After a grueling day at work you return home. You are exhausted and all you really want to do is relax, then you feel the tug at your shirt. Your kid then asks one of the greatest questions possible “Da da, can we watch Batman?”
While the instant answer is yes, I then have to ponder the question: Which Batman should I allow my kid to watch. While there are certainly plenty of DC Animated options – there are fewer options in the Family Friendly version. You certainly wouldn’t want to pop on Batman vs Robin or Batman: Under the Red Hood. Luckily DC Animated and Warner Bros has heard the call and has some pretty decent options.
It’s tough for us parents, you certainly want them to know the DC Universe but some of those DC Animated Movies aren’t necessarily for kids. Despite Target always putting those flicks in the Kids Section. I’ve been doing my best to locate those very special titles that are almost an intro into the DC Universe.
The latest offerings comes with Lego Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom.
Lego JLA Attack of the Legion of Doom
With the newly formed JLA – our heroes are doing a great job at stopping the super criminals. With their newest member Cyborg – attempting to learn what it takes to be part of the Justice League. Meanwhile Lex Luthor has decided to put together his own team – the Legion of Doom. I have to say like most of the Lego movies, I’ve always genuinely surprised not just by the quality but the sense of humor. They always make me laugh and the cast of Villains was great – my personal favorite goes out to Sinestro voiced by: Mark Hamil. He had the best one liners in the flick.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXJPwBCJES8[/youtube]
The only complaint I had with it was with Cyborg and Wonder Woman. You can’t really tell age with Lego people – as this was supposed to be a sort of New 52 presentation you could tell they were playing up Cyborg learning. Though most of it was him bumbling about – and being the most comedic out of the team. Then there’s Wonder Woman – which honestly I was excited to introduce the character to my kids. Sadly she was kinda sidelined – and left as a romantic interest of both Hal Jordan and Flash. I was hoping they were going to keep the Trinity aspect of the JLA but she just didn’t really flush out.
Overall though it’s quite a fun movie – and certainly something that the kids will enjoy.
Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem
Bad guy team up, this time with all the Halloween themed characters – who has kidnapped the lead developer of a Video Game Empire. Allowing Joker to hack all of Gotham Cities computers and tech. Can Batman save the day? What I really liked about this film was it’s general art style – it’s very clean and kinda reminds me of the Batman Beyond. Especially since it seems to take place in a futuristic setting. There is also a large emphasis on the wide range of DC Universe characters. While Batman is certainly the focus – there is Robin, Red Robin, Nightwing, Cyborg and Green Arrow. Felt like a good introduction to these characters. Though I was hoping the Flash would show up.
The story though dragged quite a bit and didn’t really go anywhere. Also in this universe Batman rides a mechanical Wolf Motorcycle. Which to be honest felt like this was a 1hr 30min toy commercial. I did enjoy the deep cuts of characters especially with the villains. I wouldn’t however recommend this for the younger audience aka: under 5years old as it was a tad violent and a little darker then I was anticipating.
Batman Brave and the Bold
Now I know what I felt about this series when it first debuted. It looked super corny and the art style was really blocky. After sitting down and watching it – you realize quickly that this is a love letter to the DC Universe and all it’s characters. The basic premise is Batman teams up with a wide range of characters including Space Ghost. The voice work is excellent – as the Batman is played by: Diedrich Bader.
What really makes this character so great is it’s ability to tell a cohesive story – and some of the more classic tales – while updating it and still making it kid proof. It’s kinda a Batman 66 (Adam West) but animated – oh and Aquaman is by far the most “OUTRAGEOUS” character in the series – by far steals the show whenever he’s in an episode. This honestly is one of your best bets to introducing your children to the DC universe. In the most family friendly sort of way.
Green Lantern Animated
If you want to TV series that it 100% Family Friendly – and I mean more along the lines of Star Wars – you must check out the Green Lantern Animated Series. Without spoiling too much what the basic story is: In the deepest part of space, Green Lanterns are being attacked – and killed. It’s up to Hal Jordan & Kilowog to investigate and stop the newly formed Red Lanterns from destroying the Galaxy with their Rage.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNwRUuYolmU[/youtube]
Ok this series is really something special to me personally. I’m a huge Green Lantern fan – and have been hoping for quite sometime that I could share the stories with my family. Sadly Ryan Reynolds didn’t perform – and while both the DC Animated films were excellent – this series is the perfect way to introduce the Green Lantern universe. There are a lot of hidden gems for us die hard GL fans while still making the series easily digestible for the new fans. Oh and talk about the emotional spectrum – man does that series finale pack a punch right in the feels.
What are your favorite Family Friendly films? Be it DC or even Marvel – how are you the Geek Parent passing the torch?