The Lego Batman

⭐⭐⭐

I did have high expectations before seeing this film on the back of The Lego Movie, which was an unexpected blast of high energy and buffoonery. Everything was awesome in that film, even the over priced coffee! Batman featured and he was hilarious (voiced by the extremely monotone Will Arnett), he was over the top and arrogant, he could do no wrong...because he was Batman of course.

However, when it came to the animated film focusing solely on the dark knight, albeit a self a deprecating, self referencing one, he still wasn't that funny over all. Don't get me wrong there are some great moments particularly when they make fun off all the past Batman incarnations over the years, from the flamboyant Adam West to the way too serious Christian Bale/Ben Affleck. But again all the best jokes were in the trailers and they don't land as well when you see the film properly, probably because the trailer was everywhere and repeated too the max.

Don't get me wrong, the animation is fantastic and you can't fault it really. But it's just too much. The film is so overly animated: explosions, then a gag, then another death defying stunt, then a new character, then another colour explosion. It was hard to take it all in, appreciate and savour the jokes. I had to pause and rest my eyes because it became a sensory overload.

Of course this film is aimed at kids, but is just throwing multi-colours at the screen really doing it for them? Even Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol have a plot you can follow and images you can withstand (just).

Overall, I did enjoy the film, but I think less could have been more. They packed in too many jokes, gags, characters, and plot to fully appreciate this animation.