Merry Little Batman Parent Guide

Most kids want to be like their dads when they grow up. For Damian Wayne (Yonas Kibreab), that’s going to be a tall order – his dad is a multibajillionaire CEO, whose alter-ego is Batman (Luke Wilson), the masked vigilante who cleaned up Gotham City. While he has managed to eliminate major crime in Gotham, there’s still work for Batman to do, and he’s been called away on urgent business. With Alfred the butler out shopping, Damian has Wayne Manor to himself to practice his crime-fighting skills – and he gets two real targets when some enterprising robbers find the gate to the Manor unlocked. Damian is supposed to stay out of trouble and call for help in situations like this, but that’s not how Batman would do it! Damian is going to solve the problem himself and prove to his dad that he can be a hero too – but first he’s going to have to prove it to himself.

This is definitely a film geared at younger audiences – short runtime, stylized animation, lots of slapstick gags, the works. It’s got some sweet little moral lessons about listening to your parents and asking for help when you’re in trouble, but it also encourages self-sufficiency and confidence. Unfortunately, it also encourages kids to swing from their balconies on dental floss grappling equipment. If your kid is already swinging from the light fixtures, you might want to give this one a miss. There are too many temptingly terrible ideas to choose from to make this a good choice for the overly active child.

The slapstick violence I mentioned is easily the largest concern for parents, which was a pleasant surprise for me. I fully expected the movie to annoy me to death within the first ten minutes, and while I wasn’t exactly engrossed, I also didn’t want to tear my own head off and bowl it through the TV to make the dialogue stop. Batman fans of all ages will enjoy the references to other films scattered haphazardly throughout this little Christmas stroll down the rogues’ gallery. Fear not, the Clown Prince of Crime – or, in this case, Christmas – has been toned down to a less frightening version, as have the other villains.

I don’t think Merry Little Batman has enough staying power to become a perennial family festive favorite, but you could do a lot worse. This is surprisingly better than most of the big budget live action movies DC has been putting out lately – not a high bar to clear, but that hasn’t stopped any of their other properties from running headlong into it. Parents and kids alike will have some fun with this caped crusader’s Christmas capers. Just don’t try this at home.