A follow up to The Lego Movie released in 2014, The Lego Batman Movie released in 2017 stars Batman, a supporting character from The Lego Movie. In it, while Batman fights to protect Gotham City, he simultaneously learns the importance of trusting others, asking for help when you need it, and found families. Batman, the sarcastic and entertaining main character, eventually lets go of his “lone wolf” ways and accepts Dick Grayson, who becomes Robin, Alfred, his loyal butler, and Barbara Gordon, the new police commissioner, as part of his team and family.

The movie begins with Batman defeating the Joker yet again but makes the mistake of telling Joker that he isn’t his greatest enemy; he doesn’t mean that much to him at all. Joker, devastated by Batman’s lack of emotion toward him, decides to get revenge. He voluntarily gets captured, along with all of Gotham’s other supervillains, but Batman, who sees this as suspicious, steals Superman’s Phantom Zone projector, which banishes its targets to the Phantom Zone, a sort of jail for all of the Lego multiverse’s villains, and breaks into the Gotham City jail to send the Joker to the Phantom Zone. This, however, was all part of the Joker’s plan, and with help from Harley Quinn, he breaks out of the Phantom Zone with all of the other multiverse villains and attacks Gotham City. This is too big of a mission for Batman to take on alone, so with the help of Robin, Alfred, and Barbara, Batman and the Joker duke it out in their biggest fight yet.

With lots of dry and sarcastic humor, The Lego Batman Movie was very entertaining, but also had a few thoughtful messages for kids who watch. For a lot of children, it can be hard to ask for help, especially when you’re so focused on seeming like a ‘big kid.’ But Batman demonstrates that asking for help can make you stronger, and also help you form important relationships with others. Being an orphan himself, Batman grew up pretty much alone, and because of that grief of losing the people he loved the most, he becomes emotionally cut off, preferring to be alone to avoid feeling so sad again. But through Robin, Alfred, and Barbara’s insistence on working as a team, Batman creates a family of friends, realizing that it is better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all.

Overall, The Lego Batman Movie was heartwarming, captivating, and amusing. With a few references to the different iterations of Batman over the past six decades, crossover characters from different Lego universes, and jokes for people of all ages, The Lego Batman Movie is the perfect film to watch with your kids.