With its alluring and attention-capturing animation, The Lego Batman Movie keeps the audience on the edge of their seats until the very end. The film does a great job of showing how relationships can be affected in the face of trauma while still focusing on entertaining the younger audiences. The film took a deep topic like trauma and an edgy character like Batman and made a bright, exhilarating movie. I fully believe that this film is better than any other Batman movie. To be fair, I haven’t seen all the Batman movies, but just know I am right.

In this movie, it is very clear that Batman has relationship issues after losing both his parents at a young age. Because of that, he has a hard time making connections and has a harsh exterior. Throughout the movie he is forced to work through these relationship issues with the help of family and friends.

Batman finally manages to develop meaningful connections, thanks to his friend Joker. In the beginning, Batman is caught in a pickle, having to choose between saving Gotham from a bomb under the city or catching Joker. Batman quickly picks Gotham, insisting that Joker means absolutely nothing to him. 

“There is no us. Batman and Joker are not a thing, I don’t need you, I don’t need anyone, you mean nothing to me. No one does,” Batman says. Joker is heartbroken, and this single interaction leads to Joker’s greatest scheme yet.  This plotline shows how Batman’s relationship issues even get in the way of him and his enemy. 

The Joker and Batman’s dynamic here is one of the best relationships in the movie. Their whole situation is meant to look like a breakup between unequal parties, given that Joker cares significantly more than Batman about their “relationship.” I like the different dynamic the two characters were given. I think the weird relationship they have adds humor to the film. I also like that if this was a more “mature” movie, they probably couldn’t get away with doing that with the characters.

I think the most important relationship Batman has is with his adopted son Dick Greyson. They portray this relationship excellently; their father-son relationship is hilarious and adds some sorrow to the movie. 

In the beginning, he is cruel to Dick and constantly pushes him away. Alfred forces Dick into Batman’s life via access to the bat cave, leading them to spend more time together. Dick also lost his parents at a young age, so Alfred hopes Batman can take him under his wing the same way Alfred did with Batman. Alfred hopes that helping a child with the same trauma he faced could help Batman heal his own. I think this is more directed to the parents. Batman working on himself helps break the cycle of trauma and shows himself that he can get better. I appreciate this message in the movie, though I don’t know if it is intentional. 

Dick is the polar opposite of Batman: he’s  a sweet charismatic kid who is a bit too hyper. This balances Batman’s cold and tame personality. Most people in Dick’s situation would give up on trying to get Batman to like him, but Dick is persistent and slowly worms his way into Batman’s–and the audience’s–heart. I think that they tackle Batman’s relationship issues perfectly for a children’s movie. They show that it is possible to work through your trauma. 

At the same time, they don’t excuse Batman’s toxic behavior. Even though he is traumatized, he still hurts so many people who love him. When he was sent to the phantom zone, a jail that holds all the worst villains, Phyllis, the boss of the phantom zone, checks Batman for “badness.” She concludes that though he is not evil per say, he still has hurt many people who love him, and deserves to stay in the phantom zone. 

Working through his traumatic childhood helps Batman become a better person. By the end he makes up with all his loved ones, and because of this, Phyllis claims he no longer has to stay in the phantom zone. I think it is important to normalize working through trauma but not using it as an excuse to hurt others at a young age.

Even without the more serious messages in this film, the movie is amazingly hilarious. I’ve seen this movie probably over 50 times, and I still find myself laughing at every joke. Even in the serious scenes there’s still added humor. There are no dull moments watching The Lego Batman Movie, which is honestly why this is my favorite film. 

If you enjoy DC, legos or just funny movies in general, you should check out The Lego Batman Movie.