Western Animation / Merry Little Batman

Merry Little Batman is a 2023 animated superhero holiday comedy movie based around the Batman characters from DC Comics. It is directed by Mike Roth (Regular Show, Phineas and Ferb) and stars Yonas Kibreab, Luke Wilson, David Hornsby, and James Cromwell.

After years of battling the worst the city had to offer, Bruce Wayne has finally rid Gotham of crime, allowing him to retire as Batman and focus on being a full-time father to eight-year-old Damian. However, when a Justice League emergency forces him to don the cowl and leave the manor once more, his old enemy the Joker sees an opportunity to return with a host of Batman's rogues gallery at his side to ruin Christmas. Now it's up to Damian to follow in his father's footsteps and save both the city and the holidays.

Originally intended for premiere on Cartoon Network's Acme Night programming block, the film eventually released on Prime Video December 8, 2023. A spin-off series titled Bat-Family has also been ordered by the streamer.

Previews: Trailer

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Jingle Bells, these tropes smell...

• 555: The emergency contact list Bruce packed in Damian’s utility belt contains 22 phone numbers, all of them beginning with 555-01 (and no area codes).
• Adaptational Angst Downgrade: 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 Damian was born he made an effort to change, even mentioning going to a therapist to help with his "brooding," so that Damian 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.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: Damian was raised by Bruce since birth, and wasn't trained to be an assassin like in the comics.
• Adaptational Badass: This version of Batman managed to make Gotham crime free for eight years in a row, something hardly any other version of his character has managed to accomplish.
• Adaptational Nice Guy:
  • 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. The destruction he accidentally causes throughout Gotham has less to do with him being a morally dubious vigilante more due to genuine obliviousness.
  • The Joker, to an extent. He's still a vile criminal, but most iterations are hated by the rest of the villain community because he's so unpredictable and dangerous. The rest of the villains consider him a dear friend in this special, and he actually enjoys their company instead of using them for his own ends.
  • Poison Ivy, Bane, and Penguin, due to their aforementioned genuine friendship with Joker. In the comics, they're only united by their opposition to Batman, and normally don't work together.
• Adaptational Ugliness: Due to the films unique art style inspired by the works of Ronald Searle, (as well as some of the characters undergoing an Age Lift), 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 Yzma, Penguin is basically the Danny Devito iteration made uglier, Alfred looks much more haggard, and even the normally attractive Batman is depicted with a chest that would put Rob Liefeld's Captain America to shame.
• Age Lift: Though Joker and (to a lesser extent) Freeze don't really look it, the villains are all significantly older than they're usually portrayed, as emphasized by the flashback to their "glory days". Poison Ivy now has a more angular, wrinkled face and hair that's almost completely gray; Bane has varicose Venom veins and wears glasses and a knee brace; most of all, Penguin has lost teeth and hair, gained warts, become even fatter, and now uses a mobility scooter to get around.
• Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: In this universe, Batman, upon finding out he was going to be a father, "worked overtime" to clean up Gotham for good, and actually succeeded to the point where the city became voted the safest place on Earth.
• Arc Words: Focus, discipline, and sacrifice - the three traits Bruce repeatedly tells Damian are needed to be a true hero.
• An Ass-Kicking Christmas: It's a given when you have Batman and son teaming up on Christmas Eve to beat up various super-criminals trying to ruin the holiday.
• Bad Boss: Joker berates his henchmen Terry and Francine, laughs at their misfortune and then dumps them in a vat of chemicals.
• Bait-and-Switch: Damian crashes through a vent, finding himself in a darkened room filled with machines and a familiar silhouette. You're made to think this is the Bat Cave and that Batman will be most displeased by this sudden interruption, but this is just jolly friendly Bruce in his mundane basement. He is quick to baby his little boy.
• Body Horror
  • 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 from all the bones that didn't set properly.
  • Bane has massive varicose veins as well as a blobby body that constantly stretches.
• Batman Gambit: The Joker pulls this off with Damian when he steals Damian's bat belt and makes him fight villains in festive environments knowing that Damian is a very wreckless hero so he can not only allow him to destroy the holidays but rob the public and blame it all on the little batman.
• Brick Joke: Batman justifies his beard to Alfred, insisting it ups his intimidation game. Later at the chemical plant, Joker makes that exact observation, prompting a thanks from Batman.
• Dating Catwoman: Damian's mother, Talia is a villain, though she's not seen during the film.
• The Cameo: Riddler and Scarecrow are briefly seen in the flashback of Batman working "overtime".
• Crazy-Prepared: Exaggerated. Batman has at least several different entrances to the Bat-Cave, and he pre-recorded a message to give to Damian in the event he died (or, as it turned out to be the case, Damian broke into the Cave to take his suit).
• Composite Character:
  • Batman is depicted as more lighthearted and well-adjusted like Batman (1966), wears a similar outfit to his iteration from Batman: The Animated Series (though he has the Detective Comics #27 and Batman & Robin outfits as spares), and has a scruffy beard not unlike Ben Affleck's iteration from the DCEU. His refusal to call Joker his friend calls to mind the two's dynamic from The LEGO Batman Movie, and the fact he single-handedly cleaned up Gotham all by himself to make the city safer is not unlike the version seen in The Flash (2023).
  • Alfred himself looks like a mix of Michael Gough's iteration of the character from the Burton/Schumacher film series, and Alan Napier's version from the 1966 show.
  • Poison Ivy resembles an older iteration of Uma Thurman's portrayal from Batman and Robin, but with more of the classic comic's iterations powers and outfit.
  • Bane is a hulking brute like his comics counterpart, but speaks only in muffled grunts and works with Poison Ivy like in Batman and Robin. He also has lines along his mask that call Tom Hardy's iteration from The Dark Knight Rises.
  • Mr. Freeze has the accent and horrible ice puns of Arnold Schwarzenegger's version, and a suit that mixes his DCAU and The LEGO Batman Movie iterations.
  • Commissioner Gordon resembles his comics and DCAU counterparts, but his solution to just flip on the Bat Signal and let Batman take care of things calls The LEGO Batman Movie iteration to mind.
• Destructive Saviour: Played with. While he wracks up a lot of collateral damage fighting his father's villains, Damian is after them to regain his belt more than anything, and doesn't realize that this is a selfish way to behave; the only reason he even gets on Joker's radar in the first place is after Joker learns how much destruction the kid caused battling Francine and Terry in Wayne Manor. Not only does Joker guilt-trip him later about how the chaos he left behind gave cover to their crimes, but the rogues all give him sincere praise for being a better super-villain than they are by "destroying" the holiday instead of stealing it.
• Didn't See That Coming: Joker was amused by this little kid in a makeshift Batman costume. He's surprised to learn the kid really is Batman's son.
• Evil Cripple: The Penguin has to get around on a scooter these days, but he's just as vile as ever.
• Evil Is One Big, Happy Family: A big part of Joker and company’s motivation for stealing Christmas is that they missed committing crimes together.
• Evil Old Folks: Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, and Bane are all past their prime by the time the special takes place.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Damian wants to be Batman more than anything, but he thinks that being Batman is all about the gadgets, suits, and cool crime-fighting techniques used to stop the bad guys. He becomes an unintentional Destructive Saviour trying to get his utility belt back, which Joker exploits to his own ends. Only when he gives up the belt does he truly embrace being a hero.
  • Bruce means well, but he's desparate to give Damian the childhood that Bruce himself never had, and is over protective of him as a result. All it does is drive Damian to try and train himself to prove he's ready to be Batman, leading to the events of the film.
• Freudian Excuse: As Batman, he worked overtime to clean up Gotham in a way never before seen to make the city safe for his son. As Bruce, he is overprotective of Damian, but he also tries to make things as fun as possible for him. Towards the end of the movie, Alfred reminds Damian it's because his father wants to give him what he never had at that age: a normal childhood.
• Friendly Enemy: One-sided on the Joker's part. Joker says that Batman is his "friend" while Batman denies it.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: Bruce calls Damian by his full name, Damian Thomas Wayne, when Damian gets in trouble for trying to follow Bruce on a Justice League mission.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The Bat-Dad computer sacrifices the last of it's power to save Damian from falling to his death.
• How the Character Stole Christmas: Joker’s big plan this time is to rob Gotham of Christmas. When Damian starts coming after his stolen utility belt, he works the boy into the plan by using him as a distraction while the other villains carry out the heists.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: When presenting Damian with his own utility belt in the trailer, Bruce promises he doesn't see him as a baby. Cue a recording of his voice on the belt calling for someone to save his "precious little baby".
• Intelligible Unintelligible: Bane only communicates through deep grunts and growls, but the other rogues seem to understand what he's saying.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: Bruce's chin is on par with the Crimson Chin's.
• Legion of Doom: The villains of the special are the Joker, Penguin, Mister Freeze, Bane, and Poison Ivy, all teaming up to ruin Christmas in Gotham.
• Lighter and Softer: Being a family-orientated film, it naturally pushes for a more comedic direction than usual for the Batman franchise, even setting aside the usual gritty, realistic art style in favor of a cartoonier, childlike one that can be compared to children's book illustrations.
• Line Boil: The line work in the animation has a slightly wobbly, hand-drawn effect.
• Missing Mom: There's a few mentions of her here and there, but while Damian 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, Damian mentions offhand that she's still a supervillain, which may explain her absence in his life.
• Mood Whiplash: At the chemical factory, the villains have Damian at their mercy, only to hear a cape flapping and for a Bound and Gagged Mister Freeze to suddenly be thrown onto the catwalk. Batman has arrived in full awe and intimidation, only to act like a standard worried parent when making sure Damian isn't hurt (such as checking for boo-boos).
• Mythology Gag:
  • The villains in general have a lot of inspiration from the Batman Film Series. Penguin is grotesque and deformed, said his father abandoned him in the sewer, and has an army of penguins with rockets strapped to their backs like in Batman Returns. Poison Ivy has the same costume she did as in Batman & Robin and is most partnered up with Bane who speaks in grunts like he did in that film. And Mr. Freeze is a Pungeon Master and has a thick accent like he does in the same film.
  • The Joker sings "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" the same way he does when escaping Arkham in his first appearance on Batman: The Animated Series, which also happened to be a Christmas Episode.
  • Damian says "Wait until they get a load of me." quoting Joker from the 1989 film.
  • Damian and Batman sing the 'Na Na Na' part of the Batman TV theme tune.
  • One of the batsuits that Damian looks at is the infamous nippled Batsuit from Batman & Robin, which he says leaves nothing to the imagination.
  • Damian has taken up the mantle of the Batman many times in comics before, though it's usually when either Bruce has died or in the far future when Damian is an adult.
  • The Wayne family's cat is named Selina.
  • Poison Ivy refers to Damian as "Bat-Mite" a character from the comics who's a 5th dimensional imp and fan of Batman. Damian's design in the Bat-Costume also looks similar to Bat-Mite
  • Damian asks whether the Bat suit has a secret surveillance system that can tap into every phone and give him eyes everywhere. The Computer responds by saying that would be an "egregious violation of basic privacy".
  • 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 Batman: Arkham Series.
  • The Joker’s base of operations is a candy factory called Jolly Jack's.
  • When defeating Bane, he cries "My back!"
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Mr. Freeze's voice actor is clearly mimicking the time when Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayed the character.
• Not Helping Your Case: Early on, Bruce warns Damian of the pain threshold required to be an effective superhero, and he shows off his wounded, mangled chest as an example. Damian thinks that looks cool and says he wants to break his ribs, too.
• Older Than They Look: Vicki Vale doesn't show any visible signs of aging between flashbacks to before Damian's birth and the present day.
• Papa Wolf: Batman makes Gotham the safest city in the country for the benefit of his son. Towards the end of the movie, he throws down with his old foes for threatening Damian.
• Pet the Dog: After witnessing Damian committing acts of destruction, the rogues welcome him into their party and even gives him his belt, upgraded with explosives.
• Police Are Useless: When Damian suggests calling Commissioner Gordon at one point, Batman scoffs that all Gordon does is pass the buck onto him. Sure enough, Commisioner Gordon just flicks a switch to turn the Bat-signal on and decides his job is done when he is called upon.
• Psychopathic Manchild: The Joker. He was deliberately made less lethal and more petty and selfish to be a more worthy rival to Damian, and his plan is to steal Christmas from Gotham.
• Race Lift: Vicki Vale is a black woman, rather than a white redhead, or blonde.
• Sad Clown: Despite his villain status, the Joker truly missed spending Christmas with his villain friends and his rival Batman. He eventually gets to spend a Christmas dinner with a reluctant Batman.
• Servile Snarker: Alfred can still bring the snark as seen by his reaction to Bruce/Batman's new beard in the trailer:
  Alfred: Shall I assume we did not see the bat-razor?
  Batman: I like it! It totally ups my intimidation game!
  Alfred: You have doughnut crumbs in your intimidation game, sir.
• Take That!:
  • Damian comes upon George Clooney's Batsuit, and rejects wearing it for leaving nothing to the imagination (complete with a focus shot on the infamous "Bat Nipples" for good measure).
  • Mr. Freeze has an Austrian accent and spouts out ice Puns, much to Batman's annoyance.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Joker's henchmen, Terry and Francine, aren't seen again after Joker dumps them in a vat of chemicals. Given the same fate happens to Joker himself and the rest of the villains at the end of the film, it wasn't lethal.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Near the end of the film, Damian says he feels sorry for the Joker, since all Joker really wanted was to not be alone.
• Unwitting Pawn: Damian doesn't realize that the Joker is goading him into fighting, so that the collateral damage will ruin people's Christmas.
• Villain Respect: The Joker genuinely compliments Batman's beard, feeling it adds to his intimidation factor.
• Would Hurt a Child: The villains were perfectly content to invite Damian into the club. They're just as perfectly content to attack him when he refuses their offer.
• Zany Cartoon: The feature draws artwork from surreal artists Ronald Searle and Bill Watterson, making it more of a surreal adaptation in comparison to other more serious versions of the Batman mythos.

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