Development of The Lego Batman Movie started in October 2014, after Warner Bros. announced several Lego films, following the critical and commercial success of The Lego Movie. Chris McKay was hired to direct after being replaced by Rob Schrab as director of the sequel to The Lego Movie. He cited both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series as his main inspirations. Casting calls began in July to November 2015. The film pays homage to previous Batman films, cartoons and comics, and also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them. Like The Lego Movie, the animation was provided by Animal Logic. Lorne Balfe composed the musical score.
The Lego Batman Movie had its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in U.S. theaters on February 10. The film received generally positive reviews from critics for its animation, voice acting, music, visual style and humor, and was also commercially successful, having grossed $312 million worldwide against a budget of $80 million. A sequel, Lego Superfriends, was announced in 2018, but was cancelled after Universal Pictures acquired the film rights to the Lego brand in 2020.
Plot
Within the DC-centric portion of the Lego multiverse, Batman protects Gotham City and fights crime. During his latest mission to stop the Joker and his cronies from destroying the city, Batman succeeds, but also hurts the Joker's feelings by calling him a perfunctory presence in his life, leading the Joker to seek payback.
The following day, Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne attends the city's winter gala, which is celebrating both the retirement of Police Commissioner Gordon and the ascension of his daughter, Barbara, to replace him. Wayne is smitten by Barbara and this distraction results in him unwittingly agreeing to adopt the enthusiastic orphan Dick Grayson. Wayne is then infuriated by Barbara's plans to restructure the police to function without Batman. The Joker crashes the party with his villain team, but abruptly surrenders himself and almost all the villains, except Harley Quinn, to the police. With so many villains incarcerated, Batman becomes despondent as Gotham no longer requires his crime-fighting skills.
Suspecting that the Joker is up to no good, Batman plans to steal Superman's Phantom Zone projector, a device that can banish anyone to the Phantom Zone, which houses some of the most dangerous criminals in the Lego multiverse, only for Alfred to intervene and advise him to take care of Dick. Batman initially refuses, so Alfred allows Dick to enter the Batcave. Appearing as Batman before Dick, Batman states that he is also adopting Dick, and fosters Dick as Robin to help in his scheme. Batman and Robin recover the projector from the Fortress of Solitude, break into Arkham Asylum and successfully send the Joker to the Phantom Zone. Suspecting that the Joker wanted to be sent there, Barbara detains Batman and Robin.
While the projector is being seized as evidence, Harley steals it back as part of the Joker's plan, and frees him, allowing him to return to Gotham with all the multiverse's villains he had recruited in the Phantom Zone, including Sauron, who informs the Joker that Batman is Bruce Wayne (which the latter mistakes as the two being roommates). The criminals attack Gotham and take over Wayne Island. Realizing that Gotham does need Batman after all, Barbara releases Batman and Robin and teams up with them and Alfred to stop the new threat. Although his teammates achieve some success in fighting the multiverse's villains, Batman forcibly sends them away and confronts the Joker alone, fearing that he might lose them just like his parents.
Believing that Batman is incapable of changing his ways, the Joker sends him to the Phantom Zone before stealing the Batcave's stash of confiscated bombs to destroy Gotham. Meanwhile, Phyllis, the Phantom Zone's gatekeeper, shows Batman how he has mistreated Dick, Alfred, Barbara and the Joker. Batman finally accepts his greatest fear, being part of a family, and decides to change. Batman's teammates return to the fight to help him, but are endangered themselves. Batman makes a deal with Phyllis to temporarily return to Gotham to retrieve the Zone's escaped prisoners, and arrives in time to save his teammates, apologizing to them for leaving them and requesting their help to stop the Joker. They agree, with Barbara taking on the Batgirl costume.
With help from Joker's former team, who felt neglected by the Joker when he refused to break them out of Arkham, Batman and his team defeat the escaped multiverse's villains and send them back to the Phantom Zone. Unfortunately, the Joker's bombs detonate, causing Gotham to tear apart at the plates below the city. Batman convinces Joker to help him by telling him he gives him purpose to be the hero he is, and with the help of every civilian and villain, they manage to save Gotham, chain-linking themselves together to reattach the plates.
In the aftermath, Batman reveals to Dick that he is Wayne in disguise, then goes to return to the Phantom Zone to face the consequences of his earlier behavior. Phyllis prevents Batman from entering the Phantom Zone, after realizing he is a hero and seeing how he changed to save everyone. Afterward, Batman gives the Joker and the rest of the villains a head start, knowing they will be no match for his team.
Will Arnett as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A billionaire by day and superhero by night, who defends Gotham City from crime. Arnett also voiced the character in The Lego Movie and later reprised his role in its sequel.
Zach Galifianakis as Joker:[5] A clown-themed villain in Gotham City and Batman's archenemy, who defines himself by his conflict with him.
Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth:[8] The Wayne family's butler, and Bruce's father figure and only confidant. Fiennes later reprised his role in The Lego Movie 2.
Lauren White as Chief O'Hara, the police chief of Gotham.
Todd Hansen and Chris McKay respectively as Captain Dale and Pilot Bill, the two pilots of the airplane hijacked by the Joker at the beginning of the film.
In October 2014, following the success of The Lego Movie, Warner Bros. greenlit multiple Lego films, including The Lego Batman Movie, a spin-off starring Batman. Warner Bros. scheduled the release of The Lego Batman Movie for May 26, 2017, moving the release date for The Lego Movie 2 (later titled as The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) to May 25, 2018.[20][21] Chris McKay, who co-directed The Lego Movie, was brought on board to direct the film, making it his solo directorial debut. Will Arnett returned to voice Batman, with the story written by Seth Grahame-Smith, and the film produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.[22][23] On April 20, 2015, Warner Bros. moved up The Lego Batman Movie to a February 10, 2017 release.[24]
In an interview about his work on the film, McKay stated that working on the film was "a very mixed blessing" owing partly to the film's hectic time schedule for its production, remarking that the two-and-a-half years allocated to the film made it difficult to fit in everything that he wanted for the movie, considering his earlier work on The Lego Movie.[22][25] His work on The Lego Batman Movie was influenced by the comedy portrayed in both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series, with his pitch for the film to the studios being described as like "Jerry Maguire as directed by Michael Mann". His proposal to combine all the Batman eras featured in the comic book series and various media formats, including movies and comic series, despite a couple of issues—the total inconsistency inherent to such a task, and Lego rejecting some of the characters he proposed to include in the film—was based on his desire of how to portray Robin within the film's setting. In an interview regarding his version of the superhero duo, McKay stated:[25]
I was thinking that we were basically taking the Burt WardRobin and sticking him in the Batmobile with the Zack Snyder/Ben Affleck Batman, or the Frank Miller Batman. And putting these two different energies together. Somebody who's like the grumpiest, dark grittiest, broodiest Batman with the most positive, indefatigable kid.
In 2019, prior to the release of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Chris Miller stated that all of the Lego movies are based on the imagination of a child character, with The Lego Movie events happening in young Finn's mind. Miller affirmed that The Lego Batman Movie was also from the imagination of Finn and Bianca, though the characters did not appear within the film.[26]
As part of its production, the film was designed to make numerous references to previous Batman films, cartoons and comics. In two distinct scenes where Barbara Gordon depicts Batman's long history of services for the police and Alfred quotes Batman's previous films (as previous moments of emotional crisis), they mention: the 1940s Batman serials, the films Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016); the television shows Batman (1960s), Batman: The Animated Series (1990s), Batman Beyond (2000s) and The Batman (2000s); and the comics Detective Comics #27 (Batman's introductory story), The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989).[36] Other references include previous costumes worn by Batman and Robin and the various Batmobiles used. In most cases, their appearances in the film are done in a Lego style, with the exception being footage from a live-action shot of Adam West's depiction of Batman in the 1960s Batman series and a picture of Batman's suit from Batman and Robin. Climactic events from past Batman films involving the Joker have been mentioned, including "that time with the parade and the Prince music" (1989's Batman) and "the two boats" (The Dark Knight).[36]
The film also includes Batman watching the scene from Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise says "You complete me" (which makes Batman laugh out loud); this line had previously been quoted by The Joker in The Dark Knight.[36] In the scene where Batman discusses possible team names he mentions Fox Force Five, which is the name of Mia Wallace's failed television pilot mentioned in Pulp Fiction.[40] The airplane at the beginning of the movie, known as McGuffin 1138 has two references, one being the 1930 novel, The Maltese Falcon, and the other being the 1971 George Lucas film, THX 1138.[41] The X-ray security machine found in Arkham Asylum largely resembles the one used in Total Recall.[42] The scene involving Alfred losing his grip and falling off the edge of a plane is a reference to 20th Century Fox's 1988 action film, Die Hard.[43] The film's use of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a nod to the 1999 romantic comedyNever Been Kissed.[40] The film's other references include Gleaming the Cube and Gymkata.[38]
The Lego Batman Movie is the first in the franchise not to be composed by Mark Mothersbaugh; the film score is composed by Lorne Balfe.[48][49] The soundtrack album was released by WaterTower Music on February 3, 2017, through two-disc CD and for digital download, while the vinyl version was released on May 19, 2017.[50]
Marketing
The first teaser trailer for The Lego Batman Movie was released on March 24, 2016, and features the song "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa.[51] It was attached to showings of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in theatres. A second teaser trailer was released on March 28, 2016, and features references to all live-action iterations of Batman, from the 1960s Batman TV series to Batman v Superman.[52] A third trailer was released on July 23, 2016.[53][54] A fourth trailer was released on November 4, 2016.[55][56] Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including two sets of Collectible Minifigures. A Story Pack for the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions based on The Lego Batman Movie was released on February 10, 2017, alongside the film. The pack adds a six-level story campaign adapting the events of the film, and includes playable figures of Robin and Batgirl, a driveable Batwing, and a constructible gateway model based on the Batcomputer. A Fun Pack including Excalibur Batman and his Bionic Steed was also released the same day.[57]
On January 14, 2017, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chevrolet unveiled a life-sized Lego Batmobile inspired by the design featured in the film, constructed from around 350,000 Lego pieces. As a related promotion, a Bat-Signal (alternating between Batman's emblem and the Chevrolet logo) was projected on the Renaissance Center over the weekend, and Chevrolet released a new television commercial tying into the film, featuring the Batmobile as a crossover with its ongoing "Real People, Not Actors" campaign.[58][59]
Warner Bros. released several promotional tie-ins on the week of the movie's release. LEGO billboard versions of several TV shows were shown outside of the studio lot, that took 300 hours to make out of 10,000 bricks.[60] At this time, McDonald's began selling Happy Meal toys based on the movie itself.[61]The Big Bang Theory included a LEGO version of the opening sequence in the episode "The Locomotion Reverberation" that first aired on CBS. In addition, the network aired two LEGO commercials featuring Batman and the cast.[62]
The CW featured LEGO end cards for Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow, respectively, on the week of the movie's release. All four DC shows also include a special variant of the Berlanti Productions logo that featured Batman's cameo and a new recording from Greg Berlanti's real-life father who says "Batman, move your head." instead of the usual "Greg, move your head." In addition, the network aired two commercials where Batman interacts with the characters from each show.[63]
Release
Theatrical
The film's world premiere was conducted in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017,[1] where upon it went into general release from February 8; it was released in Denmark on February 9, and in the United States and the United Kingdom on February 10.[64] Its overall release saw movie theatres displaying the film in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX 3D and 4DX. though the latter format was restricted to 3D for North America, while international countries were able to view it in IMAX.[65]
Home media
The Lego Batman Movie was released on Digital HD on May 19, 2017. The release included the theatrical short film The Master: A LEGO Ninjago Short, as well as four new short films: Dark Hoser, Batman is Just Not That Into You, Cooking with Alfred and Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That?.[66] There is also an audio commentary to listen throughout the movie, along with behind-the-scenes featurettes and deleted scenes.[67]The Lego Batman Movie was released on DVD, Blu-ray (2D and 3D), and Ultra HD Blu-ray by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on June 13, 2017.[66] The film debuted at No. 3 on the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart behind Beauty and the Beast and John Wick: Chapter 2.[68]
Reception
Box office
The Lego Batman Movie grossed $175.8 million in the United States and Canada and $136.2 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $312 million, against a production budget of $80 million.[4]
In the United States and Canada, The Lego Batman Movie opened alongside two other sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and John Wick: Chapter 2, and was projected to gross around $60 million from 4,088 theaters in its opening weekend.[69] It earned $2.2 million from Thursday-night previews and $14.5 million on Friday.[70] It went on to open with $53 million, finishing first at the box office.[71] In its second weekend, the film grossed $32.7 million (a small drop of 38.4%), again topping the box office;[72][73] with the additional President's Day holiday on Monday, it made a total of $42.7 million for the weekend.[74] In its third weekend of release, the film dropped to second at the box office, behind newcomer Get Out, grossing $19.2 million (a drop of 41.2%).[75]
Outside North America, the film was simultaneously released in 61 countries, and was expected to gross around $40 million over its first three days.[69] It ended up grossing $37 million in its opening weekend, including $9.3 million in the United Kingdom, $2.6 million in Mexico, $2.3 million in Germany and $2.2 million in Russia.[76] In the United Kingdom, the film topped the box office for three weeks until it was dethroned by Logan in its fourth weekend.[77] Meanwhile, The Lego Batman Movie opened in China with $3.7 million and ranked in fourth place behind the latter film, A Dog's Purpose and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.[78]
Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 315 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Lego Batman Movie continues its block-buster franchise's winning streak with another round of dizzyingly funny—and beautifully animated—family-friendly mayhem."[79] It was ranked the 23rd best superhero movie of all time on the site.[80] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[81] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[82]
Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a positive review, praising its comedy, and saying: "The Lego Batman Movie isn't the same experience as watching The LEGO Movie, but I also don't think it's trying to be. It's trying to be a fun superhero movie with clever callbacks to previous Batman films (every single Batman movie all the way back to the 1940s serials are referenced) that can, at least, provide DC superhero fans with a taste of fun amidst all the doom and gloom. (That can either be a reference to 'the real world' or the current DC Cinematic Universe films, you can choose either one you want or both.) And at that, The Lego Batman Movie succeeds."[83] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" and wrote, "Lego Batman revs so fast and moves so frenetically that it becomes a little exhausting by the end. It flirts with being too much of a good thing. But rarely has corporate brainwashing been so much fun and gone down with such a delightful aftertaste."[84] Tara Brady of The Irish Times earned a 4 out of 5 rating, saying, "Under the direction of Robot Chicken's Chris McKay, Arnett relentlessly prods at Batman with a welcome helping of BoJack Horseman-brand misery and narcissism."[85]
Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times was positive in his review, saying, "In its best moments, this gag-a-minute Bat-roast serves as a reminder that, in the right hands, a sharp comic scalpel can be an instrument of revelation as well as ridicule."[86] J. R. Jones of the Chicago Reader wrote, "A movie of endlessly hurtling momentum, this is Mad Max: Fury Road for five-year-olds, and not nearly as much fun as snapping those bricks together."[87] Peter Howell of The Toronto Star gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, saying, "First-time director Chris McKay, late of the Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken, throws at the screen seemingly everything his committee of screenwriters scripted."[88] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post praised the film for its heart, humor, and action which "snap together, with a satisfying click."[89]
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Animation
Wayne Pashley, Rick Lisle, Fabian Sanjurjo, Andrew Miller, Mario Gabrieli, Jared Dwyer, Emma Mitchell, Nigel Christensen, Terry Rodman, Christopher S. Aud, F. Hudson Miller, Beth Bezzina, Sonal Joshi, Derryn Pasquill, Linda Yeaney, John Simpson and Will Kaplan
Based on The Lego Batman Movie, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released the endless-runner game coinciding with the release of the film. It was released for Android and iOS.[120]
Cancelled sequel
On December 5, 2018, McKay announced a sequel to The Lego Batman Movie was in the works, with him returning to direct.[121] The film was set to be released in 2022.[122] However, following the disappointing box office returns of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019, Universal Pictures acquired the film rights to the Lego brand in April 2020, effectively cancelling the sequel due to Warner Bros. owning the rights to DC Comics.[123][124][125]
In June 2021, McKay revealed that the script was being written by Michael Waldron and Dan Harmon. It would have focused on Batman's relationship with the Justice League, particularly Superman, and the main villains would have been Lex Luthor and OMAC.[126] Waldron revealed that the film was tentatively titled Lego Superfriends.[127]