Warner Bros recently released the first full trailer for its upcoming animated super hero comedy.
In LEGO Batman The Movie: DC Heroes Unite, The Joker and Lex Luthor have teamed up to destroy Gotham, and to stop them, Batman and Robin will need to call on the major players in the DC pantheon. With the Justice League assembled, the villains of Gotham turn out in force, and an epic battle is had.
I have to admit. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard for a trailer in a long time. The humor reminds me of the parody slapstick of the Robot Chicken DC Special from last month, perhaps toned down just a bit, so that it’s okay for children – it is LEGO, after all. The LEGO Batman games have been incredibly popular with all ages, being both very funny and very accessible. The humor is not simple mockery, it comes from a deep knowledge and love of the franchises, allowing even the most fervent fans to find humor in the irreverent physical comedy. The best part of LEGO Batman has always been how conscious the characters are that they are made of LEGOs, so it’s appropriate that the plot of the film will center around a weapon that takes bricks apart.
It’s amazing to me that Hollywood has been trying for years to get a good Justice League film going, and here LEGO has managed to convince their partners to pull this off. Of course, I’m sure that when Warner Bros. does their live action Justice League feature film, they likely want a slightly darker tone.
Also impressive is the voice talent line-up. Batman is being voiced by veteran video game vocal performer Troy Baker, who also had roles – though not Batman – in the recent Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City video games, and is the voice of Booker DeWitt in the new Bioshock game.
Lex Luthor is voiced by Clancy Brown, who will be reprising the role from the Batman television show years ago – yes, that’s why Luthor’s voice sounds so ‘right’ in the trailer.
We’re also getting Nolan North, Rob Paulsen, Laura Bailey, and Steve Blum, all talented long-time vocal performers. Anime fans will recognize Blum as the voice of Spike Speigel from Cowboy Bebop. In this film, he’s voicing no less than four of the characters – none of which speak in the trailer unfortunately.
LEGO Batman The Movie: DC Heroes Unite will arrive on DVD and Blu-ray early next year.
