Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League—Gotham City Breakout (2016)

Movie Info

Batman just wants to break the piñata

It is Batman’s birthday and Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin want him to go on vacation. Superman agrees to step in as Gotham’s protector with Robin as his assistant!  Nightwing and Batgirl’s decision to take Batman on a path through Batman’s past hits a snag when Batman is targeted by his long-time enemies Deathstroke and Bane who want the Forbidden Move.  Meanwhile in Gotham City, the Joker has picked the moment to escape from prison, but Superman might not be the best choice as an arch-nemesis for the Clown Prince and Batman’s rogues…and the rest of the Justice League might need to step in!

Directed by Matt Peters and Melchior Zwyer, Lego DC Comics Super Heroes:  Justice League—Gotham City Breakout is a family Lego animated comic book adventure.  Following Lego DC Comics Super Heroes:  Justice League—Cosmic Clash also released in 2016, the straight-to-video animated film was released on digital on June 21, 2016 with a physical copy being released July 12, 2016.

I often pick up the Lego DC Comics Super Hero series simply to get the Lego figure that is often packaged with them (this movie came with a Nightwing character) and watching the movie often seems secondary.  While Lego DC Comics Super Heroes:  Justice League—Gotham City Breakout is an entertaining romp, it is also nothing very special.

I learned this one from Goldfinger

The movie is essentially split up into two parts.  You have Batman’s “vacation” with Batgirl and Nightwing in which Batman goes to his old training location.  The trip leads to an attack by Deathstroke (who turns out to be an old classmate of Batman) and Bane in an attempt to learn the Forbidden Move.  This involves an underground battle and a war over the teachings.  It is the weaker of the two stories.

The second part of the movie has Superman stepping in for Batman in Gotham City.  I always liked in comic books when the heroes switched up villains (it happens less and less now).  The idea of Batman’s villains being small-scale compared to the Justice League’s villains gets to the idea of underestimating your opponent based on your own skills and experiences…which is always a decent lesson for kids to learn.  Plus, you have Robin having to step up and help bail out the JLA.

No Soup For You!!!!

The style for the straight-to-video movies isn’t the same style as the animated big-screen movies. The stop-motion plays more with the Lego constructs in the major motion pictures, but this movie and the other movies are straightforward animation.  It isn’t bad, but it isn’t as creative.  The idea of “Legos” comes into play in the story but it often could be a normal animated story.

Lego DC Super Hero movies are what they are.  If you enjoy them, you’ll probably enjoy all of them…if you don’t, you don’t.  While I still enjoy the big screen Lego Movies’ style and storytelling more (except maybe Ninjago), the animated straight-to-video entries do have some entertainment value…just don’t expect a lot from them.  The Lego DC Comics Super Heroes series continued with Lego DC Comics Super Heroes:  The Flash in 2018.