A kid-friendly special originally intended as a (formerly HBO) Max exclusive, Merry Little Batman is now available in time for the holidays on Prime Video, and it’s a colorful delight, reimagining Gotham City with a genuinely cartoonish sensibility to tell the story of an eight-year old Damian Wayne, as he ventures into town to retrieve a stolen utility belt.
As this functions as a pilot for the recently announced Bat-Family series, we’ll be covering this more like one of our TV recaps, despite its relatively long runtime. Regardless, have a spoiler warning! Now then…
1. If Europe Did Batman
Alright, so many live-action Batman films have been shot in the UK, with locals working behind-the-scenes, designing and building Gotham and so on, but this is the first time I’ve ever felt I’ve seen a Bat movie that felt like it was created by a British or French cartoonist, with an intentionally grotesque approach to character design, with giant chins, long noses, hunched physiques, and jagged or crooked teeth. (In the Joker’s case, his teeth always fluctuates between the two.) One could argue Batman and Joker are archenemies because they’re jealous of each other’s chins!
When I saw the trailer, my mind instantly went to Roald Dahl illustrator Quentin Blake, Hunter S. Thompson collaborator Ralph Steadman, and Pink Floyd artist Gerald Scarfe. It’s an acquired taste, but after years of so many superhero cartoons that play it safe design-wise, coming across as Bruce Timm-lite, it was an absolute delight to just see so much personality in these familiar characters. Coupled with the saturated colors and rich, pencil-like shading, you have yourself a gorgeous, every-frame-a-painting production that I would happily buy a picture book version of for younger family members without Prime Video.
2. 96 Mins?!
I was surprised to see the film was long enough for a theatrical release: for comparison’s sake, the average DTV DC film is about 70 mins long, which is partly why so many of the big ones eg. The Dark Knight Returns, The Long Halloween, and the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths consist of multiple parts. Despite the film’s simple plot, it feels just right when it comes to its length, since so much of it is spent on making sure the gags are given time to breathe and land properly. A great example is when Vicki Vale cuts to a woman on the street expressing concern over Damian’s antics, and she simply says, “I’m concerned” – a lesser project would’ve rushed through that, whereas here it’s slow enough to build anticipation to the anticlimactic line.
3. Tortoise and the Hare 2023
Damian’s always been a brat, and I’m glad director Mike Roth and writers Morgan Evans & Jase Ricci didn’t forget that, even if this version is much sweeter than his comics counterpart. Every disastrous development in the film, aside from Bruce getting stranded in Nova Scotia, is the result of his arrogant attempts to prove he’s already big enough to follow in his father’s footsteps: he is absolutely the Hare from Aesop’s classic fable, refusing to be slow and steady about his destiny, and it was refreshing to see a kid’s movie be about how, no, a kid doesn’t know everything, and needs a lifetime before they’re truly ready for the harsh realities of the outside world. The eerie, black-and-white “woodcut” sequence was an especially powerful reminder that at the end of the day, Damian is still a little kid who gets frightened, and who needs Bruce and Alfred to look after him.
4. Nicest Batman Ever, But He Still Hates Joker
Luke Wilson’s take on Batman might be the most wholesome version of the character ever, I mean he’s so chill (no pun intended) he even has a beard for god’s sake. That said, he makes it very clear at the end that he really, really dislikes Joker, meaning Damian is the one who has to persuade him to throw a Christmas dinner for the lonely fiend. It was a smart way to introduce the idea of sympathy for the devil to the younger target audience, ensuring Damian remains a proactive protagonist, who’s learned something from how the Clown Prince tried to sway him to his side, instead of simply having Batman lecture his kid about why even bad people like the Joker deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
Continued below5. Joel Schumacher Gets Some Love Too
Unsurprisingly, the film is chockful of nods and Easter eggs about Batman history, from Damian’s cat Selina, to his middle name being Thomas. The running gag about Batman’s beard upping his “intimidation game” was an especially sly nod to the production codename of Batman Begins, and you bet I cheered when the Batcycle emerged out of the Batmobile ala The Dark Knight. It was pretty cool (no pun intended) how the film tipped its hat to some of the less loved versions of the character too, namely with the decision to give Mr. Freeze Arnold Schwarzenegger’s accent, and the thoroughly Batman and Robin vibe Bane had as well: given how the movie ends with Damian treating Joker like a troubled uncle, it feels appropriate that cinematic disaster also gets its due.
Bonus Thoughts:
– For folks interested in the fluid approach to the character outlines, it is apparently called “squigglevision.”
– Seriously, how inspired is the casting of James Cromwell as Alfred? I imagine the only reason he hasn’t been cast as him in a live-action film now is because he’d tower over everyone (he’s 6 ft 7 in case you didn’t know.)
– It’s funny how the Black version of Vicki Vale here is still the most traditional media take on the character in recent years, following her villainous portrayals in the Telltale game, and My Adventures with Superman.
– Imagine being a kid, watching this, then seeing Die Hard someday, and realizing how much of a homage Joker’s defeat is to Hans Gruber’s demise.
– Love how Bruce turns Ace Chemicals into Ace Renewables; turning Arkham Asylum into Arkham Daycare, not so much.
All in all, this was a really cute surprise. I look forward to seeing how Bat-Family portrays all the characters who weren’t in this, namely Two-Face, Catwoman, and the Al Ghuls, and not just because I’m curious about their visual appearances. Happy holidays DC nation!
