MERRY LITTLE BATMAN

Name: MERRY LITTLE BATMAN
Item: MERRY LITTLE BATMAN
Author: Review

"Sacrifice Turns the Tables"

Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

MERRY LITTLE BATMAN is a comical animated adventure movie on Amazon Prime. Bruce Wayne’s 8-year-son, Damian, is determined to prove to his dad he can be a superhero like Batman, Bruce’s alter-ego. Bruce is the overprotective father. He’s no longer interested in crime fighting, because Gotham City is now crime free. On Christmas Eve, Batman’s called away on a mission for the first time in years. Damian sees this as a chance to prove himself. The Joker and other villains take advantage of this. They manipulate the young boy in his father’s absence, to create mayhem and destruction.

MERRY LITTLE BATMAN is a fabulous, fun and funny addition to the popular superhero franchise. It has exciting, heartfelt, laugh-out-loud moments. The movie doesn’t mention the real meaning of Christmas, but it has a Christmas Parade and references to “Merry Christmas,” God, Heaven, and “Silent Night.” MERRY LITTLE BATMAN also has strong moral, redemptive lessons about the qualities of a superhero, which include focus, responsibility and sacrifice. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution, especially for pre-teenage children, for animated action violence and light obscenities, vulgarities and insults.

Content:

(BB, CC, L, VV, S, MM)

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong moral worldview with Christmas mentioned several times, the Christmas carol “Silent Night” is played in the background at one point, Alfred wishes Batman “Godspeed” at 15:30-33, there’s a reference to “the Promised Land” as in the Afterlife in Heaven at 45:46-50, there are a few mentions that focus, responsibility and sacrifice are needed to be a good superhero, and movie extols the importance of family relationships (there’s a family hug at 1:35-45)

Foul Language:

Three relatively light obscenities, vulgarities such as an “h” word, crap and turd-muffin, with some insults such as brat, jerk, twerp, bozo, bird-brain, incontinent, clown-face

Violence:

Strong cartoon action violence with some comical slapstick violence includes explosions, peril, mayhem, fights, villainous threats, fires, falls, crashes, villains are thrown into a liquid pit, child goes “Home Alone” on two burglars who are burned and knocked around, scary ghost-like images, wooden plank guts a villain in the groin, vines grab child in a batsuit, burglars break skylight, child accidentally wrecks Christmas decorations in the city square, city fires endanger people, people panic and start running when chaos breaks out in Gotham, Batman knocked unconscious with a mallet, and some dialogue involves Batman’s history of having parents dying when he was a child

Sex:

Main character’s mother is referred to as a “smokeshow,” and a recorded comment refers to people coming to an age where they are going through some bodily changes, implicitly referring to puberty

Nudity:

No nudity, but an off-color comment is made about a Batman costume with nipples leaving “nothing to the imagination”

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol use

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Son disobeys his father and deceives and manipulates his caretaker, and villains engage in gaslighting and manipulation.

More Detail:

MERRY LITTLE BATMAN is a welcomed fresh take on Amazon Prime on the next generation of the Superhero known as Batman.

Bruce Wayne, aka Batman’s, 8-year-old son, Damian, wants to be a hero like his father, but Dad doesn’t think he’s ready. When Batman’s called away on an emergency, Damian sees this as his chance to prove himself a superhero. The adventure combines traditional elements of the crime-fighting adventure audiences love, while adding a funny and refreshing twist as Batman struggles with the most important role of his life, fatherhood. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution, however, especially for pre-teenage children, due to some action-related peril and violence, scary images, a few crude but light insults, and adult subject matter which includes references to the death of Batman’s parents in childhood and the absence of his son’s mother, Catwoman.

As the movie opens, Gotham is safe and crime is non-existent. Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, is in love with his role as a father. His son, Damian, is a rambunctious and precocious, but well-intentioned, 8-year-old. Damian wants to prove to his dad he’s ready to be a superhero. He’s thrilled when Dad gives him his first superhero utility belt, until he finds out it’s only a toy. Batman assures Damian he can be a superhero someday, but he has much to learn before that time.

The Bat Phone rings for the first time in years on Christmas Eve. The dutiful Batman answers the call. Damian wants to accompany his father on a mission to help the Justice League in Nova

Scotia. In showing off his skills, however, Damian accidentally injures their beloved butler, Alfred. Batman punishes Damian by taking away his toy utility belt.

A very discouraged Damian walks away to sulk in his disappointment. Then, he recommits to trying to prove himself worthy. He sends Alfred away on a phony errand, while he breaks into the Bat Cave.

Meanwhile, with Batman away from Gotham City, two villains working for The Joker go on a burglary spree. Wayne Manor is their next target. Damian sees this as the perfect way to show his father he can save the day. He doesn’t realize, however, that the Joker, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and The Penguin are behind the burglaries. Things get out of hand when The Joker decides he won’t just steal from homes, he will use and manipulate Damian to destroy Gotham City and steal Christmas.

MERRY LITTLE BATMAN is a fabulous, fun and funny addition to the popular superhero franchise. The movie has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and heartfelt insights on the responsibilities and struggles of good parenting. There is no direct reference to the real meaning of Christmas, but there are several mentions of Christmas, a Christmas Parade and a few “Merry Christmas” banners.

Of course, the word Christmas stresses the name of Christ, an English form of the Hebrew word Messiah. The English word mass comes from the Latin word “missa,” and is related specifically to the Eucharist “feast” in the Communion Service and can refer to the Hebrew word for the unleavened bread in the service. Christians are supposed to take the fruits of the Eucharist out into the world. Thus, “mas” also refers to the idea of “sending.” In the early 12th Century, “missa” also referred to the idea that the Eucharist “dismisses” the enmity between God and mankind. Thus, the celebration of Christmas is a great analogy of a God who has sent his son Jesus Christ, because we need a Savior. MERRY LITTLE BATMAN takes advantage of these connotations when the good guys defeat Joker and his pals by playing the music to “Silent Night,” which, as everyone knows, refers to the birth of Baby Jesus, the “Holy Infant” who is Savior and Lord.

MERRY LITTLE BATMAN also has strong moral, redemptive lessons about the qualities of a superhero, which include focus, responsibility and sacrifice. These revolve around the movie’s strong pro-family elements. However, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution, especially for pre-teenage children, for animated action violence, some light obscenities, vulgarities and insults, and mature themes.