#13 THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

Starring the vocal talents of: Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson and Ralph Fiennes. Written by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern and John Whittington. Directed by Chris McKay.  Budget $TBC million. Running time 104 minutes. Certificate U.

Batman (Will Arnett) thwarts the Joker's (Zach Galifianakis) latest madcap scheme to destroy Gotham City and sets in motion a madcap plot that will ultimately see Gotham City threatened by an army of unbelievable evil with the Crown Prince of Crime at its head. It will also see Batman learn the value of family and teamwork and adopt a young orphan who will grow up to be Robin.

Que a relentlessly silly film filled with some genuinely batty gags, some lovely sight gags (check out the movies on show at the cinema) and some lovely animation and tricks, check out the motes of dust, Will Arnett does a perfect Batman voice and the whole voice cast, especially Ralph Fiennes and Zach Galifianakis are great. There are some lovely sequences which show that the writers have a true love of the titular character and a deep knowledge of his mythology and referencing the entire movie career. The energy of this busy, frenetic and genuinely silly film is infectious -  the highlight being a fantastically funny Batman sung song about how great he is. Yet despite all of this, the film never really matches the same levels of genius as the LEGO movie that inspired it. Sure it's very funny but not brilliant and it feels a little bit generic, particularly since the main theme of it seems to be the idea of Batman learning a valuable life lesson about family and friendship. All that said, it feels a lot more Batman than the last four Batman films.

Finally, for all the comic fans out there this Batman film does something I don't remember seeing before it gives credit to the late, great Bill Finger the original writer and co-creator of Batman along side Bob Kane. It also gives over a long list of cartoonists and writers whose work has helped to inspire this movie.

A very enjoyable animated film that should entertain most kids of a certain age, say 6 - 60, it will be interesting to see if it can match the boxoffice take of the behemoth that was the LEGO Movie.

8/10