The Lego Movie when it came out, took the world by surprise with just how fun it was, and it’s breakout character, which should not be a surprise, was Batman. It should come then as no surprise that Lego decided the Caped Crusader should have his own film, which opens next month.

DK Canada gave me a sneak peek at the film via their new book – The Lego Batman Movie: The Essential Guide.

A fun, playful book, our journey with the Lego version of the Dark Knight is well documented through brightly coloured pages filled with sly remarks, and a fun sense of humour. It could be viewed as a little bit spoiler-y since the film hasn’t come out yet, but it does keep a lot of revelations to a minimum.

I will say this, the book fostered a fervent desire to see the movie when it comes out, and has also bated my breath for the forthcoming Making of the Movie book from DK Books.

The book takes us through all the characters of the film, as well as the locations, the look at Wayne Manor is a lot of fun (the lone light depicts where Bruce is, while the rest of the house is completely dark).

The film itself seems to focus on Batman’s loneliness and the need for family, and it looks, if the guide is any example, like by the end of the film, he is going to have a huge one.

This book is definitely aimed at younger readers, and the primary target audience for the film. That doesn’t mean that older fans won’t get any enjoyment from it, you just have to remember who it is aimed at. It’s bright, filled with splashes of colours, and some fun word play and a lot of the awesome that is Batman.

And that is something I love about the Batman character, since his creation in the 1940s, the character has been re-imagined constantly, and able to appeal to a swath of age groups, and able to be used as a hero for all manner of storytelling.

Yes, his parents were killed, and yes, Batman can be really dark (and is usually at its best when it is), but this incarnation of Batman, brought hilariously to life by Will Arnett is proving to be a fan favourite and there are many of us awaiting to see where the World’s Greatest Detective will take us this time.

So, if you have a young Lego or Batman fan in your life, this will hold them over until the film comes out, but may also inspire lots of Lego shopping as well.

The Lego Batman Movie opens on 10 February, The Lego Batman Movie: The Essential Guide is available now from DK Books.