IT HAS all the building blocks of a blockbuster: a ludicrous plot, a cheesy theme song (“Everything is awesome”) and stars who are not merely enhanced by plastic surgery but actually made of plastic. Small wonder that “The Lego Movie” rules the American box office. But while children (including your correspondent’s) fall cackling out of their seats at all the slapstick, grown-up pundits are pondering a more serious question: what is the film’s political message?“Practically Communist,” screamed New York magazine’s Vulture blog. “Smart [and] satirical,” agreed Michael Moore, a left-wing documentary filmmaker. “Hollywood pushing its anti-business message to our kids,” fulminated a host on Fox Business Network.The film’s villain is Lord Business, a corporate boss who looks like Mitt Romney and is bent on world domination. The hero is Emmet, an amiable doofus of a construction worker who somehow finds himself leading a rainbow coalition of Lego figures in a revolution that seeks to return power to the people (well, to the Lego figures that look like people).
Thus far, “The Lego Movie” fits the old stereotype of Hollywood peddling anti-capitalist propaganda to kids. The film is also an hour-and-a-half-long commercial for costly toys made by a multinational corporation based in Denmark; a commercial, moreover, that people must pay to see.You can make what you like of “The Lego Movie”, but your correspondent found its message to be pleasingly libertarian: suspicious of top-down power and supportive of individual rights (such as the right of Lego people not to spend eternity in the position Lord Business deems correct). Its target is dull conformity. “Take everything weird and blow it up!” are the instructions to Emmet’s crew at the beginning of the film.Among the institutions it pokes fun at is Lego itself. Once the bricks came in a giant box, and kids were supposed to build what they liked with them; today they are packaged with precisely the right number and type of blocks for a specific purpose, such as building a Death Star.
The film is about learning to break free of the instructions on the box. If it has a fault, it is that it underplays the suffering of parents who tread on Lego bricks in bare feet—a fate that befalls conservatives and liberals alike.Unlock This Article for a FriendTo unlock this article for your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. Share This Article with a FriendTo share this article with your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. In the ArchivesFebruary 2014To continue reading, subscribe now for full print and digital access.Photoset with 35 notes Lego HulkbusterHad a lot of fun taking pictures of this set, it’s awesome! Photo with 131 notes Lego Avengers on the Double-Decker Couch on Flickr.Bonus Hulk falling off the Couch Photoset reblogged from mtv with 2,259 notes Link with 29 notes Rob Schrab to Direct The LEGO Movie Sequel! The LEGO Movie 2 has an official title - The LEGO Movie Sequel!
Video reblogged from LEGO Minifigures with 844 notes lego-minifigures:“Everything is Awesome” Live at the OscarsThis performance simply had it all:An intro by a choir of the movie’s master buildersEmmet’s breakdancing co-workers1980-something space guysBatman (Will Arnett) performing the song he supposedly wrote for Wildstyleguest appearances by Questlove and the song’s producer Mark Mothersbaughan awesome possumLEGO Oscar statues handed to the audience… and obviously the performers Tegan & Sara with The Lonely IslandAwesomeI suppose this is some compensation for being overlooked eh? Post with 18 notes Probably taking the wrong inspiration from The LEGO Movie, I finally decided to organise my entire spare brick collection! Taken 3 weeks, but everything that isn’t already a model is now neatly organised and ready to make cool things with :)See, Will Ferrell was right - LEGO isn’t for kids :P Photoset reblogged from 'Hoy Small Fry with 39 notes hoy-small-fry:Custom LEGO TMNT - Metalhead & Casey JonesAs LEGO never produced them, I designed a custom Metalhead and Casey Jones minifigure!
They’re made from entirely standard parts, but with decals on Metalhead to add the wiring detail in his chest. Really pleased with the result :)Little something I’ve been working on :) Photoset reblogged from 'Hoy Small Fry with 631 notes Post with 352 notes The LEGO Movie won the Best Animated Movie BAFTA!!!How can you not even nominate a film that won the best in its category? Question with 16 notes aturnblrblog-deactivated2016032 asked: I'm doing a report on the lego movie and if you could answer a few questions on it that would be great! What made you want to see the lego movie? What was your favorite thing about the lego movie? Do you think that if it wasn't advertised as much that you would have gone out and seen it? Do you think that the famous people in the movie made you want to see it more? How do you feel about the quality of the animation? Do you think there are any hidden messages in the movie? A report on The LEGO Movie? Awesome =D1) What made you want to see The LEGO Movie?
LEGO was a huge part of my life growing up, so the chance to see it on the big screen was too good an opportunity to pass up :)2) What was your favourite thing about The LEGO Movie?How real it all felt. The older films like Clutch Powers and the Bionicle films always felt like LEGO figures exploring a cartoonish world, whereas this felt like LEGO figures exploring their own world. It reminded me of what I used to imagine my LEGO sets being like!3) Do you think that if it wasn’t advertised as much that you would have gone out and seen it?Nostalgia is a powerful thing, and that alone would have driven audience figures up in the adult demographic. Kids would flock to it anyway, but adults love nostalgia. Just look at TMNT - that film is a mess, but people still saw it.4) Do you think that the famous people in the movie made you want to see it more?It certainly didn’t hurt. Michael Dorn’s voice work on the last Bionicle film helped to promote that even with the franchise dying, so having the likes of Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman was a massive coup for this.5) How do you feel about the quality of the animation?