The Lego Batman Movie Information

The Lego Batman Movie is a 2017 3D computer-animated superhero comedy film, produced by Warner Animation Group. It was directed by Chris McKay, and written by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern and John Whittington, and produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Based on the Lego Batman toy line, the film is an international co-production of the United States, Australia, and Denmark, and the first spin-off installment of The Lego Movie franchise. The story focuses on the DC Comics character Batman as he attempts to overcome his greatest fear to stop the Joker's latest plan, with Will Arnett reprising his role as Batman for the film, along with Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, and Ralph Fiennes.

The Lego Batman Movie had its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, and was released in the United States on February 10, 2017. Internationally, the film was released in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX 3D. The film received positive reviews, with critics praising its animation, voice acting, soundtrack, visual style, and humor, and grossed $312 million worldwide.

Plot

In the Lego Universe, Batman continues to protect Gotham City and fight crime. During his latest mission to stop Joker from destroying the city, he hurts his arch-rival's feelings by telling him he is not as important in his life as he thinks he is, leading Joker to seek the ultimate revenge on him. The following day, Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne, attends the city's winter gala, which is celebrating both the retirement of Commissioner Gordon and the ascension of his daughter Barbara as the city's new police commissioner, only to be infuriated by Barbara's plans to restructure the police to function without the need of Batman. Without warning, Joker crashes the party with the city's other villains, all of whom surrender, with the exception of Harley Quinn who disappears during the confusion.

Suspecting his arch-rival is up to something, Batman plots to steal Superman's Phantom Zone Projector, a device that can banish anyone to the Phantom Zone which houses some of the most dangerous villains in the Lego multiverse. Just as he plans his heist of the device, Alfred intervenes and advises him to take charge of Dick Grayson, whom Bruce unwittingly adopted as his ward during the gala. Reluctantly agreeing to do so, Batman fosters Dick as Robin, whereupon the pair successfully recover the Projector from the Fortress of Solitude, and break into Arkham Asylum to send Joker to the Phantom Zone. Suspecting that the Joker wanted to be sent there, Barbara locks up Batman and Robin for their reckless actions.

While the Projector is being seized as evidence, Harley steals it back as part of Joker's plan and frees him, allowing him to return to Gotham with all the villains he had recruited in the Phantom Zone, including King Kong, the Gremlins, the Wicked Witch of the West and her Flying Monkeys, a Tyrannosaurus and a Velociraptor, Lord Voldemort, Sauron, the Jaws shark, the Daleks, Lord Vampyre, The Evil Mummy, Swamp Creature, Medusa, Agent Smith and his clones, Skeletons Warriors, and the Kraken. Realizing that the city does need him, Barbara releases Batman and Robin and teams up with them and Alfred to stop the Joker. Although Batman finds himself able to trust and rely on his new team upon reaching Wayne Island, he chooses to send them away rather than losing them like his parents. Upon facing him alone, Joker believes that Batman is incapable of change and zaps him to the Phantom Zone before stealing the Batcave's stash of confiscated bombs. Arriving in the Phantom Zone, Batman witnesses the harm his selfishness has caused to everyone and slowly accepts his greatest fear. Making a deal with the Zone's gatekeeper Phyllis, a talking Lego brick, to be allowed back to Gotham in order to retrieve the Zone's escaped prisoners, Batman arrives in time to save his teammates, apologizing to them for his actions, and requesting their help to stop Joker.

Realizing that Joker plans to use the explosives he took to destroy the city's Energy Facility, thus causing the city to come apart and be destroyed, Batman turns Barbara into Batgirl, before he, his team, and Gotham City's other villains, who felt neglected by Joker, manage to successfully send the escaped villains back to the Phantom Zone. However, the group fail to stop Joker's bombs going off as the explosion begins to tear the city apart at the plates beneath it. Knowing this was his fault, Batman reluctantly convinces Joker that he is the true reason for being the hero he is before they, their friends and allies, and the city's inhabitants, chain-link themselves together and pull the plates back together, saving the city.

With the city saved, Batman prepares to be taken back into the Phantom Zone to fulfill his bargain only to be rejected by Phyllis who chooses to let him remain after seeing how much he had changed in order to save everyone. Batman allows Joker and the rest of his rogues gallery to temporarily escape with the confidence that whenever they return, they will be no match for the Batman family.

Cast

• Will Arnett as Bruce Wayne / Batman, a superhero from Gotham City.
• Zach Galifianakis as The Joker, Batman's archenemy who is the "Clown Prince of Crime."
• Michael Cera as Dick Grayson / Robin, an orphan who is adopted by Bruce Wayne.
• Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl, a police officer who becomes the new police commissioner.
• Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth, the butler of Bruce Wayne.
• Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn, the right-hand woman of Joker.
• Hctor Elizondo as Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon, the commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department.
• Lauren White as Chief O'Hara, the Gotham City Police Department's chief of police.
  • White also voices Medusa, a Gorgon who is imprisoned in Gotham City.
• Mariah Carey as Mayor McCaskill, the mayor of Gotham City.
• Eddie Izzard as Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard and enemy of Harry Potter who is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.
• Seth Green as King Kong, a giant gorilla from Skull Island who is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.
  • Green also voices the Swamp Creature, a gill-man who is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.
• Jemaine Clement as Sauron, a Dark Lord from Middle-earth who is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.
• Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, a disfigured lawyer who is one of Batman's enemies.
• Riki Lindhome as Poison Ivy, a plant-controlling enemy of Batman.
  • Lindhome also voices Wicked Witch of the West, an evil witch from the Land of Oz who is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.
• Conan O'Brien as Riddler, a riddle-obsessed enemey of Batman.
• Jason Mantzoukas as Scarecrow, a scarecrow-themed enemy of Batman who uses fear gas.
• Zo Kravitz as Catwoman, a cat burglar and enemy of Batman.
• Kate Micucci as Clayface, an enemy of Batman made of clay.
• Doug Benson as Bane, an enemy of Batman who uses the drug Venom to get stronger.
• David Burrows as Anchorman Phil, an anchorman in Gotham City.
  • Burrows also voices Mr. Freeze, an enemy of Batman in a cryogenic suit that wields a freeze gun.
• Matt Villa as Killer Croc, a crocodile-themed enemy of Batman.
• John Venzon as Penguin, a fancy enemy of Batman that uses trick umbrellas and robotic penguins.
• Laura Kightlinger as Reporter Pippa, a reporter that stars in "Metropolis in Focus."
  • Kightlinger also voices Orca, a killer whale-themed enemy of Batman.
• Todd Hansen as Captain Dale, one the pilots of the airplane that Joker hijacks.
• Chris McKay as Pilot Bill, one of the pilots of the airplane that Joker hijacks.
• Mark Jonathan Davis as Himself
  • Davis also voices Richard Cheese (archive recordings)
• Channing Tatum as Superman, a superhero from Krypton and member of the Justice League who defends Metropolis.
• Ellie Kemper as Phyllis, the gatekeeper of the Phantom Zone.
• Jonah Hill as Hal Jordan / Green Lantern, a member of the Justice League.
• Adam DeVine as The Flash, the superfast member of the Justice League.
• Brent Musburger as Reporter #1
• Ralph Garman as Reporter #2
• Chris Hardwick as Reporter #3

Production

After the success of The Lego Movie, Warner Bros. gave the green light to further multiple Lego movies being produced, including The Lego Batman Movie; Chris McKay, who co-directed The Lego Movie, was brought on board to direct the film, marking this as his solo directorial debut. 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 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. 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:

"I was thinking that we were basically taking the Burt Ward Robin 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."

Batman and pop culture references

As part of its production, the movie was designed to make numerous references to previous Batman movies, cartoons and comics. These include: 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). Other references include previous costumes worn by Batman and Robin, and the various Batmobiles used. In most cases, their appearances in the movie 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 show and a picture of Batman's suit from Batman and Robin. Climactic events from past Batman films including 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).

Alongside Joker, the main antagonist of the film's story, and Superman, who features heavily and has notable links to the Christopher Reeve films Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980), many other DC characters, both villains associated with Batman and other DC superheroes, feature in the film. The film's villains who have been featured in Batman comics, films and cartoons include: Man-Bat; Captain Boomerang; Egghead; Crazy Quilt; Eraser; Polka-Dot Man; Mime; Tarantula; King Tut from the 1960s series; Killer Moth; March Harriet; Zodiac Master; the Mutant Leader from The Dark Knight Returns; Doctor Phosphorus; Magpie; Calculator; Hugo Strange; an unidentified version of Red Hood; the Kabuki Twins from The Batman; Orca; Gentleman Ghost; Clock King; Calendar Man; Kite Man; Catman; Zebra-Man; and a variation of Condiment King from Batman: The Animated Series. The other DC heroes who feature, both from the Justice League and Super Friends, include: Wonder Woman; Aquaman; Cyborg; Green Arrow; Black Canary; Hawkman; Hawkgirl; Martian Manhunter; Apache Chief; Black Vulcan; El Dorado; Samurai; Wonder Dog; the Wonder Twins; and Gleek. Although not part of the DC franchise, Iron Man from Marvel Comics is referenced in the movie as part of a small joke about Batman's password for entering the Batcave in reference to the famous rivalry between DC and Marvel.

The film also features characters from other notable franchises and movie series, with them following the same narrative of The Lego Movie in that they came from worlds that co-exist alongside others of the Lego Universe, which are made up of Lego playsets of the various media franchises. These additional characters include: Medusa from Lego Minifigures; the Swamp Creature, Evil Mummy, and Lord Vampyre from Lego Monster Fighters; King Kong; the Daleks from Doctor Who; the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz; the Kraken from Clash of the Titans; Agent Smith and his clones from The Matrix; the great white shark from Jaws; Voldemort from Harry Potter; the Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings; the Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptors from Jurassic Park; The Skeleton Warriors from Jason and the Argonauts; and the Gremlins. The way in which the Gremlins attack a plane references The Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet".

The film also includes Batman watching the scene from Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise says "You complete me"; this line had previously been quoted by The Joker in The Dark Knight. When Batman discusses possible team names, he mentions "Fox Force Five," which was the name of a failed television pilot mentioned in Pulp Fiction. The film's use of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a nod to the romantic comedy Never Been Kissed. The film's other references include Gleaming the Cube and Gymkata.

A scene from The Lego Movie was reused in the film, where Emmet is going down the portal to the real world.

Soundtrack

The film's original score was composed by Lorne Balfe and features Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith. The soundtrack was released on February 3, 2017, on CD and for digital download, while the vinyl version was released on May 19, 2017.

Track listing

Release

The film's world premiere was conducted in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, whereupon it went into general release from February 8; it was released in Denmark on February 9, and in the United States the day after. Its overall release saw movie theatres displaying the film in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX, though the latter format was restricted to 2D for North America, while international countries were able to view it in IMAX 3D.

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. 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. A third trailer was released on July 23, 2016. A fourth trailer was released on November 4, 2016. 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.

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.

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. 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.

The CW featured LEGO end cards for Supergirl, The Flash, DC's 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.

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?. 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. The film debuted at No. 3 on the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart.

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 $311.9 million, against a production budget of $80 million.

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 in its opening weekend. It earned $2.2 million from Thursday-night previews and $15 million on Friday. It went on to open with $53 million, finishing first at the box office. In its second weekend, the film grossed $32.7 million (a drop of 38.4%), again topping the box office; with the additional President's Day holiday on Monday, it made a total of $42.7 million for the weekend. 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%).

Outside North America the film was simultaneously released in 61 countries, and was expected to gross around $40 million over its first three days. 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.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 277 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site'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." It was ranked 12th Best Superhero Movie of All Time on Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

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." 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." 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." Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post praised the film for its heart, humor, and action which, "snap together, with a satisfying click."

Accolades

List of Accolades
Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result
AACTA Awards	December 6, 2017	Best Sound	Gregg Landaker, Rick Lisle, Wayne Pashley, Fabian Sanjurgo and Michael Semanick	rowspan="9"
		Best Visual Effects or Animation	Rob Coleman, Damien Gray, Miles Green, Amber Naismith and Craig Welsh
Annie Awards	February 3, 2018	Directing in a Feature Production	Chris McKay
		Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production	Zach Galifianakis
		Editorial in an Animated Feature Production	David Burrows, Matt Villa and John Venzon
American Cinema Editors	January 26, 2018	Best Edited Animated Feature Film
Art Directors Guild	January 27, 2018	Excellence in Production Design for an Animated Film	Grant Freckelton
Cinema Audio Society Awards	February 24, 2018	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture - Animated	Jason Oliver, Michael Semanick, Gregg Landaker, Wayne Pashley, Stephen Lipson and Lisa Simpson
Critics' Choice Movie Awards	January 11, 2018	Best Animated Film	Chris McKay
Detroit Film Critics Society	December 7, 2017	Best Animated Film	The LEGO Batman Movie
Empire Awards	March 18, 2018	Best Animated Film		rowspan="3"
Florida Film Critics Circle	December 23, 2017	Best Animated Film
Georgia Film Critics Association	January 12, 2018	Best Animated Film
Golden Tomato Awards	January 3, 2018	Best Animated Film
Golden Trailer Awards	June 6, 2017	Best Animation/Family
		Most Original Trailer		rowspan="4"
Golden Reel Awards	February 18, 2018	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
Hollywood Music in Media Awards	November 16, 2017	Best Original Score - Animated Film	Lorne Balfe
Houston Film Critics Society	January 6, 2018	Best Animated Film	The LEGO Batman Movie
Heartland Film Festival	October 22, 2017	Truly Moving Picture Award	Chris McKay
IGN Awards	December 19, 2017	Best Animated Movie	The LEGO Batman Movie
Kids' Choice Awards	March 24, 2018	Favorite Animated Film		rowspan="12"
Movieguide Awards	March 2018	Best Movie for Families
MTV Movie & TV Awards	May 7, 2017	Best Comedic Performance	Will Arnett
Online Film Critics Society	December 28, 2017	Best Animated Film	The LEGO Batman Movie
Producers Guild of America Award	January 20, 2018	Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Picture	Dan Lin, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Satellite Awards	February 10, 2018	Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature	The LEGO Batman Movie
St. Louis Film Critics Association	December 17, 2017	Best Animated Feature	Chris McKay
Teen Choice Awards	August 13, 2017	Choice Movie Actor: Comedy	Will Arnett
Visual Effects Society	February 13, 2018	Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature	Rob Coleman, Amber Naismith, Grant Freckelton and Damien Gray
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	December 8, 2017	Best Animated Feature	The LEGO Batman Movie
		Best Animated Voice Performance	Will Arnett
			Michael Cera