Merry Little Batman is a charming holiday movie now streaming on Prime Video starring everyone’s favorite Caped Crusader and his son, Damian Wayne! The special, which follows Damian on a mission to defend the holidays from the likes of Batman’s greatest rogues, is full of goofy charm, inspiring little ones to follow in the footsteps of DC’s greatest hero. But to become Batman means training to be the very best, like no one ever was. And this weekend, to celebrate the release of Merry Little Batman, Prime Video held a training session for some very special kids, on their way to becoming the next generation of Dark Knights!
Held at Tempest Freerunning Academy in Chatsworth, CA, the event brought in approximately 16 kids (all ages 5 and up), and paired them with 11 adults and four Tempest trainers. Tempest specializes in parkour training, and for the little ones, it’s a great way for them to get in shape while having fun fantasizing about becoming their favorite superhero. Among the games played were “Red Light, Green Light,” a game called “Lighthouse,” and “Simon Says,” and naturally they used their massive obstacle course for training and free play as well.
Given that the maximum age limit for the festivities was 12-years old (much to my disappointment), most adults were not able to participate unless it was to supervise their children. That said, I was fortunate enough to hear about the experience through two family friends and their 5-year old son. And through his experience we got an in-depth look at some of the games they played as part of their Batman training.
The “Lighthouse” game entailed having the children make it from the front of the gym to a “lighthouse base” at the back of the gym, where they would be required to tag one of the Tempest coaches. However, they had to do this only while the coach’s eyes were closed and while he was counting, otherwise, the second he stopped, they’d have to hide and remain undetected by the coach. The objective was to train children to be as agile and stealthy as The Dark Knight himself.
Naturally, the “Red Light, Green Light” and “Simon Says” games were very much the same classics we all played during childhood. However, what was incredibly unique about the facility were the elaborate obstacle courses Tempest had to offer. Complete with 8-bit NES Mario theming, the courses were massive, and featured steep ramps for kids to climb and hop over, large walls to scale, as well as crash pads to allow them to jump off and drop safely and snugly. They were admittedly pretty intense for kids obstacle courses, but perfect training to build ones’ body up to handle the physical challenges of being Batman.
And after some extensive free play and running up and down the obstacle courses, the kids were treated to some Batman masks, magnets, and (of course) some pizza.
Check out a gallery of images from the festivities right here:
Despite what many would consider to be a very emotionally taxing job, at the end of the day, the kids found out that being Batman actually does come with some really terrific perks. And in the case of their parents, that perk came in the form of exhausted kids ready to take a nap. We should all be so lucky.
Merry Little Batman is now available to stream only on Prime Video!
