When stressing about AP tests it is always nice to take a break. And movies work well as destressors. I found myself in that position this past weekend and decided to go to a movie that I knew was going to take my mind off the stress. A children’s movie. And for the two hours and nine minutes, not one thought about biology or statistics crossed my mind. “The Lego Batman Movie” merged the lovable characters from all different series together to deliver a strong message of teamwork and to define what family really means.

“The Lego Batman Movie” is a computer animated movie made to seem as if the children’s toy had come to life, everything is assembled of Lego bricks and the animation is stunning. The movie starts with Batman a.k.a Bruce Wayne (Will Arnett), completing another victorious battle against the Joker. Batman, at the end monologue with the Joker (Zach Galifianakis), tells him that he in fact does not consider him to be his arch-rival, and hurt the Joker’s feelings. Which leads the Joker to begin plan the paramount revenge against him. After Bruce accidentally adopted an orphan at a gala commemorating the new Commissioner Barbara, Batman is forced to handle not only being a dad but also his newfound free time as Barbara reformed the police department to be able to catch all of the criminals after they surrendered at the gala.

Batman becomes suspicious of why the Joker surrendered and decides that he must send him to the phantom zone, a prison for the most dangerous criminals in the Lego universe. Unfortunately that activity was dubbed illegal by the Commissioner, along with all of Batman’s vigilante activities. But Batman took it upon himself to go above the law and zapped the Joker there anyway. Falling directly into the plan the Joker had all along. Up against a battle he would not be able to take his usual route with, in other words going it alone. In order to have a chance to save Gotham City he is going to have to learn to team up and understand the importance of family.  

I personally enjoyed the cameos of characters such as Voldemort, King Kong and Sauron from “The Lord of the Rings.” It brought a lot of laughs and did a great job of taking my mind off of tests and would recommend it to those who like clever wordplay and a meaningful message about families and what it truly means to be a good guy.