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MSRP $24.98
RATED NOT RATED
STUDIO Warner Home Video
RUNNING TIME 71 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
– Building Batman
– 3 Bonus Cartoons From The DC Vault
– A LEGO Batman Stop-Motion Short
– Winning Shorts From the LEGO DC Universe Super Heroes Video Contest
The Pitch
LEGO Super Heroes run around LEGO set pieces. What’s not to love?
The Humans
Clancy Brown, Troy Baker, Christopher Corey Smith, Charlie Schlatter, Travis Willingham.
The Nutshell
The Joker teams up with Lex Luthor in order to help him win the upcoming presidential election. Batman and Superman team up with the help of other DC heroes in order to save the day!
The Lowdown
Being an avid LEGO fan since I was but a wee lad, I absolutely loved LEGO Batman: The Movie. Sure, it’s pretty obviously made for young kids, but there’s something about seeing minifigures come to life around sets that I would actually love to build that’s undeniably cool. If you either have or deal with children, this is the perfect thing to put on to keep you both entertained.
More villains than The Amazing Spider-Man 2!
While Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite does indeed feature multiple super heroes (and a ridiculously long name), the main focus is evenly split between Batman and Superman and their most iconic foes, the Joker and Lex Luthor. Everyone else is used to either cause distractions or conveniently save the day, and not much else, which is a shame considering how fun Batman’s villain roster is in LEGO form. Fortunately, the Joker is a blast here, and his partnership with Luthor is entertaining enough to carry the film on its own.
This is Christopher Corey Smith’s first outing as the Joker, and I must say I’m impressed. He’s no Mark Hamill, but this is a far less maniacal and much sillier version of the character than we’re used to seeing. Smith throws out endless one-liners effortlessly, making even the most cringe worthy puns chuckle-inducing.
The rest of the voice cast is great as well, with Troy Baker being the other obvious standout. It’s interesting that Baker has voiced the Joker twice before, yet here he was chosen to play Bruce Wayne/Batman, as well as Two-Face and Braniac. Baker is an incredible talent, and I have yet to hear a less-than-stellar performance from the guy.
Ugh, seriously Superman? In the Elevator, again?!
Even if solid performances and simply but amusing stories don’t interest you, LEGO Batman is at least worth checking out for it’s visuals. Some of these set pieces are too cool to not be made into official LEGO sets at some point (if they haven’t already). Seriously, this is one of my favorite iterations of Arkham yet, even if we regrettably never really get to see the inside. There are many other set pieces that are just as impressive, and the film doesn’t skimp on them either. This is a fast paced flick, one that constantly throws action in your face without much time to catch your breath. The humor is near-constant, too, but if one joke doesn’t work for you, you’ll have one or two more to choose from right after.
Jon Burton, a veteran director and game designer who has worked on many of the LEGO video game titles, makes his directing debut here. While this isn’t next level stuff, Burton proves that he’s learned a lot from the games he’s worked on. If you’ve ever played any of the LEGO games, a lot of this will feel familiar to you after a while, but a larger budget and more time devoted solely to the animation helps elevate this above your standard video game cutscene.
Yes, that is a mech Joker. Yes, it is awesome.
LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite isn’t the all inclusive super hero orgy that the title suggests, but it is a pretty enjoyable flick that’s helped immensely by the sheer like-ability of the LEGO brand. With the upcoming The LEGO Movie poised to be a huge hit, this one is sure to get a little more attention. Kids will love this one, and your inner child just might as well.
The Package
While the animation itself is fairly simple, the whole thing simply pops on Blu-ray. The movie is incredibly colorful, and each new scene is bigger and more impressive than the last. The special features are surprisingly great, if a little too geared towards children. A behind the scenes look on how stop motion animation is done with LEGO is cool, but I’d rather see a straight-up documentary style feature than one where an animator teaches children how his job is done. I’d have eaten this sort of thing up if I was a kid, though, and I guess that’s really all that matters.
The best feature on the disc is easily the collection of winning films from the LEGO DC Universe Super Heroes Video Contest. Many of these are surprisingly creative and fun, and will have any LEGO geek wanting to try to make one for themselves. I love this kind of stuff, as stop-motion animation is always a good thing.
Rating: 
Out of a Possible 5 Stars