Batman LEGO Movies at YouTube

Aside from the founding LEGO fan film hit "Batman: Revenge" and the minimates spectacular "Batman: New Times", there are several featurettes (or small films) by other director/animators mostly using the official LEGO bricks. A word of caution - if you're looking for stand-up quality from these small minute long movies, you'll be a bit disappointed. However, one or two of the small movies have some decent quality in certain areas and therefore warrant a watch or two.

"Holy Mini-Fig Batman!"

It has been reported that the custom-made Batman mini-figure (or minifig) made for "Batman: Revenge" is estimated at a value of $582.39 USD. The report states that this makes it the rarest, most expensive mini-fig in history. As reported in an associated interview, the director has stated that no money will ever be made personally from the film so this means that all those AFOL (adult fans of Lego) will just have to live without bidding on the "Batman: Revenge Batman".

Retro Review: "Batman: New Times" (2004)

Directed by Jeffery Scheetz. Although made using CGI and fully reminiscent by the close cousin of the LEGO bricks called "Minimates", "Batman: New Times" can easily be counted within the generic phrase of the Batman LEGO film. Developed by a class at the DAVE School of visual animation, this film mixes the essence of the 1966 Batman television show with the modern-day feel of Batman.

Voiced by established actors in the entertainment industry, most notably Adam West as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker, "Batman: New Times" became an immediate success across the Internet fan film circuit.

Such as the debut Batman LEGO film film "Batman: Revenge", 'New Times' includes a simplistic storyline in the best sense of the phrase, is easily followed as a plot as a basic Batman vs. Joker fight, introducing side characters in the midst.

Overall, while the film isn't a "true" LEGO film, nor stop-motion animated film, "Batman: New Times" deserves high praise for its visual effects, careful direction, and superb design.

4/5 stars

Retro Review: "Batman: Revenge" (2003)

Directed by Jonathan Markiewitz. Considered one of the best "LEGO movies" to hit the internet circuit and the founding feature to spark a Batman LEGO phenomenon, "Batman: Revenge" will forever stand out as not only the first Batman LEGO film, but a true and genuine masterful piece of filmmaking art. It is important to know that "Batman: Revenge" was not always intended to be a LEGO film, and that the success it incurred after its production using these toy and collectible bricks may not have happened at all if it had been made in the traditional sense, that being fan films utilizing real locations, actors and scripts. However, because the director wanted to make a film that looked like a Batman movie one would expect to see in the cinema in terms of cinematography mixed with a variety of sets, specialized vehicles, and locations, the only way to accomplish the feat at the time was to use the one thing that he could use on a small budget, creating the same effect, Legos. Building Gotham City from the ground up, including all of those "Bat-necessities" audiences expect to see in any production featuring the Caped Crusader, was accomplished in full by use of Legos, with development, for example, of the batcave, batwing, and most importantly the batmobile.

The 6-minute story is a relatively easy one to follow and there is no dialogue in the film, the former and latter points being very common of early LEGO films of the time. Neither however, detract from the film being enjoyable or clearly understood by fans of any age. CGI is non-existant in this movie, which could be considered by many to be one of the several reasons why it has been so universally welcomed and appreciated since its debut in 2003. Scenes that required "extra" attention where CGI would now-days be easily, and most times "sloppily" put in without care were developed using carefully placed lighting and ingenius camera movements over computer printouts (the first scene with the batsignal for example) or other similarly related visuals.

The plot revolves around the escape of the Riddler from Arkham Asylum, who has clearly become more of a madman in the murderous sense than the inquisitive question-marked adversary typical of the character. This character plot was uniquely spinned from the fate of the Riddler in the end of the Warner Bros. movie "Batman Forever", although "Batman: Revenge" in almost every other aspect, such as the look of the batmobile and batwing among other things, closely resembles the neo-gothic undertones of Tim Burton's "Batman" and "Batman Returns". The escape of the Riddler then evokes a brief crime-spree of the villain himself and his henchmen as a plan to place one of Batman's closest allies in jeopardy comes to fruition.

"Batman: Revenge" is an "easy-to-follow" movie in the most positive sense of the phrase, in that it is universal to enjoy by any viewer, it's a fun movie to watch, and it is definitely something that deserves the praise it's received over the years.

4.5/5 stars