'LEGO Batman' director Chris McKay talks about mocking beloved superheroes

Feb. 12 (UPI) -- The LEGO Batman Movie director Chris McKay says the jokes the film makes at the expense of superheroes is done with the utmost affection.

The critically acclaimed, animated adventure is in theaters now. Featuring the voices of Will Arnett, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes and Michael Cera, it is a colorful, pop-culture extravaganza that mines for laughs -- among other superhero properties -- Suicide Squad and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Asked by UPI in a phone interview Thursday if there was ever a danger of him going too far in teasing the iconic figures, McKay replied: "The thing that everyone's really nervous about, you know... Warner Bros. is very committed to those movies and loves those movies and we're doing a different thing."

"I'm the first guy in line to go see any of that stuff. I love superhero movies. I love Batman. I want them all to be great, even though they are all different," he added. "Even [LEGO Batman dialogue lines] like, 'Iron Man sucks...' and that kind of thing. We're all friends and we're all kind of making fun. It's like the way your friends might rib you about something or kid you about something... A lot of it is coming out of love or history... The audiences have a relationship with these characters and a relationship with these different iterations. They had a relationship with Suicide Squad long before they went to go see the movie and, also, maybe, a relationship with an actor like Will Smith and that kind of thing. They come to it with a lot of stuff and I think that's why a movie like ours, hopefully, can work in that we know that you come to the movie with a lot of baggage and we like playing with that."