff", as she calls it. This is terrific, and worth every penny. Bought one for a friend's son, too. He's gonna love it! As for the negative reviewers, I have only this to say to you: "You clearly HAVE NOT seen this movie if that's your view. It is FULL of ORIGINAL scenes, dialogue, and story that DIFFERS from the game while maintaining the same general plot. The animation is PHENOMENAL, and I know you'll come back and tell me how you've seen it, blah-blah-blah, but I have been playing the game with my son, and just finished watching this with my entire family, and can say without a doubt that it is NOT 'just made up of a bunch of cut scenes from the video game'. NEXT!" ~Charlie~ Read more

If you're into Legos, then this movie is a must-watch with the kids. Our kids enjoyed this superhero action movie. Read more

liked the plot Read more

What an awesome little movie this was! I wasn't even aware it existed until I stumbled upon it one day. The LEGO animated characters and "playsets" are beautifully done, and the storyline is very entertaining, for both adults and children. DC Comics may not do live action movies that well, but they put out some fantastic animated ones. This movie brings some "fun" back into the DC Universe. It reminds me of being a kid again. Fans of the original Super Friends cartoon series (and its many incarnations) will really enjoy this LEGO Batman movie. Batman is serious and Robin is kid-like and sometimes clumsy. Superman rushes in to save the day occasionally. When he does, Robin is in awe; Batman less than thrilled that Superman is stealing his thunder. Classic! Although I wish there were even more DC characters that made appearances, we do get to see some of the main Justice Leaguers and numerous Batman villains (plus Lex Luthor). Give me LEGO DC superhero movies any day over any current animated superhero shows. Read more

In waiting for the blue ray release of The Lego Movie, we purchased this video to watch and it was a nice, entertaining 86 minutes. It was fun for an adult and older teen to watch, jokes for kids and adults to get. Because Batman and his world are meant to be dark, I'm not sure about adequacy for younger children. I think Lego captured some of the darkness with the Joker character, so parents might want to gauge how their younger children will react. The feature that is also included is a nice explanation of how the movie was made and uses kids to do some of the stop action work. I would think it will inspire a whole new generation of film makers to come. Perhaps even a whole lot more Lego amatuer films will show up on YouTube. Read more

There have been some complaints that this movie is just a stitch up of the cut-scenes from the Lego Batman Video game. I can't say whether this is true or not, but I can say that this is a great stand alone film for kids. I don't think it was rated, but a PG rating seems appropriate. Lots of "lego" violence. In any case, we're big fans of Clutch Powers, and this one was better all around. Where the "Clutch" story fell apart (no pun intended) this one stayed together to the end. It's clever, funny and the production was terrific. Well worth the rent. Read more