There’s a Christmas Batman Movie Hiding on Streaming That You Didn’t Even Know Existed

There is a Batman Christmas movie that is available to watch on streaming right now that a lot of people might have missed. Not only is it a Batman film available for fans to see, but it also has a spin-off series that is airing now, also on streaming. There are plenty of Batman properties on TV, from the all-time greats like Batman: The Animated Series to favorites like Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Batman Beyond. However, a new movie came out of nowhere in 2023 that seemed to slip by many fans, but was at least successful enough to warrant a spin-off series airing now on Amazon Prime Video.

The movie is called Merry Little Batman, and while it is not like any other Batman animated release on television, it is a Christmas movie that is well worth watching.

Merry Little Batman Is Streaming On Prime Video

First off, Merry Little Batman is not the Batman Family that most DC Comics fans know and love. This has caused many overly serious Batman fans to lash out at the series it spawned, Bat-Fam, bashing the animation style, humor, and changes to the main characters. However, this is a little more geared towards kids, and honestly, it is not anywhere near as bad as some fans might have you believe. Furthermore, the movie, Merry Little Batman, is actually quite good.

Director Mike Roth (Regular Show) co-wrote Merry Little Batman with screenwriter Morgan Evans, and it was animated in a style that was supposed to reflect a young Damian Wayne’s mindset. That might be where the biggest complaints come, because this is not the hateful Damian Wayne that comic book fans are used to. Instead of a Robin who thinks he is better than everyone around him, he is Little Batman, a kid who loves his dad and wants to help him fight crime. However, Batman had already ended crime in Gotham City and made the city a safe place before Damian was even born.

The movie has eight-year-old Damian Wayne left at home during the holiday season with only Alfred there to watch him when his dad is called away on a Justice League mission. With Batman gone, Joker shows up, so Damian dressed up as Little Batman to protect his home and Gotham City from the recently returned villains. Mike Roth’s unique designs are excellent, with Batman as a comically oversized dad, Alfred with a hunchback, barely able to get around, and the villains looking incredible in their specific designs.

This aired on Prime Video instead of HBO Max because David Zaslav wanted to cut costs and let them go. Amazon grabbed Batman: Caped Crusader and Merry Little Batman, which led to them creating the Bat-Fam animated series. What resulted is, quite honestly, the Batman Family version of Teen Titans Go! and that is a compliment. As for its connection to the DCU, James Gunn revealed these are Elseworlds stories, which means they stand on their own.

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Bat-Fam is a Merry Little Batman Spin-Off Series

The voice cast from Merry Little Batman returns for the spin-off series Bat-Fam. Released in November, Mike Roth is back animating and running the series, giving it a little bit of the bizarre storylines that he used when earning five Primetime Emmys for Regular Show. Luke Wilson is back as Batman, while Yonas Kibreab (Elio) is back as Damian Wayne, and James Cromwell returns as Alfred.

The series has several bizarre plot devices that bear even more similarity to Teen Titans Go!, with Bat-Fam supporting characters like Man-Bat, who lives in the Wayne mansion’s belfry, the ghost of Ra’s al Ghul, who is always causing problems, Alfred’s niece Alicia, who runs a villain rehabilitation program, and Claire, a de-aged Volcana (she fell in the Lazarus Pit). Together, they fight against the criminals who have returned to Gotham City while also trying to hold together the family unit that has grown to include all these newcomers.

The Bat-Fam series has received polarizing reviews. People who hate the series have complained about its animation style, the changes to characters like Damian Wayne, and the fact that the gags are geared toward kids rather than adults. However, much like Merry Little Batman, the story is charming, the series is just weird enough to keep adults interested, and Damian Wayne has received a fresh coat of paint that makes him a lot less annoying than most animated portrayals over the last decade.

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