Producer: Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Writer: Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern and John Whittington Stars: Will Arnett, Ralph Fiennes, Rosario Dawson, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Jenny Slate, Channing Tatum, Billy Dee Williams, Mariah Carey, Hector Elizondo, Eddie Izzard, Conan O'Brien, Doug Benson, Zoe Kravitz, Seth Green, Jemaine Clement, Ellie Kemper, Jonah Hill and Adam Devine Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures After his scene-stealing supporting turn in 2014’s surprise smash “The Lego Movie,” it was a virtual certainty that the caped crusader would be chosen for a star turn in what is sure to become an inevitable flood of features based on the little interlocking plastic blocks. The job of fashioning a vehicle for him fell to no fewer than five writers and director Chris McKay, who had been animation director and editor on the 2014 picture and assumes the top job this time around. For the most part, they—along with the talented voice cast headed by Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Ralph Fiennes and Rosario Dawson, and a large technical crew—have pulled it off nicely.
The plot has the supremely arrogant Bruce Wayne/Batman (the gravelly-voiced Arnett) having to come to terms with the lone wolf life he’s embraced as a result—it becomes clear—of losing his parents as a child. To that end he’ll have to learn to become part of a team—butler Alfred (Fiennes), new police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Dawson) and Dick Grayson (Cera), the orphan he accidentally adopts—that he finally accepts as his new family. He’ll also need to acknowledge his “special relationship” with his arch-nemesis, the Joker (Galifianakis). If the moral that it takes a village to save Gotham sounds a mite heavy, rest assured it’s treated not as some deep psychological analysis but as freewheeling, action-filled farce. Part of that comes from Grayson’s uneasy adoption of the role of Robin under the prodding of Batman by Alfred, and the butler’s joining the superhero squad as well (along with Gordon). Even more follows from the Joker’s entrance into the Phantom Zone to extract a bevy of the infamous villains there—among them King Kong, Godzilla, Sauron, the Wicked Witch of the West and Dr. Who’s Daleks)—to destroy Gotham.
In the face of such an onslaught, Batman will finally—though reluctantly–learn that he can’t do it all on his own. Of course, there’s a larger stable of DC heroes on tap, but they assume cameo status here. One sequence involves a visit to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, for example, but it only serves to italicize surly Batman’s isolation from his Justice League compatriots. And Joker’s enlistment of otherworldly villains into his army will have a divisive impact on his old terrestrial cohorts, some of whom are admittedly not top-tier (Condiment King, with his catsup and mustard weapons, anyone?). To concentrate exclusively on the major narrative threads of “The Lego Batman Movie,” however, fails to note one of the movie’s major strengths: its non-stop, machine-gun style delivery of visual gags and pop-cultural quips that might not be understood by the small fry at whom any Lego movie is by its nature directed, but will certainly delight the adults who brought them to the theatre.
The central message about narcissism may be taken at different levels by the varying age segments of the audience—tykes will read it simply as a lesson about loneliness, while their elders might understand it as contemporary political commentary—but ultimately it just comes down to the idea that’s ubiquitous in children’s films today: the need for family. In this case, the notion is just presented more cleverly than the norm. The voice work is exemplary across the board, with Arnett’s misanthropic growl taking pride of place but Cera’s gee-whiz Robin and Fiennes’ po-faced Alfred not far behind. Galifianakis’ whiny Joker and Dawson’s no-nonsense Gordon complement them nicely, and they’re joined by a seemingly endless stream of guest stars, including Channing Tatum as Superman, Billy Dee Williams as Two Face and Conan O’Brien as Riddler. As good as their vocal contributions are, however, they’d count for little if not for the visual pyrotechnics of the wizards at Warners Animation and Animal Logic, who create eye-popping widescreen vistas of movement and color that editors David Burrows, Matt Villa and John Venzon keep moving at a frantic clip.
The movie does go on a bit long, though, which proves that one can have too much even of a very good thing. After the sad disappointment of “The Master,” the first Lego short that was shown along with “Storks” (which probably explains why you didn’t see it), “The Lego Batman Movie” demonstrates that the conceit has potential, if imaginatively handled. Fast, funny, and visually spectacular, it’s every bit as good as the original “Lego Movie.” Whether future installments will manage the trick is another question. A footnote for the historical record: one of the executive producers is Steven Mnuchin, Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury. If he’s confirmed, that will probably ensure a sequel, though presumably he’ll have to divest himself of any profit participation. Books connecting far-away family Help us make a difference in the lives of many refugees The Princess in Black party invitationsSecret epilogue to The Princess in Black 2
Stories for all: author Margaret Stohl Stories for all: author Renée Watson Stories for all: author Jon Scieszka Stories for all: author Matthew Kirby Book of a Thousand Days How to be a reader Squeetus exclusive author interview Squeetus summer book club The Actor and the Housewife The Books of Bayern « Like every superhero, every book has an origin story... |Has #WeNeedDiverseBooks changed you? Subscribe to this blog's feedHere’s a legitimate question for the Oscar voting committee from the movie-going public: What about The Lego Movie?While some film fans buzz madly over the Oscars’ failure to acknowledge Jennifer Aniston’s dramatic acting chops in Cake or Clint Eastwood’s directorial prowess on American Sniper, the most glaring snub was ignoring the one film that had everyone leaving theatres with smiles on their faces last year. And just in case it counts, The Lego Movie was also the only animated film of 2014 to receive unanimously glowing reviews.
Described by Globe film critic Liam Lacey as a “subversively flippant story,” the tongue-in-cheek feature set inside the sprawling Lego universe and featuring the voice talents of everyone from Will Ferrell to Morgan Freeman was also one of last year’s biggest box-office hits.Working off a modest budget of $60-million (U.S.), The Lego Movie went on to gross $469-million (U.S.) in worldwide box office sales. Plans are already under way for a spinoff film based on the character of Lego Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) for release in 2017 and a direct sequel for release in 2018.No question some Lego Movie fans were expecting recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which yet again showed that it can never be accused of pandering to populist public tastes.Consider the five films that did receive a nomination in the animated film category.Nominating Disney’s Big Hero 6 was a no-brainer. The movie came with the standard Disney moralizing and an animation style clearly designed to captivate pre-schoolers and inspire Happy Meal toys.
Equally obvious was the inclusion of How to Train Your Dragon 2. Like the 2010 original, the sequel boasted lush 3D animation and provided teen and tween moviegoers with an important message: Dragons are nice.Also up for best animated feature honours was The Boxtrolls, a precious bit of fluff about a precocious orphan lad being raised by trash-collecting trolls. The story (an adaptation of the novel Here Be Monsters!) was smart and funny, but the clunky stop-motion animation style had kids fidgeting after the first 20 minutes.The surprise nominee in the animated-film category: Song of the Sea, which was directed by Irish filmmaker Tomm Moore. Constructed in traditional animation style, the story was based on an ancient Celtic legend and told a fanciful tale of magical lighthouses and mythical creatures.For some moviegoers, however, Song of the Sea was undone by its incessant use of telling the story through song. The 94-minute film had more than two-dozen original songs!And of course there’s the biggest surprise nominee of all: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
The Japanese-made animated feature was derived from a 10th-century folk tale and was released to North American theatres in a re-dubbed format featuring the voices of Chloë Grace Moretz, James Caan and others.The downside of Princess Kaguya: Although well-reviewed, the story was, frankly, depressing. It turns out most 10th-century Japanese folk tales do not have happy endings.All of which makes the omission of The Lego Movie in the animated-feature category seem even more egregious.Sure, The Lego Movie was slick and clever – seemingly constructed to entertain the restless YouTube generation, that was practically the film’s entire raison d’etre.And yes, The Lego Movie closely resembled a 90-minute toy commercial, but for many moviegoers, it was the only animated film of 2014 that kept both grownups and children fully engaged for an hour and a half – and how many modern animated features can make that claim?But instead the Oscar voting committee seemed to go for the high road and reward those films with the highest level of artistic pretensions – and those are animated films, mind you.