The Lego Movie is like an extended product placement with heart — and that's a good thing. At its core, the film is a visual showcase for Lego merchandise, offering up a unique brand of computer animation that injects new life into the beloved toy company's plastic bricks, while maintaining their boxy, yellow charm. Unlike other product-placement-laden films (ahem, The Internship), however, The Lego Movie succeeds because of its self-awareness, heartfelt storyline and pitch-perfect cast. To quote its catchy theme song, everything is awesome. See also: Warner Bros. Takes You Behind the Bricks of 'The Lego Movie' The film follows Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt), a resoundingly average Lego man who is mistakenly identified as the "Special," an extraordinary individual who is tasked with saving the world. In his quest, Emmet teams up with a motley crew of minifigures, including sassy rebel Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), wise wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), unicorn-kitten hybrid Unikitty (Alison Brie), '70s spaceman Benny (Charlie Day), swashbuckling pirate MetalBeard (Nick Offerman) and Batman (Will Arnett channelling Christian Bale's gravelly voiced Dark Knight).
Their goal: to stop order-obsessed Lord Business (a hilarious Will Ferrell who evokes Zoolander villain Jacobim Mugatu) and his henchman Bad Cop (Liam Neeson) from freezing the Lego universe with a super-weapon called "Kragle." The film's opening scene, featuring villain Lord Business (Will Ferrell) and Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman).Image: Warner Bros. Pictures, 'The Lego Movie'Led by Pratt's delightfully awkward, everyman take on Emmet, the cast is a comedy dream team whose chemistry is only enhanced by The Lego Movie's witty script. Much of its humor is self-referential; the Lego minifigures know they are made out of bricks — and they want you to know that they know. In one scene, Bad Cop asks, “Do you see the quotations I’m making with my claw hands?” while another scene that showcases various Lego worlds intentionally plays out like a commercial for Lego sets. In a film that thrusts its product into the spotlight, there was plenty of room for error, but The Lego Movie manages to turn its weakness into a strength, thanks to directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs).
Interestingly, despite its lack of human bodies, physical comedy provides the film's biggest laughs. Much like the puppets in Team America: World Police, there is something inherently comical about seeing rigid minifigures move around. The Lego Movie's creators seem to know this, including a funny minutes-long scene of Bad Cop repeatedly kicking a chair in anger after Emmet and Wyldstyle evade him. Batman (Will Arnett) and Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) share a moment, while Emmet (Chris Pratt) jealously looks on.Image: Warner Bros. Pictures, 'The Lego Movie'Humor aside, it's The Lego Movie's heart that elevates it beyond the typical kids' film. While the message — that you shouldn't judge others for being different, and that you can be "special" as long as you believe in yourself — is standard fare for animated films, The Lego Movie delivers it better than most. Adults aren't left out, either. In a surprise live-action scene near the end of the film, they're taught to embrace their imagination, as well as to remember how to be a kid again.
Emmet (Chris Pratt) leads his team in a plan to save the world. He is joined by Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), Unikitty (Alison Brie), Benny (Charlie Day) and Batman (Will Arnett).Image: Warner Bros. Pictures, 'The Lego Movie'At the end of the day, though, it's all about the animation. The Lego Movie takes full advantage of the versatility of its medium, showing off Lego bricks in different formations. For instance, one wild chase scene in which Bad Cop is in hot pursuit of Emmet, Wyldstyle and Vitruvius, features Lego dust clouds taking shape behind galloping horses. And whether it's flooding a submarine or making waves, water is another element that impresses in Lego form. Simply put, the film is dynamic, colorful and a feast for the eyes. The Good: A slick script, solid cast and eye-catching animation make The Lego Movie a fun outing for both kids and adults. The Bad: It teaches some old lessons, but with a distinctly unique spin. Bottom Line: The Lego Movie is a first-class animated feature that will bring laughs to children for years to come.
We give it 3.5 stars out of 4 stars. The Lego Movie arrived in U.S. theaters on Feb. 7. BONUS: 15 Cool Lego Minifigure Facts to Build Into Your BrainDon't stay after 'The LEGO Batman Movie' — there are no end-credits scenes • There is no post-credits sequence following "The LEGO • Fans may have thought that the pint-sized Caped Crusader may tease the next film in the "LEGO" • Do stay around for some fun credits as soon as the If you're hoping for a little something extra after the end of "The LEGO Batman Movie," sorry folks. There is no extra scene after the entire credits roll for theThere's no hint at what's to come in that sequel or next year's planned Ninjago spin-off. Stay around right after the movie ends for some fun initial credits that reveal which actors voiced the main characters inSome of them may be a surprise. The 2014 "LEGO Movie" had a similar fun credits scene featuring Lego If you were expecting a scene after the credits, it's not really
typical of Warner Bros. to add an extra scene at the end of theThat has become more of a Disney and Marvel staple at the end of their superhero films. While "The LEGO Batman Movie" doesn't have any added scenes, the film does open and close in a pretty unique way that will make "The LEGO Batman Movie" is in theaters Friday, February 10. Read the original article on INSIDER. Follow INSIDER on Facebook. Follow INSIDER on Twitter. NOW WATCH: Here’s why flights take longer than they did 50 years ago Get the Slide Deck from Henry Blodget's IGNITION Presentation on the Future of Digital Read Business Insider On The Go Available on iOS or Android See All Jobs » Thanks to our partners“Who can chokehold a bear?”“Those lines are shouted in a song introducing the brooding, blocky Caped Crusader in the opening of “The Lego Batman Movie.” The scene has Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) is fighting a gaggle of bad guys before squaring off with the Joker (voiced by Zach Galifianakis).
In an interview, the director Chris McKay discussed how the song came to be and why he decided to begin the movie with a climactic action sequence. Below are excerpts from that conversation.Would you discuss this song that Batman is singing?Batman, in the first movie, has a song, “Darkness, No Parents.” We loved the idea that Batman fancied himself to be a Marilyn Manson/Trent Reznor type, somewhere between industrial and rap. He saw himself as this warrior poet and writes these earnest, dark-feeling songs. In the original edit, the song was “Bodies,” by Drowning Pool. But the studio didn’t think that was going to play for a kid’s movie. So we brought in a bunch of guys to write stuff and the song we loved the most was from a songwriter named Cheap Shot, who wrote this really funny, but also really cool song.The scene starts the movie off with a bang. What were your goals for it?I wanted the beginning of our movie to feel like the third act of someone else’s movie. This is the third act of a Zack Snyder or Christopher Nolan Batman movie where there’s this threat that the city can’t do anything about and it’s the biggest thing Batman’s ever faced.