'Lego Batman' has a lot of fun mocking 'Batman v Superman,' but there's no beef there

The Lego Batman Movie is easily the most hilarious superhero film since Batman and Robin (although that one wasn't actually intended to be a comedy) -- yet it comes from a studio that has been accused of taking the whole comic book movie thing way too seriously in recent years, with a dour iteration of Superman that divided audiences in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.

Still, it's impossible to accuse Warner Bros. of being humorless: Suicide Squad may not have impressed critics, but it wasn't without its chuckles, and early footage of Justice League certainly hints at a more playful tone than Zack Snyder's previous efforts.

But Lego Batman feels like a direct address to such criticism: a gleefully winking, cheekily self-aware quip-fest that isn't afraid to mock its heroes, its villains or the entire apparatus of the movie industry in general. That's probably why it's so darn charming -- grown men gallivanting around in capes and tights are inherently silly, and the more a project leans into the surrealism of the concept, the more effective it can be. (Exhibit A: Deadpool.)

When you're dealing with such iconic characters -- especially those with a long and varied history that unironically involves Bat-shark-repellant -- everything is fair game, and that seems to be the approach that director Chris McKay took in crafting The Lego Batman Movie.

"I care about these characters, I care about all the movies ... but I also take the point of view that they're like all of your best friends, and you sometimes give your friends a hard time about choices that they make or things that they do," McKay tells Mashable. "I think we're only doing it with love and out of affection for all of the things that all of the superhero movies are doing, whether it's the DC movies, past and present, the Marvel films, or anything else."

McKay says he tries to be equal-opportunity with his ribbing, since he has a Catwoman tattoo on one arm and a Captain America tattoo on the other, and grew up as an unrepentant genre fan. (If you haven't seen Lego Batman yet, rest assured that our hero can't resist an opportunity to get in a few digs at his Marvel rivals either.)

"When we're doing a movie that has a Airplane-slash-Naked Gun approach to comedy where we're firing off jokes as fast as we are trying in this movie, inevitably people are going to have something thrown their direction," he explains. "I think for the most part, Warner Brothers and Lego and DC, they were cool with everything."

More than offending any specific corporate overlord, McKay is cognizant of the potential for conflicting fan reactions.

"There's obviously passionate fans on both sides. I think if they're at all worried about Warner Bros.' commitment to making the kinds of movies like I did, and the kinds of movies that they're making in the DC universe, they should rest assured that they're fully committed to both ... and know that there's room out there for everybody to make the kind of movies that they're making on both sides." he says. "There's no animosity between the movies I'm making and the movies they're making."

McKay -- who also served as the editor and animation co-director on The Lego Movie -- has made a career out of mining pop culture for comedy, thanks to his work as a director, producer and editor on Robot Chicken.

"Everything I've ever done, the biggest challenge is doing it well; telling a good story; making it as emotionally honest as possible; making something of this quality that's worth people's time," McKay says. "I think those are the biggest challenges that you face, because everything else is just money and time ... You're never going to have enough money and time."