To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right LEGO Movie Ticket From Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the wacky minds that brought you Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, comes The LEGO Movie, a family-friendly animated adventure that brings a wide world of LEGO's mini-figures to life. Chris Pratt gives voice to Emmet, a common construction worker who stumbles across an incredible destiny to save all of the LEGO worlds from the nefarious plot of Lord Business! Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Charlie Day and Morgan Freeman also lend their voices. Our theatrical review will weigh in on whether or not this new release is worth your time, while this column will focus solely on the film's use of 3D. Considering seven separate categories, To 3D Or Not To 3D evaluates the full scope of the 3D viewing experience. Think of it as a consumer's guide for your movie-going, complete with a viewers poll where you can weigh in on how you plan to see The LEGO Movie. 3D can go great with action, and truly sings in computer-generated productions.
Stuffed with car chases, explosions and flashy battle scenes all constructed with CGI, The LEGO Movie is a perfect venue for the use of 3D. Construction on The LEGO Movie began back in 2009, the same year that James Cameron's Avatar made 3D a game-changer. Nowadays its practically a requirement that a computer-animated movie offer a 3D version. With the years since spent carefully creating the animation, you can bet a good amount of that time went into the film's 3D, and it shows. This is that element of 3D where it appears the movie is protruding into the theater. It's 3D's flashiest attribute, and The LEGO Movie uses it as such, adding punch to gunfights where the gunfire blocks seem to pop right out of the screen! Other actions sequences also allow us to get a bit closer to Emmett and the gang as they are thrown sky high and right at us. Alternately, this is the portion of 3D that appears to extend back into the screen. The LEGO Movie has extraordinary sets, ranging from pirate ships to a sprawling LEGO city, the Wild West, and a fantasy realm known as Middle Zealand.
The 3D definitely adds a deeper sense of dimension to all of the above. However, the movie is so fast-paced that the filmmakers have chosen to keep audience eyes focused on the foreground, presumably so they don't miss a key plot points. So, while the sets reach far into the background, Lord and Miller chose to have them mostly out of focus--pulling yours to their main players and the action. It's a smart technique, but it loses this category a point. This is generally a problem with moody action movies that are draped in night and shadows. The LEGO Movie is defined by its bright colors, and its makers were smart enough to compensate so that 3D glasses wouldn't dim them. It's such a vibrantly lit movie, I forgot I had 3D glasses on. This is a test where you pull off your 3D glasses to see how much blur is on the screen. Basically, the more blur you see, the more 3D you're getting. I ran this test several times, and found a fair amount of blurring to a good amount. Like I said up top, the out of focus background means Lord and Miller didn't make the fullest use of 3D they could have.
However, it was aesthetically the right choice for the film by my count. Bad 3D can be downright harmful to your health, causing nausea, headaches or eye-strain. Happily, I experienced none of the above during The LEGO Movie. It's only arguably negative side effect is I that I can't shake the song "Everything is Awesome" from my internal jukebox. Continued On Next Page > Blended From Around The WebThe LEGO Movie: Everything is Awesome Edition Blu-ray 3D Review In the past, several movie studios have tried to capitalize on various toy franchises, with horrible results. I'm not even talking about Transformers. I'm looking at films like Dungeons & Dragons, Battleship and even Bratz. (Yes, there was a god-awful Bratz movie!) For some reason, filmmakers have stayed away from the multi-billion-dollar LEGO franchise -- until now. And because they were so darned patient, Warner Bros. struck some serious box-office gold with The LEGO Movie. Because of the built-in audience, which covers a wide variety of ages, The LEGO Movie probably would have been massively successful if it turned out to be a horrible movie.
Thankfully, it's quite the opposite. It's cute, colorful, funny, and extremely well done. It follows the adventures of Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Parks and Recreation star Chris Pratt), a LEGO construction minifigure who does his best to fit in perfectly with the other LEGOs in the crowd. He follows the instructions pretty darn well, until he discovers that President Business (Will Ferrell) is looking to destroy creativity and the LEGO world as we know it. From there, he teams up with the "Master Builders," a group of rebels that includes Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), and of course, Batman (Will Arnett). That lineup doesn't even scratch the surface of famous voices that you'll recognize in this movie. Keep your ears open for Liam Neeson, Charlie Day, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders, Will Forte, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, and even Shaquille O'Neal. Besides bringing together a great vocal cast, The LEGO Movie successfully captures the entire LEGO universe, all the way down to "1980-Something Space Guy."
It also gets in a ton of jabs at big business, which is amazing when you consider that basically, this is a film inspired by a big pile of plastic, which just happens to be valued around $14.6 billion. That part will probably go over a lot of the kiddies' heads, as will some of the jokes. That's what makes The LEGO Movie perfect for all ages; and there are still plenty of one-liners and bright colors for the wee ones as well. Warner Bros. is releasing The LEGO Movie in a 2D version, but the "Everything is Awesome Edition" does include a 3D disc. Both versions are very true to the theatrical experience, as well as the LEGO experience. Nothing here is overdone. Instead, this 2.40:1 image has a very lifelike (or at least very LEGO-like) color palette with awesome detail throughout. The texture on the close-ups of Emmet's face and hair and on the LEGOs in general, Emmet's reflection off Bad Cop's glasses, the bright scenery in Cloud Cuckoo Land, the random pieces flying throughout, and more;
The LEGO Movie is as good looking as you'd expect. As far as the 3D is concerned, this is "The Special." There are plenty of pop-out moments, but this edition also delivers a ton of depth. If you're specifically looking for pop-outs, cut right to the opening construction scene or some of the action-packed moments. It's a fun experience and offers more than enough to warrant a 3D purchase, all without being too gimmicky. Not to be picky, but I'm genuinely shocked that Warner Bros. didn't spring for the 7.1 track for this one. Gripes aside, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is LEGO-tastic. The dialogue is clear throughout and there's a ton of directionality, making this one more than demo-worthy. Those surrounds are constantly active with construction chatter, city sounds, LEGO horses, and more. However, there are so many big moments, including LEGO explosions, chases, the LEGO ocean, and the music. Let's just say that if you don't find yourself singing "Everything is Awesome" with a smile on your face by the end of this film, you are probably dead inside.
It should be noted that the only thing awesome about "The Everything is Awesome Edition" is that there's a 3D version of the movie. Not thatisn't awesome, but don't expect any other 3D-enhanced extras. However, the 2D Blu-ray is busting with all sorts of goodies, even though most are on the short side. There are deleted scenes, outtakes and promos, as well as one minute of Batman music, another with Michelangelo and Lincoln, and a third featuring the film's first animation test. Otherwise, there are other shorts on the Ninjagos, an "Everything is Awesome" sing-along, and a few minutes of amazing fan-made LEGO movies. Two of the lengthier featurettes, "Bringing LEGO to Life" and "See It, Built It!" really have the film's target audience in mind. The latter is especially interesting, giving viewers two different angles on how to build the double-decker couch and Emmet's car. Most of what's included is for the kiddies, but for something more comprehensive, directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord sat down with actors Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, Charlie Day and Alison Brie for a funny commentary track.