Not unlike this TV that just showed up magically... Wyldstyle: *Beat* "That is literally the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Vitruvius: "We are entering your mind." the mysterious portal to oblivion, he keeps falling, basically to the point of an implied offscreen Overly Long Gag while the rest of the Master Builders are saving the world. While coming up with a plan to infiltrate the Octan headquarters, Emmet asks the team what the last thing Lord Business expects the Master Builders to do.(transforms into a giant face that sings "How Ya Gonna Keep Them Down On the Farm?")The dissident artist Ai Weiwei has finally found a target, other than the Chinese government, worthy of his scorn. It is that notorious corporate source of evil … The artist who criticises China’s suppression of free speech and who has campaigned for important causes such as justice for the victims of the 2008 Sichuan province earthquake, has turned his ire on the Danish toymaker. After Lego refused to sell him bricks in bulk for a new artwork, on the grounds that it cannot endorse “the use of Lego bricks in projects or contexts of a political agenda”, Ai has protested and has been flooded with offers of used Lego bricks from all over the world to help him fight the power of Lord Business and his evil empire.
Well, he can’t have my Lego. And we have a lot of it in our house, from my old 1970s bricks to a new bag bought at Legoland a fortnight ago. This gutsy and noble man risks looking silly by claiming to be “censored” by Lego. He is playing a game, pandering to people in the west who love the idea that corporate behaviour in the democratic world is as bad as the actions of the Chinese state. He, of all people, has to know that is untrue. Here’s what Ai said: “Lego is an influential cultural and political actor in the globalised economy with questionable values. Lego’s refusal to sell its product to the artist is an act of censorship and discrimination.” I am shocked that someone who has experienced what it is to be oppressed by an authoritarian regime, who was held for 81 days without charge and who has documented real, murderous abuses caused by his country’s lack of democracy, would be so glib as to confuse a clumsy PR move with actual “censorship”.
Lego is not stopping – and cannot stop – Ai from creating art out of its bricks. It knows that and so does he. It has simply refused a request for a direct bulk order. No one has been silenced. Lego has not imprisoned him or banned his art. Ai quotes the hilarious Lego Movie, but has he watched all of it? The Lego Movie starts out as a satire on the power of modern corporations. It seems to speak directly to today’s mood of protest and anti-capitalism. Lord Business controls everything, including “all history books” and “voting machines”. A band of heroic Master Builders must fight this all-embracing corporate power. But it turns out to be all about toys. The whole thing is a little boy’s fantasy, and the real story is about his relationship with his father. Lego is a toy, not an evil empire, and Ai is regurgitating trendy banalities in attacking it. How does this toy company promote “questionable values”, as he claims? The values Lego pushes are creativity, education and the freedom of play.
It is not a global conspiracy, just a great toy. I played with it as a child and still do as a parent. The range of stuff Lego makes is truly “awesome”. Surely Ai Weiwei can see the difference between the best toy on the planet and a force for oppression?Just laying down some dope tracks here and didn't see you there. But since you've already interrupted my sick flow, I might as well tell you about my new feature film, 'The Lego Batman Movie'. Written, directed, sound mixed, choreographed and painstakingly beatboxed by me. Wayne Island/Manor, and by extension the Batcave, gets taken over by the Joker and his new Legion of Doom The Joker's intended goal was to get Batman to recognize him as his Arch-Enemy. Bats heartfully confesses his hate for Joker in the end Averted in the film itself, as Batman's adamant refusal to change as a person, even when his actions cause himself and others harm, is a major point of his character arc.Alfred: Sir, I've seen you go through similar phases in 2016, and 2012, and 2008, and 2005, and 1997, and 1995, and 1992, and 1989, and that weird one in 1966.
Batman: I have aged phenomenally. Curbstomp Battle: Batman's battle with his entire Rogues Gallery in the beginning. Joker even mentioned on how he's defeating them all. The Joker's invasion with the other villains from the Phantom Zone leads to this, with the good majority of the Gotham Police Department turning into fish by Voldemort. Deconstructor Fleet: This film takes a sledgehammer to the Batman mythos and few things are left untouched: The Arch-Enemy relation between Batman and Joker. Joker holds the traditional view that he and Batman have this sort of relationship, but because Batman doesn't connect with anyone emotionally, all he sees the Joker as is another villain to fight. This results in the Joker going to further and further lengths to get Batman to admit they are archenemies, but when it fails, Joker pretty much hits the Despair Event Horizon and decides to destroy Gotham instead of take it over because he has nothing else. Batman wraps himself in his vigilante lifestyle to the point that he has no one in his life, so when Joker and the rest of Gotham's villains surrender themselves to the police, he resorts to drastic measures just to try and make himself feel useful.
He's not paranoid from worries about his enemies, but because he's Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life that doesn't involve fighting crime. Batman's Awesome Ego seen in the previous film and prior adaptations gets hit hard. He's such an egotistical, selfish jerk, that he constantly hurts everyone that cares about him without even realizing he's doing it, and insists he can do everything on his own even when he's clearly in over his head. As the film lampshades, "You can't be a hero if you only care about yourself." The Ineffectual Loner trope is once again played straight with Batman refusing not only all outside help, but also just not wanting to have any friends or family, because he's terrified of reliving the pain of his parents' death again. Batman getting over this mindset is a crux of his Character Development, leading to the creation of the Bat Family. The duality of Batman's character, torn between being Batman and being Bruce Wayne, is tossed aside; Batman is the same type of person in his civilian life as in his crimefighting.
Then it becomes increasingly apparent this is because he has no identity as Bruce Wayne. Even when lounging about his mansion in private he keeps the cowl on, he has no real personal life to speak of, and has no friends or family outside of Alfred. He's so utterly consumed by his life as Batman that he has nothing else once the villain is stopped and he gets to go home. On the villain front, a major aspect of the Joker's relationship to Batman has been their Not So Different undertones, and the idea that the Joker sees Batman as the perfect Foil for himself. Here, the revelation that Batman doesn't consider him his Arch-Enemy emotionally breaks the Joker, driving him to destructive extremes in an effort to prove he deserves the title. Comic-Book Time and Status Quo Is God are taken a look at. The film hints that all Batman incarnations are canonical, or at least the major film and TV adaptations back to the 60s Adam West show are. When Barbara Gordon becomes commissioner for Gotham police, she points out that Batman has been operating for decades, but has failed to permanently bring any major criminals to justice or even done anything to lower the crime rate, thus proving he's ultimately ineffective at his job.
Easily Forgiven: Downplayed, Batman was gotten off rather easily for causing the whole mess, but it took the Caped Crusader the error of his ways and getting called out by Barbara to do so. Evil Is Petty: The Joker launches on an elaborate plot to get sent to the Phantom Zone so he can recruit and free all the inmates as part of a Legion of Doom with which to lay waste to Gotham just because Batman refused to call him his Arch-Enemy. Loads and Loads of Characters: As well as a multitude of Batman's Rogues Gallery ranging for the A to C-Listers, the film also features background cameos of various Justice League members and villains such as Sauron (specifically the Eye of Sauron), Voldemort and King Kong. My God, What Have I Done?: While not said outright, but when Batman was in the Phantom Zone, the look on his face says it all when Phyllis shows Batman how he treated the others that care for him like crap. Giving him the Jerkass Realization mentioned above before going back to save them.
No Honor Among Thieves: Batman might be the one getting call-outs for not being a team player, but the Joker's honestly not that much better, betraying every single Gotham villain (except Harley) to the authorities and later explicitly refusing to break them out of Arkham. He seems to have been Easily Forgiven by the end though. Quality Over Quantity: The Joker's second Legion of Doom has fewer individual villains as members (with the exception of the Wicked Witch's army of flying monkeys) than his first one, but they're all Big Bad level threats unto themselves and thus far more dangerous, to the point Batman needs a lot of back-up to beat them, as opposed to the first far larger Legion of Doom that he singlehandedly curbstomped. Sealed Evil in a Can: The Phantom Zone, where the world's greatest evils are imprisoned, is a major plot point. Joker lets all of them out as his new Legion of Doom. Summon Bigger Fish: Rare moment where it's the villain who does this: realizing the Rogues he was teaming up with are no match for Batman, he decides to trick Batman into sending him to the Phantom Zone so he can form a much more effective Legion of Doom out of the far more dangerous inmates.