Can a feature-length toy commercial also work as a decent kids’ movie? The bombast of the G.I. Joe and Transformers franchises might suggest no, but after an uninspired year for animated movies, The Lego Movie is a 3-D animated film that connects, as an homage to the ingenious Danish-born construction game, along with a subversively flippant story about thinking outside the blocks. Co-director and screenwriters Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street) borrow the reverence of Pixar’s Wall-E and the rude fun of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Team America: World Police to create a movie that’s fast-paced and silly with enough throwaway clever in-jokes for their accompanying adults to justify a second viewing.The plot, which is a parody of a dystopian science fiction story along the lines of Tron or The Matrix, focuses on an unexceptional mini-figure construction worker, Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt).Emmet has spent his life in the skyscraper-filled city of Bricksburg, living by the instruction manual: (“Root for the local sports team.
Don’t forget to smile. Always return a compliment.”) Each night, he watches the same laugh-tracked sitcom, Where’s My Pants? Each day, he works a construction job listening to the anthem Everything Is Awesome (an actually awesome Auto-Tuned bubblegum ear worm from the Calgary sister duo Tegan and Sara, with a rap break from Andy Samberg’s Lonely Island trio.) Then, one afternoon at the end of his shift, he discovers that the future of his square-cornered world depends on him abandoning his code of conformity.After taking a tumble at his job site, Emmet discovers a red cylinder known as the “piece of resistance” is stuck to his back and he meets a ninja rebel with coloured punk stripes in her hair, Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks). She’s part of a revolutionary movement under the leadership of a blind master-building sage Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman). They’re out to save the Lego-verse from President Business (voiced by Will Ferrell), who plans to cement the mix-and-match Lego blocks into a fixed state using a binding substance called Kragle.Kragle (a tube of Krazy Glue with some letters obscured) is one of the brand-name “relics” that have fallen into the Lego world, including a Band-Aid, a Q-tip and and X-Acto knife
, a.k.a. “The Exact-Zero.” These household items are related to the Man Upstairs, whose unseen hand (at least until the movie’s end) rules this busy little plastic world.Under the supervision of animator Chris McKay (Robot Chicken) the visual style and the message are both tied to how a limited means of expression can produce a profusion of creative possibilities. Everything onscreen is constructed from bricks, gears, wheels and mini-figures, including a heaving ocean. President Business’s chief enforcer is Bad Cop/Good Cop (Liam Neeson), whose swivelling head has a smile painted on one side and a frown on the other.Over the years, numerous brands have been sublicensed by Lego to create popular mini-figures, many of whom make an appearance here. They include DC Comics’ Superman and Wyldstyle’s pompous boyfriend, Batman (Will Arnett), as well as wizards from Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, Abraham Lincoln, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and NBA star Shaquille O’Neal (who provides his own voice).
There’s an Old West set, pirate-themed scenes and a psychedelic realm of mix-and-match Lego creations called Cloud Cuckooland, where the space cadet empress, Uni-Kitty (Alison Brie), is a cross between a unicorn and kitten.No doubt, there is an uncomfortable number of logos being marketed to kids in the The Lego Movie, along with the obvious one that’s in the title, but the film as a whole is very much in the spirit of Cloud Cuckooland: It’s a place where the use of X-Acto blades and Krazy Glue breaks the rules but almost everything else goes.Gayle King insists that Oprah is not running for president, and she should know Amazon introduces button that sends you mystery candyIt wasn’t even a year to the day that the Lego Movie came out, and audiences and critics were delighted. It also made a ton of money, and gave Pixar a run for the money in the CG animation game. So needless to say, a lot of people are not happy The Lego Movie got mostly passed over for the Academy Awards, especially the category you’d think would be a lock, Best Animated Feature Film, time, and the Oscars have always had a lot of politics and bullshit involved.
Peter Travers at Rolling Stone went crazy that the Lego Movie got the shaft, yelling “Damn you Oscar!” James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy, also weighed in, telling the Wrap that The Lego Movie was “one of the best films of the year…Perhaps the Tinkertoy Movie or the Erector Set Film would have fared better.” Like the Grammys, the Academy Awards have been famously out of touch for decades, so this shouldn’t come as a total surprise. What’s most important is a wonderful new franchise has been launched, and we hope it will give Pixar a good kick in the ass to come back with another great movie one of these days.Voice Cast:Chris Pratt as Emmet BrickowoskiWill Arnett as BatmanElizabeth Banks as WyldstyleAlison Brie as UnikittyLiam Neeson as Bad Cop / Good CopNick Offerman as Metal BeardCharlie Day as BennyWill Ferrell as Lord Business / President BusinessWill Forte as Abraham LincolnMorgan Freeman as VitruviusJonah Hill as Green LanternCobie Smulders as Wonder WomanChanning Tatum as SupermanDirected by Phil Lord and Christopher MillerSummary:A fun story
, hilarious cast, impressive animation, and surprise cameos make “The LEGO Movie” a great film for both kids and adults. Story:“The LEGO Movie” is based on the awesome toy.Emmet Brickowoski is your ordinary everyday Joe. He follows the rules, goes to work, and is utterly average in every sense of the word, but his world changes when he accidentally discovers a strange object. Suddenly he is pursued by the cops, the beautiful and mysterious Wyldstyle, and the forces of the evil Lord Business. It turns out they all believe that Emmet is “The Special” as described in a prophecy proclaimed by Vitruvius, and it is believed that he’s the only one who can defeat the evil ruler of their world.But as Emmet goes on the run, he soon discovers that the world is much bigger than he ever expected and filled with more bizarre characters than he could ever imagine. He soon teams up with the likes of Batman, Superman, an astronaut, a unicorn kitty, a pirate, the Ninja Turtles, and more in an effort to foil Lord Business’ evil plan.“
The LEGO Movie” is rated PG for mild action and rude humor.What Worked:If you grew up with LEGOs or have kids with LEGOs, then you’re going to love “The LEGO Movie.” I personally started collecting LEGOs in the ’70s and my first set was a spaceship that featured the blue ’80s space guy like Benny. (That set even made a brief appearance in the background of a couple of scenes, much to my excitement and not that of my wife or kids.) My little sister had the castle LEGOs and my youngest sister had Duplo. So seeing “The LEGO Movie” was like a nostalgic trip down memory lane. And all of the little quirks about LEGOs are here. They make jokes about how they can’t move their legs in certain directions. When Emmet falls he breaks into pieces. The characters follow printed instructions like those that come with the toys. It’s quite clear that the creators were all LEGO fans themselves, because that love is apparent in every frame of this film.But it’s not nostalgia alone that carries “The LEGO Movie.”
It’s also flat out funny. There are endless one-liners, sight gags, and other fun moments in practically every scene that have absolutely nothing to do with LEGOs. There are references to “The Terminator,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and other films. Emmet is quite amusing as the fish out of water that hopelessly keeps trying to impress Wyldstyle. There are jokes about overpriced coffee, stupid sitcoms, corporate greed, and other random topics. More than once I found myself laughing out loud at the clever humor. Like “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” it takes a concept that seems like a quick corporate money grab and turns it into something much more special.Another thing many people will remember about “The LEGO Movie” is the awesome cameos. Some are publicly known like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern. Batman is hilariously macho and Will Arnett perfectly voices him. Then Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill carry over their chemistry from “21 Jump Street” as Superman and Green Lantern.
We also get to see the Ninja Turtles, a brief potshot at “Speed Racer” (which also had LEGO sets), Ninjago, and more. But there are also a couple of other show-stopping cameos that I won’t spoil here. However, if you look at the various licenses that LEGO holds, it won’t take much to guess what those cameos might be. You won’t be disappointed by them, so don’t spoil yourself in advance.The voice cast is perfect across the board. If you’re a fan of “Parks & Recreation,” then you’re a fan of Chris Pratt – his ability to play the lovable dimwit is perfect for the role of Emmet and his enthusiasm to play over-the-top characters are absolutely what is needed for our hero. It’s amazing that he hasn’t done animation sooner. He’s paired with the ever-lovable Elizabeth Banks. She’s always funny and likable in her live-action roles and that perfectly carries over to her role as Wyldstyle (no, she’s not a DJ). Morgan Freeman is also quite funny as Vitruvius and he proves more than willing to mock the gravitas of his silky smooth voice.
But the real surprise is Will Ferrell. I knew he was in the movie, but I didn’t realize how prominent he’d ultimately be in it. We already know he is funny and he continues that with Lord Business, but as the film progresses he has a larger and larger part in the story, eventually ending up at the core of the film?s message. It was quite a pleasant surprise and it ends up being his most notable family-friendly role since “Elf.” Rounding out the cast is Liam Neeson, Alison Brie (“Community”), Nick Offerman (“Parks & Recreation”), and Charlie Day (“Pacific Rim”).The animation in “The LEGO Movie” is quite impressive. More than once you’ll think they actually used LEGO bricks in the animation rather than CG. They animate it with a stop-motion effect that helps add to the feeling that you’re seeing real LEGOs moving on the screen. I also highly recommend seeing it in 3D. It adds great depth to the CG and you really start to appreciate the scope and detail of the animated world.
It’s also fun as the Batwing flies out of the screen at you.Finally, I have to mention the music. The song “Everything is AWESOME!!!” by Tegan and Sara featuring The Lonely Island will be stuck in your head for days, but in a good way.What Didn’t Work:“The LEGO Movie” starts out a heck of a lot like “The Matrix.” Our hero is an everyday Joe living in a boring world secretly run by sinister forces, robots, and other bad things. Then one day the hero meets a mysterious tough girl in black with amazing powers who proclaims him to be “The Chosen One.” You see where this is going. It’s amusing for a while, but the story doesn’t really kick into gear until Emmet and Wyldstyle break into the Western town. It’s only then that it starts really departing from the formula of “The Matrix.” Things are further amped up when Batman arrives and gives an extra infusion of humor. But if they had stuck with the Matrix theme the entire time, it would have gotten old fast.The themes in “The LEGO Movie” also seem to contradict themselves at times.
For example, Emmet has trouble being creative which is portrayed as being bad. But then he meets the Master Builders who are incredibly creative and that seems to be good. But by the end of the film, it?s Emmet’s utter lack of creativity and ability to follow the rules that saves the day, not the creativity of the Master Builders. So it felt like a big contradiction… but who cares. I got to see Batman fight alongside other characters who will remain nameless for the sake of avoiding spoilers.As creative, fun, and heartwarming as “The LEGO Movie” is, it eventually devolves into a chaotic brawl by the end. It’s kind of a mess of LEGOs in the finale that’s a bit much to take in. But, ultimately, it’s forgivable and you walk out of the theater wanting to immediately see a sequel.The Bottom Line:“The LEGO Movie” was an absolutely fun experience for my whole family and me. We all enjoyed it and it was one of those rare family movies that are worth the time and money to go see.