Lego movies have come a long way since the early days of Bionicle movies from Creative Capers Entertainment with their first hit ‘Mask of Light’ and short films such as ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Lego’ by Spite Your Face Productions. The thrill of being able to replicate scenes from films with your beloved Lego as a child is but another chapter from the prologue of the days of the Starwars Toy franchise upon which the very series of films was created from. We can all marvel in the fact that the physical toy industry is still alive and well, and with the release of the new Lego Batman Movie that is due in 2017, I for one am extremely excited.
Back in time
This movie is entwining the beloved caped crusader with what could be considered an antiquated toy in comparison to the modern games consoles, phones and drones children are use to today. A wave of fandom has been perpetuated by film related merchandise amalgamated with the popularity of the Batman franchise, appealing to what I can only imagine is a wide range of demographics. Lego Batman will attract anyone from children who have been encapsulated by any aspect of Lego or Batman to their Dads who grew up and saw through the evolution of both. The increase in popularity of the sub-genre of stop motion animation ‘Brick-Animation’ can mainly be attributed to the release of ‘The Lego Movie’ in 2014 for this generation’s youth, much like the main influences in the early 2000’s came in the form of the aforementioned Bionicle Movies.
Comedic spin
So, how do this films teasers and trailers match up to the extensive list of Lego based predecessors? From watching each trailer I can see that the humor is much the same as any other recent Lego movie; filled with subtle innuendos, slapstick comedy and sarcasm that never ceases to reel in and enthrall anyone who walks into the doors of the cinema.
They have taken the character Batman and twisted our predisposition of Bruce being all work or all fight into a more realistic portrayal of what it might be like to see Batman between the panels of a comic book. His sidekick Robin, who generally I refer to as the toughened right hand man through the emotional turmoil of losing his parents and smitten with vengeance, has been transformed into an inquisitive teenager who idolizes Batman unconditionally.
A light-hearted approach
The humble writers at Warner Bro’s have played upon Robin’s youth and naivety to produce a more loveable, innocent character that juxtaposes the still tough, but slightly less brutal, Batman. The Joker is perhaps the most shocking transformation from what I have gained from the brief insight trailers provide. He is still evil, of course, but his sense of humor is unsurprisingly a diluted, light-hearted approach to his sadistic, sociopathic nature. We see a soft side to a character generally seen as a relentless tyrant, hell-bent on the infliction of pain, mass confusion and chaos in an unrestricted battle to toy with Batman.
Chronology confusion
The introduction of Barbra Gordon as being the new police commissioner has somewhat confused me.
Nowhere in the past have I seen any reference to Barbra being anywhere within the police force, let alone to the stage of commissioner. The contrast between seeing Barbra in such a role in comparison to watching Gotham where we see her mental state deteriorate into that of a villain makes my head spin. I would have liked to have seen more from the feline fury that is Catwoman personally. However, I suppose vast alterations to characters and maintaining continuity or any form of chronology within the Batman franchise is seldom seen. Regardless of this, I for one am ecstatic to see this film!
