Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now.A kids’ movie manages to convince people of all ages who have been around the block a few times that creativity and courage still matter. As a parent, it’s easy to be cynical about a film based on a toy. Will you be bombarded with a 90-minute infomercial that by the end of the sell will cost you more than the price of the movie ticket? Fortunately, The Lego Movie has enough wit and wisdom to send a recession-age message to families on the importance of thinking through problems with creativity. The film begins with a dastardly villain, Lord Business (Will Ferrell), who has stolen the mystical “Kragle” from sage Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman). In the battle to protect the artifact, Vitruvius loses his sight but doesn’t go down lightly. He curses Lord Business with a prophecy of a master builder who will find the “piece of resistance” and save the world from the evils of the “Kragle.”
Years later, we meet loner Emmet (Chris Pratt), a nondescript Lego construction guy who needs to follow step-by-step instructions just to get through his day: “Always return a compliment. Always root for the local sports team ” The government of Emmet’s hometown of Bricksburg is run by President Business, aka Lord Business channeling a Donald Trump ’do. Business has the whole town of Bricksburg under his control and distracts them with a catchy pop tune titled Everything Is Awesome, high-priced lattes and a reality TV show called Where’s My Pants? Emmet stumbles upon the famed “piece of resistance” while literally falling for hip chick WyldStyle (Elizabeth Banks), a ninja-like master builder who had been searching for the piece. She mistakenly thinks Emmet is “The Special” — the one chosen to save the world. Meanwhile, Business is planning a total takeover of the townsfolk by unleashing the Kragle, a wadded up Krazy Glue, to stick everyone in place.
He tests this out on his maniacal henchman Good Cop/Bad Cop (Liam Neeson) by forcing the Bad Cop to squirt his own parents into a sticky state of being. Simple-minded Emmet, with the help of a hodgepodge of master builders, from Batman (Will Arnett) to a 1980s astronaut guy, set off to rid the world of Kragle. The vivid computer animation mimics the look and feel of the beloved Lego blocks. During Emmet’s quest we wander through some familiar playsets — the Wild West, the Pirate Ship, the original Space Ship set. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ( Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs), who also wrote the screenplay, do a remarkable job of creating worlds and a storyline that could easily come from the imaginations of youngsters. Metalbeard the Pirate, for example, is an amalgamation of all the leftover toys pieced together. In the end, there’s an unexpected heart-tugging moment with a surprisingly subtle performance by Ferrell that glues the whole film together.
In a time when business-as-usual means downsizing, it’s comforting to know that creativity and imagination can still save the day.Warner Bros. Pictures has revealed the trailer and poster for The LEGO Movie, coming to theaters on February 7, 2014! The original 3D computer animated story follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.Chris Pratt stars as the voice of Emmet. Will Ferrell stars as the voice of his primary adversary, President Business, an erudite, anal-retentive CEO who has a hard time balancing world domination with micro-managing his own life; while Liam Neeson voices the president’s powerful henchman, known as Bad Cop, who will stop at nothing to catch Emmet.Starring as Emmet’s fellow travelers are Oscar winner Morgan Freeman, as Vitruvius, an old mystic;
Elizabeth Banks, as tough-as-nails Lucy, who mistakes Emmet for the savior of the world and guides him on his quest; Will Arnett, as the mysterious Batman, a LEGO minifigure with whom Lucy shares a history; Nick Offerman as a craggy, swaggering pirate obsessed with revenge on President Business; and Alison Brie as a sweet, loveable member of the team, with a powerful secret.Directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) also wrote the screenplay, from a story by Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman and Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, based on LEGO construction toys. It will incorporate some of the LEGO world’s most popular figures while introducing several new characters, inviting fans who have enjoyed the brand’s innovative toys and hugely popular video games for generations to experience their visually unique LEGO world as never seen before.The LEGO Movie will be produced by Dan Lin (Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) and Roy Lee (The Departed, How to Train Your Dragon).
Click on the poster at the bottom of the page for a larger version in our gallery:Zach Galifianakis Will Voice LEGO Joker in the LEGO Batman Movie by Maddy Myers | 4:18 pm, August 12th, 2015 Zach Galifianakis is in “final negotiations” to voice the Joker in the upcoming LEGO Batman film, which is a follow-up to The LEGO Movie and not exactly related to the long-running LEGO Batman video games (but it’s not not related to those). Will Arnett’s sticking around as LEGO Batman, having debuted his version of the character in The LEGO Movie. The world holds its breath for yet another take on the Joker, alongside those other two upcoming fictional film Jokers. Who would win in a wild laugh-off: Zach Galifianakis, Mark Hamill, or Jared Leto? Guess we’ll have to wait and hear what Galifianakis’ take sounds like. (via Hollywood Reporter, image via Batman News) —Please make note of The Mary Sue’s general comment policy.— Do you follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?