You guys, have you seen The Lego Movie? Have you have you have you have you? Because if you haven't, you should totally go see it as soon as possible. Yeah I know you're busy, but what have you got going on that's more important than being completely and thoroughly entertained for 100 continuous minutes? I'm feeling evangelical about The Lego Movie because I took my kids to see it this weekend and I was totally surprised by how much I loved it. While my 6-year-old was squirming in his seat and my 8-year-old was semi-distracted by the task of ferreting every last kernel out of his popcorn bag, I was utterly enraptured by the action happening onscreen. Honestly, I don't think I've laughed that much in a theater in years. What I'm saying is that I'm almost entirely certain you'll love it even if you don't have kids -- but if you need a little extra encouragement, here are 5 Lego Movie in-jokes that were clearly meant to sail right over little kids' noggins. The Lego Movie was written and directed by the team of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who also did 21 Jump Street, which starred Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.
In The Lego Movie, Tatum voices Superman and Jonah Hill plays the socially awkward, overly clingy Green Lantern. Channing to Hill, when their characters get stuck together in a wad of gum: "I super hate you." Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother voices Wonder Woman in The Lego Movie. If this seems like an oddly appropriate choice, given Smulders' gorgeous WW-esque looks, Joss Whedon has said he considered her for the role of Wonder Woman in his draft of the eponymous film, which never went into production. Smulders was also reportedly in the running for the Wonder Woman role in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman, but lost out to Gal Gadot. That's a bummer for her, but it looks like Smulders is at least enjoying playing a minifig version of the superheroine: The failed BIONICLE product line.When Morgan Freeman-voiced Vitruvius describes the various worlds Lord Business has tried to master, he mentions there are some no one cares about. Watch the blink-and-you'll-miss-it glimpse of Bioncile, the line of toys Lego discontinued in 2010 (semi-replacing it with the Hero Factory series).
Nice little self-deprecating nod to one of Lego's own unsuccessful products. Early on in the movie, Emmet's "friends" are seen eating croissants and turkey drumsticks while waxing poetic about what makes them all individuals. The joke here is that Lego only has a few foods that fit into mini-fig hands. Croissants show up in over 30 different LEGO sets, while turkey drumsticks are in well over 50. And now for the last one, which is a BIG spoiler if you haven't seen the movie ... At the very beginning of the movie when Lord Business and Vitruvius fight over the Kragle, we see a title screen that says, "Eight and a half years later." This we can assume refers to the birth of Finn, the live-action kid who's been playing with the Legos all along. As MTV puts it, So though it's never explicitly stated, when Finn was born, The Man Upstairs locked his toys away, separated the worlds and made sure that his son would never play with them. Given the poignant ending, this is yet another beautiful, emotional detail that adds to the richness of the film.
I couldn't possibly list all the rapid-fire jokes from the film, because they're nearly nonstop from beginning to end. And on top of all that relentless humor, the last 35 minutes take an initially confusing turn into live-action territory that may just have you sobbing into your popcorn. So many thumbs for The Lego Movie -- a true rarity in that it's equally enjoyable for kids and grownups. Have you seen The Lego Movie? Did you totally love it? Images via Warner Bros, InstagramIt's only been out for one weekend, but you've probably — like most of the world — seen "The LEGO Movie" multiple times. But did you catch all the Easter Eggs and plot points that zip by during the non-stop speedy dialogue and action? Here are some of our favorite blink-and-you-miss-it moments. And spoilers on, of course: "Eight And A Half Years Later" Right at the top of the movie, after Lord Business (Will Ferrell) and Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) battle for possession of the all-powerful Kragle, we cut to a title screen that says, "Eight And A Half Years Later."
While this is a nice preview of the running "very specific time frame" joke throughout the movie, it's also way more important to the plot. That's because Finn (Jadon Sand), the kid who ultimately turns out to be playing with the LEGOs in the movie is eight and a half years old. So though it's never explicitly stated, when Finn was born, The Man Upstairs locked his toys away, separated the worlds and made sure that his son would never play with them. Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman all get their time to shine in the movie, but there is one other DC Comics superhero gets his big screen debut. That would be the Flash, seen during Metal Beard's flashback to the Master Builders' initial assault on Lord Business' stronghold. He doesn't get any lines, so hopefully we'll get to see more of the speedster in the sequel. When Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) and Emmet (Chris Pratt) visit The Old West, you can hear a plinky, olde timey Western version of "Everything Is Awesome" playing in the bar.
One of the biggest cameos in the movie has to be when the Millennium Falcon shows up unexpectedly next to our heroes' pirate ship. Though they weren't able to get Harrison Ford back as Han Solo (he's voiced by Keith Ferguson, who's done various Ford characters on "Robot Chicken"), they did manage to snag Billy Dee Williams for Lando, and Anthony Daniels for C-3P0. It's surprising that the Warner Brothers movie managed to get Disney's talent, but the long relationship between LEGO and Lucasfilm makes the whole thing a little more understandable. And super freakin' awesome. Another big screen reunion, Channing Tatum plays Superman and Jonah Hill plays Green Lantern, reprising their partnership from directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller's "21 Jump Street." The team will once again reunite on "22 Jump Street," though out of their superhero costumes. When Vitruvius runs down all the worlds Lord Business has tried to lock down, he mentions there's a bunch we don't care about. One that quickly flashes on screen is Bioncile, a LEGO line that ran from 2001-2010 with a deep, complicated back-story of its own.
Though this may have been a joke at the expense of some of the brick-maker's failed toys, it's also an indication of places the story could go in the sequel. What's With All The Croissants? One of the more knowing jokes in the movie finds Emmet's "friends" talking about what makes them all different, which includes eating croissants, and loving turkey drumsticks. The reason behind this is that LEGO has a few generic foods that fit right into mini-figs hands. Croissants actually show up in over 30 different LEGO sets, while turkey drumsticks are in well over 50. Probably the only item more popular is carrots, which show up over 60 times. Here's one we actually missed, but according to Deadline there's a shout-out to Jeffrey Robinov. The legendary studio head was working at Warner Brothers and greenlit "The LEGO Movie," before abruptly leaving the company. Perhaps he's mentioned on one of the many, many billboards in Brickington at the beginning of the movie? We'll just have to go watch the movie a few more times to find out...