The Lego Batman Movie

Having made his bow in The Lego Movie (2014), the diminutive Caped Crusader gets a starring role in a riotous yarn full of laughs and heart. Batman, aka Bruce Wayne (voiced by Will Arnett) leads a lonely life away from crime-fighting, and faithful butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) thinks it's time he had a family. Enter excitable orphan Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), who, after a makeover, becomes the boy wonder Robin and teaches the Dark Knight the joys of friendship and togetherness. They also do battle with the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and an assortment of other villains from various TV and movie franchises. Director Chris McKay and his sharp-witted writers lovingly celebrate Batman like die-hard fans, but also take enormous pleasure in mocking both the character's mythology and his previous screen incarnations. An exemplary voice cast, eye-popping design and a script bursting with both verbal and sight gags combine to produce an animated feature as good as anything in Pixar's canon. Quite possibly the best Batman film, ever.