Comedy, charm, and endearment are the three words that came to mind when I was watching “The Lego Batman Movie.” The Warner Brothers’ latest movie is an absolute masterpiece that just barely misses the bar set by its predecessor released in 2014, “The Lego Movie.”

“The Lego Batman Movie” has several allusions to older Batman content including but not limited to the ’60s Batman show, the 1989 Tim Burton film, and the Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy. The movie combines the absurdity of the ’60s show and some of the darkness of the 1989 film. Fortunately, none of the brutality in the Christopher Nolan films was carried into this family friendly version, which is refreshing for a longtime fan of Batman since the movies have recently been filled with such brutality.

The entire movie is animated and uses aesthetically pleasing LEGO bricks to bring the LEGO world to life. This helps to make the film appeal to the younger viewers who don’t care as much about the plot but more about how colorful and fun it looks.

Also, the characters in this film are nothing short of endearing. With a plot revolving around the Joker wanting Batman to appreciate him more, this movie is strikingly different from the usual idea of death, murder, and crime and is a breath of fresh air from the modern comics.

With this plotline, the directors used the film to create a heartwarming and beautiful message. It emphasized the importance of family and friends by showing us how lonely and empty Batman’s life is without those things.

Will Arnett voices the title character to great effect. He encaptures the role of the Caped Crusader wonderfully and brings the character to a whole new light. In addition, we have Zach Galifianakis as the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. He displays his range as an actor by performing outside of the usually vulgar and profane roles he’s used to.

“The Lego Batman Movie” is a must see for adults and children alike. The film slips just enough tongue-in-cheek jokes to keep the adults on their toes while catering to the younger folks’ wants of colorful and bright animation with easy to understand humor.

All in all, I would rate the film a 9.5 out of 10. The only reason it doesn’t get a 10 is because a few of the jokes can get a bit juvenile from time to time, but this is to be expected from a movie whose target demographic is children. Definitely go and see this in theaters, nothing quite beats watching a quality movie in a theater.

Druw Van Der Werff is a Media Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.