Merry Little Batman: 5 Merry Little Highlights

Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg … you get the picture. Happy holidays from your resident TV geek (ahem, yours truly)! It’s time to cue up your festive annual watch rotation to celebrate the season.

If “nerdy and family-friendly” is your jam, you’ll probably have Prime Video’s Merry Little Batman on your watch list. As you should — it’s a warm, cozy, and utterly adorable piece of Christmas-infused DC media. It’s even a great watch for adults, as it reminds us of universal truths, like extending a hand across the aisle in the name of kindness and never losing your sense of childlike wonder.

Below, I’ve compiled a list of five Bat-tastic highlights from Merry Little Batman. Strap in for the dark (and jolly) night ahead.

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Artful Animation and Nods to Other Batman Properties

If you’re an animation girlie like me, you’ll find so much to love in Merry Little Batman. The animation boasts a cute, childlike quality in the lines and colors, especially the character designs. There’s also a Tim Burton-esque vibe to said designs, namely characters like Alfred and The Joker, who are reminiscent of the style in Corpse Bride with their sharp, angular features and spindly limbs.

Additionally, the background designs remind me of 1961’s 101 Dalmatians with how retro they look (this is quite noticeable in the Gotham Zoo scene).

However, my favorite aspect of the animation is the color palette. It’s so aesthetically pleasing. There are the blues and whites of the winter landscape outside Wayne Manor. The pinks and yellows of the toy shop in Gotham. The purple and golden white color scheme in the holiday parade scene. In The Joker flashback, we see lots of greens to represent the time he ruled Gotham with a gloved fist. The reds and oranges after Damian Wayne’s antics set the city ablaze and raise the narrative stakes.

When Damian’s at his lowest point prior to the film’s climax and resolution, we see the animation transform into black-and-white, crudely drawn comic book panels. They cleverly represent Damian’s fear and lack of confidence. He truly feels the weight of being an eight-year-old, alone in the big city. While thematically and narratively quite different, the style is evocative of Maus.

The animation and style also incorporate references to other Batman properties. The Joker’s design brings to mind Jack Nicholson’s iteration of the character in 1989’s Batman. While not entirely accurate, I got Uma Thurman in Batman & Robin vibes from this film’s take on Poison Ivy (and, somewhat unrelated, the Mr. Freeze actor sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s version).

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Chubby Bunny

After Bruce departs for Nova Scotia to eradicate a threat, Damian devises a plan to get Alfred out of the mansion so he can begin his “extreme training.” He eats all the marshmallows in the kitchen cupboard, forcing Alfred to leave for the store to replenish their stores for his famous hot cocoa. (Side note: It’s hilarious that Alfred’s grocery store trip takes up most of the movie runtime.)

Damian shoving marshmallows into his mouth reminded this aging Millennial of the chubby bunny game from my childhood. It also made my stomach turn ever so slightly. It’s a fun yet simple sequence, nonetheless, and it speaks to the creativity of our youth.

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Damian Is Home Alone

Merry Little Batman also has some delightful nods to other holiday films, one of the most obvious being Home Alone. After Damian has his Rocky training montage, he encounters Terry and Francine, two small-time burglars on The Joker’s payroll. They decide to rob Wayne Manor after Damian inadvertently knocks out the power, deactivating the mansion’s security system.

Damian puts on his best Macaulay Culkin and outsmarts the film’s versions of Harry and Marv. He ties their shoelaces together (his signature move), makes them slip on vegetable oil, sets them on fire, and catches them like fish in a volleyball net. The intricately detailed sequence is entertaining as all get-out and a great homage to a ’90s Christmas classic.

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What Do You Want for Christmas, Merry Little Batman?

Plot twist! Santa Claus is actually Bane, so maybe steer clear of any malls and toy shops this holiday season. In Merry Little Batman, Damian searches high and low for the utility belt his father gifted him for Christmas. After the two thieves steal it, Damian’s journey takes him into the heart of Gotham. He decides to question Santa in a toy shop.

Firstly, I love this bit because it reminds us that Damian is an eight-year-old who still believes in Jolly Old Saint Nick. Secondly, Damian squares off against Poison Ivy and Bane, managing to outwit them both with his trademark shoelace attack and by spraying weed killer on Ivy’s plants. Honestly, why hasn’t anyone tried that last bit before? It made me chuckle, to be sure.

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Dynamic Duo Dunks on Devious Dudes

During the film’s climax in the third act, The Joker, The Penguin, Poison Ivy, and Bane try to persuade Damian to help them steal Christmas (an homage to two more classic holiday flicks – The Grinch and The Nightmare Before Christmas). Ultimately, Damian rejects them, implementing the lessons he’s learned throughout his whirlwind adventure. He’s finally embracing his childhood and learning to enjoy it for as long as it lasts. More importantly, Damian wants to spread joy to the citizens of Gotham.

After a Bat-jet malfunction and a fight with Mr. Freeze, Batman joins his son in kicking some villain butt. Together, they take on The Joker and his buddies. It’s here that Bruce realizes Damian’s potential to be a hero, and he gives the latter his own utility belt as a rite of passage.

Once Damian and Bruce defeat the baddies, they, along with Alfred, return all the presents The Joker stole to the Gothamites. Damian persuades his father to invite The Joker and Commissioner Gordon for a holiday feast at the Big Belly Burger (a DC comics location that recently appeared in Peacemaker season 2 and Superman). It’s a sweet meditation on being kind, even to your antagonists. How cuh-yoot.

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What did you love most about Merry Little Batman? Share with other DC fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!