Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller have made it their business to turn seemingly tired properties (a children’s book about giant food, an eighties television show about cops masquerading as kids) into intelligent and incredibly funny feature films that appeal to kids and adults alike, and their latest outing, ‘The LEGO Movie,’ is no different – it just comes with the added caveat of centering its action on tiny plastic things. If anyone could make a film about LEGOs work, it’s Lord and Miller, and that’s just what they’ve done with their witty and inspired take on the classic toys – but how did they actually make it, well, work? Despite looking curiously as if the entire thing was made from actual LEGOs, ‘The LEGO Movie’ is a mostly traditionally-animated affair with some special touches. Though the film is not a stop-motion endeavor, Miller and Lord did draw their initial inspirations from fan-made “brick films” that utilize actual LEGOs to build out their settings and characters.
Using real LEGOs for the film was, quite simply, extremely cost prohibitive, as the New York Times notes that “it would have cost millions of dollars for the bricks alone,” and considering that even a relatively small ‘LEGO Movie’ branded playset will cost you a cool thirteen dollars for just over one hundred pieces, that estimate is right on the money. Instead of going full-LEGO, Miller and Lord went for CG animation that mixes in real LEGO sets for some added veracity. Co-director Chris Miller addressed some questions about the film’s animation technique directly on Twitter, saying: @DrewAtHitFix it was mostly CG with some stop motion & also some real LEGO still sets comped in. But Animal Logic made the CG photoreal.— Chris Miller (@chrizmillr) February 3, 2014 Using computer-drawn 3D animation allowed ‘The LEGO Movie’ team to utilize the same techniques of other animated films. The process for crafting ‘The LEGO Film’ by way was relatively standard – the animation team started with a fully hand-drawn version of the script, before moving into what is known as “layout” (a rough animation that centers on imagining both character and “camera” placement), followed by actual animation, and then lighting and grading (which turns flat animation into something nuanced and very real-looking).
They also used a modeling program that approximated the experience of snapping LEGOs together, one so intelligent that it would reject brick combinations that wouldn’t work in real life. Of course, the ‘LEGO’ team also spent plenty of time playing with actual LEGOs, including building models of vehicles like Bad Cop/Good Cop’s police vehicle, and even a larger-scale piece like Metalbeard’s giant pirate ship. The actual LEGO model for Metalbeard's pirate ship alongside the computerized rendering. The animation team didn’t just mix it up with big LEGO set pieces though, they actually put whole batches of LEGO minifigs under a microscope to examine them, to encourage their maximum understanding of how they are put together, how they move, and what they really look like. Perhaps some of the confusion regarding the realism of the LEGOs in the film is due to, well, the seemingly very realistic look of the Legos in the film – animated or actual. As the Times notes: Research went into exploring how many digital smudges and thumbprints would go on the figures and even how much virtual dandruff should be in the shot.
The aim was to make the pieces look as if they had been played with out in the real world, not to make them pristine and perfect. The Charlie Day-voiced Benny, an eighties-era spaceman, looks like he’s been well-loved, buried in a sandbox, stepped on, bit and shot out into actual space – he even has a cracked helmet to complete the look. A close-up of Benny and his many cracks, chips, fades and bite marks. As is the case with similar projects, the team behind ‘The LEGO Movie’ also made it a point to capture the various facial expressions of the film’s stars so that those could be translated into their animated character – no, ‘The LEGO Movie’ doesn’t just use standard LEGO faces, and it shows. The various emotions of Emmet, played by Chris Pratt that the looks came “mostly from the eyebrows.” He also shared, “when you’re doing the voicework, and you’re doing the recording sessions, they did have cameras set up all around, just to capture maybe some of my gestures or my facial expressions, and then they were able to put that into the character.”
The best part of The LEGO Movie was, obviously, Batman. Will Arnett gave us the version of the Dark Knight we never knew we needed, but oh man did we need him. Angry, brooding, and wonderfully self-involved, Arnett’s Batman was quite possibly the greatest cinematic version of the character ever. He had a charm about him that few Batmen have ever captured. Also, he was a total dick. It makes sense then that the Warner Bros. would give us a full length LEGO Batman movie. So far, our hopes have been high, as the teasers that have been released so far have been pretty good. Well, hold on to your butts, because the wonders of Comic-Con have given us a full length trailer that is a work of pure magic. It’d be easy to miss this one, what with Warner Bros. unleashing a Justice League trailer AND a Wonder Woman trailer yesterday. Oh, and there we trailers for Kong: Skull Island and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, too, plus some pretty big Marvel announcements. It was big day at Comic-Con, in other words, but The LEGO Batman Movie definitely deserves some attention, because it looks absolutely hilarious and all kinds of amazing.
This trailer gives us a better idea of what the movie will be about, namely Batman taking on his young ward and training the kid to become Robin. There’s jokes about how Robin’s costume comes to be, and lots of amazing Batman and Alfred interactions. The best bit comes when comes Robin points out that the Batcave is hidden below Wayne Manor. Batman, with frustration replies, “No, Bruce Wayne lives in Batman’s attic.” The LEGO Movie really was beyond anything we had expected from a film about a bunch of toys. Charming, heartfelt, and exciting, The LEGO Movie really turned out to be something special. The question is, can The LEGO Batman Movie capture that same energy and audience? Can Arnett’s Batman be as funny when he’s delivered to you nonstop instead of same, comedic doses? Warner Bros is hoping so, and judging from the trailer, it looks like they might have nailed it. We know we’ll be checking this one out. Featured Image: Warner BrosAll important movies start with a black screen,” intones the titular character of The LEGO Batman Movie.
“And logos—really long and dramatic logos.” And so continues our narcissistic hero, mansplaining every crucial component to a great film’s intro and sounding self-important, even when he pronounces his studio’s name “Warner Bras.” With that, The LEGO Batman Movie already feels like a promising spinoff of 2014’s surprisingly entertaining The LEGO Movie, even though not one of the filmmakers involved in the original had a hand in creating its follow-up. This crew—the helmer and five (!) scripters—isn’t even well-versed in the film world, but earned their chops working in television: Director Chris McKay is best known for Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken while the writers bear credits such as Crank Yankers, Community, and American Dad. Collectively, however, they’ve captured the wit, silliness, and parodic spirit of The LEGO Movie note-perfectly.The LEGO Batman Movie sets up its storyline early: Batman/Bruce Wayne (Will Arnett, returning and just as terrific as in the first go-’round) is lonely.
When the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) mentions to his nemesis early on that he’s his greatest villain, Batman bristles like a typical commitment-phobe: “Batman doesn’t do ’ships,” he says. “I like to fight around.” Yet after he saves Gotham City once again (and a cheering fan mentions how great it must be to be Batman), Bruce returns to his literal island, heats up a dinner-for-one, and watches TV alone in the cavernous Wayne Manor. After losing his parents—Bruce is famously an orphan, of course—he’s afraid of letting anyone in. But during a lovestruck moment (one not unsimilar to what Emmet Brickowski experienced in the original LEGO Movie), Bruce unthinkingly agrees to adopt a puppyish orphan (Michael Cera) who follows him around. The love interest is Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), who’s taking over as police commissioner after her dad (Hector Elizondo) retires. And though everyone at the orphanage calls the boy “Dick,” (“Well, kids can be cruel,” Bruce remarks), he’s renamed Robin—and we all know what happens there.
Though the Joker is, in fact, the main villain here, he’s brought along pretty much everyone in the DC universe to help him destroy Gotham, from Superman to Harley Quinn to Godzilla. Warner Bros. fantastically allows itself to be mocked, with not only knocks on its superhero flicks (Suicide Squad is a slow-moving target, as is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; there’s even a quick reference to Zack Snyder) but also romantic properties such as Must Love Dogs. And if you’re not familiar with the history of Batman, you may not catch the flurry of homage to former Batmen down to pre-Adam West days, along with their attendant styles or, in West’s case, goofiness. The re-created look of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy is particularly brilliant.As with The LEGO Movie, the jokes come too rapidly here to catch them all—at least in the first half. Batman has more flat moments than its predecessor, but when it hits, it’s hilarious: Batman’s dark-soul personality is consistent throughout (when Robin and the Joker exchange a “Namaste” greeting, Batman responds, “Gross”), and a protracted, nearly silent scene involving Bruce and his microwave may leave you laughing until you tear up.