Movie review of 'The LEGO Batman Movie'

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Folks in Hollywood were surprised when "The Lego Movie" grossed half a billion dollars globally. Well, "The LEGO Batman Movie" is even better, and it's a movie that will entertain audiences of all ages.

Will Arnett voices the Lego version of Batman -- an anti-hero who is cynical and experiences bursts of self-pity. "Thank you. I'm blushing hard under the mask," Batman said in the film.

Batman and Robin (voiced by Michael Cera) face classic foes who are easily recognizable for anyone who has seen a Batman movie before. For instance, the film's comedic cast includes Zach Galifinakis, who voices the Joker.

Galifinakis's humor is aimed at youthful audiences at times and adult audiences at other moments. There are a few special touches reserved for longtime fans of this superhero franchise, which even include allusions to the 1960s Batman television show.

"LEGO Batman" fearlessly pokes fun at the franchise in order to revive it. For example, Rosario Dawson's role as Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon provides humorous commentary about Batman.

"I'm not a Batman hater, but we don't need an unsupervised adult man karate chopping poor people in a Halloween costume," Gordon said.

I felt more pure joy watching this film than any other movie in a long, long time.

Even people who are not fans of super hero movies will enjoy "LEGO Batman." It's one of those rare movies that both parents and their children can enjoy together.