History WesternAnimation / MerryLittleBatman

** Batman is depicted as more lighthearted and well-adjusted like ''Series/Batman1966'', wears a similar outfit to his iteration from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (though he has the ''Detective Comics #27'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' outfits as spares), and has a scruffy beard not unlike Creator/BenAffleck's iteration from the DCEU. His refusal to call Joker his friend calls to mind the two's dynamic from ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOBatmanMovie'', and the fact he single-handedly cleaned up Gotham all by himself to make the city safer is not unlike the version seen in ''Film/TheFlash2023''.

* AdaptationalUgliness: Due to the films unique art style inspired by the works of Ronald Searle, (as well as some of the characters undergoing an AgeLift), some of them look far uglier than they normally do in the comics or most animated adaptions. Bane has varicose veins and is a hulking mess of a brute, Poison Ivy looks more like [[WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove Yzma]], Penguin is basically the Creator/DannyDevito iteration made uglier, Alfred looks much more haggard, and even the normally ripped Batman is depicted with a chest that would put ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} to shame.

** Damian is a bright-eyed and plucky kid rather than a cold and moody former child assassin thanks to his completely normal upbringing in this continuity. [[spoiler:The destruction he accidentally causes throughout Gotham has less to do with him being morally conflicted and more due to genuine obliviousness.]]

** Batman has broken all of his ribs in the past. When he shows his bare torso to Damian, it's a twisted and misshapen mass rather than anything normal.

* AdaptationalUgliness: Due to the special's art style, as well as some of the characters undergoing an AgeLift, some of them look far uglier than they normally do in the comics or most animated adaptions. Bane has varicose veins and is a hulking mess of a brute, Poison Ivy looks more like [[WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove Yzma]], Penguin is basically the Creator/DannyDevito iteration made uglier, Alfred looks much more haggard, and even the normally ripped Batman is depicted with a chest that would put ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} to shame.

* AdaptationalAngstDowngrade: The usually brooding Batman is shown to be more cheerful and laid-back in this movie, fussing over his eight-year-old kid and bragging about his retirement. This turns out to be intentional on his part - it's explicit that when Damien was born he made an effort to change, even mentioning going to a therapist to help with his "brooding," so that Damien would have a normal childhood. Which of course means that Damian himself is much more bright-eyed and plucky than the cold and often bratty son of an assassin he's often portrayed as.

* ArcWords: Focus, discipline, and sacrifice - the three traits Bruce repeatedly tells Damien are needed to be a true hero.

* HeroicSacrifice: The Bat-Dad computer sacrifices the last of it's power to save Damien from falling to his death.
* HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas: Joker’s big plan this time is to rob Gotham of Christmas. When Damien starts coming after his stolen utility belt, [[spoiler:he works the boy into the plan by using him as a distraction while the other villains carry out the heists.]]

* MissingMom: There's a few mentions of her here and there, but while Damien seems to have been born from a more stable relationship than they usually have, Bruce and Talia are clearly separated in the present. Towards the end, Damien mentions offhand that she's still a supervillain, which may explain her absence in his life.

** The villains in general have a lot of inspiration from the ''Film/BatmanFilmSeries''. Penguin is grotesque and deformed, said his father abandonded him in the sewer, and has an army of penguins with rockets strapped to their backs like in ''Film/BatmanReturns''. Poison Ivy has the same costume she did as in ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' and is most partnered up with Bane who speaks in grunts like he did in that film. And Mr. Freeze is a PungeonMaster and has a thick accent like he does in the same film.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Joker's Henchmen Terry and Francine aren't seen after Joker dumps them in a vat of chemicals. Given the same fate happens to Joker, Ivy, Freeze, Penguin and Bane it wasn't lethal.

* LighterAndSofter: Being a family-orientated film, it naturally pushes for a more comedic direction than usual for the Batman franchise.

* The Joker’s base of operations is a candy factory called [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker Jolly Jack's]].

** The Joker sings alternative lyrics to "Jingle Bells" the same way he does when escaping Arkham in [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE2ChristmasWithTheJoker his first appearance]] on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', which also happened to be a ChristmasEpisode.

* VillainousFriendship: [[spoiler:A big part of Joker and company’s motivation for stealing Christmas is that they missed committing crimes together.]]

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Damian is a bright-eyed and plucky kid rather than a cold and moody former child assassin thanks to his completely normal upbringing in this continuity. [[spoiler:The destruction he accidentally causes throughout Gotham has less to do with him being morally conflicted and more due to genuine obliviousness.]]

** The Villains in general have a lot of inspiration from the ''Film/BatmanFilmSeries''. Penguin is grotesque and deformed, said his father abandonded him in the sewer, and has an army of penguins with rockets strapped to their backs like in ''Film/BatmanReturns''. Poison Ivy has the same costume she did as in ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' and is most partnered up with Bane who speaks in grunts like he did in that film. And Mr. Freeze is a PungeonMaster and has a thick accent like he does in the same film.

** The Villains in general have a lot of inspiration from the Burton and Schumacher films. Penguin is grotesque and deformed, said his father abandonded him in the sewer, and has an army of penguins with rockets strapped to their backs like in ''Film/BatmanReturns''. Poison Ivy has the same costume she did as in ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' and is most partnered up with Bane who speaks in grunts like he did in that film. And Mr. Freeze is a PungeonMaster and has a thick accent like he does in the same film.

* RaceLift: Vicki Vale is a black woman, rather than a white redhead.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Damian is a bright-eyed and plucky kid rather than a cold and moody former child assassin thanks to his completely normal upbringing in this continuity.

* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: Damian was raised by Bruce since birth, and wasn't trained to be an assassin like in the comics. He acts like a regular kid rather than a violent psychopath

** Damian jumps ontop of Bane and uses him to attack the other super villains, much like the player does to Titan using mooks in the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' game series.

** Damian jumps ontop of Bane and uses him to attack the over super villains, much like the player does to Titan using mooks in the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' game series.

** Damian jumps ontop of Bane and uses him to attack the over super villains, but like in the Titan using mooks in the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' game series.

* PoliceAreUseless: All Commisioner Gordon does is flick a switch to turn the Bat-signal on and decides his job is done.

** Batman has broken all of his ribs in the past. When he shows his bare torso to Damian, it's a twisted and missapen mass rather than anything normal.
** Bane has massive varicose veins as well as a bloby body that constantly stretches.

* BadBoss: Joker berates his henchmen Terry and Francine and then dumps them in a vat of chemicals.