The toy brand Lego is a beloved toy company that is loved by mostly everybody and has allowed people of all ages to build whatever they so pleased because of the limitless possibilities that could be done by simply connecting interlocking bricks. If I were to tell you before the year 2014 that there was a movie based on the Lego product that not only got high praise but also drove people mad when it was not nominated for Best-Animated feature at the Oscars, you’d think I’m insane. Yet what could have so easily been a product placement cashgrab turned out to be one heck of a wild ride filled with laughs, creativity, and even a good amount of raw emotion.
The Evil Lord Bussiness (Will Ferrel) is after a dangerous weapon called the Kragle. Master-Builder Vitruvius tries to stop him but gets blinded in the process by Lord Bussiness’s minions. However, Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) warns Lord Bussiness of a prophecy about a special one who will put an end to all of Lord Business’s evil schemes. In Bricksberg we meet Emmet (Chris Pratt), a regular construction worker who is great at fitting in almost too well. One day he comes across a mysterious piece of resistance that attaches to his back. soon is questioned by unknown authorities about his findings but is saved by a master builder named Wildstyle (Elizabeth Banks). Pretty soon she figures out how inexperienced Emmet is in being the special one and doubts his abilities to succeed in putting the piece of resistance on the Kragle thus ending Lord Bussiness’s reign of power. With many of Bussiness’s goons on the hunt for the piece of resistance Emmet and Wildstyle will need the help of many master-builder allies including Vitruvius, Unikitty, and even Batman in order to save the day.
Now you’d think by hearing all of this you would expect this kind of story to be an excuse to shamelessly advertise new Lego building sets and characters. While that is definitely the case from a marketing point of view. In actuality, the story of this particular movie is very entertaining as it packs a lot of laughs with some impressive world-building and even emotional moments that come out of nowhere. I think a lot of that has to be due to Phil Lord and Chris Millers Writting and Direction in where the movie likes to poke fun at itself while still making a story with actual weight added to the situation of the charcters. It’s easy to tell that the people who worked on this movie really loved Legos and wanted and made sure that the movie they were making was not just a sellout to just make as much money as possible. It proves that you can make a good maybe even great movie based on a product. They take the ideas of what it means to play with Legos and uses it to tell a story that has great morals about creativity, teamwork and that there is no right or wrong way in how anybody can approach using Legos.
The celebrities they got to voice these memorable characters are all recognizable names in Hollywood. Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks Morgan Freeman Will Ferrel, and many others play their characters so well that most of the time you don’t think it is really them because you’re so invested in well put together each character’s personality is. My personal favorite is seeing the character arc Emmet goes through from being a regular face in the crowd to being tasked with being the most important person of all time. Ok, now I’m gonna address the elephant in the room. The only character I admit I didn’t like personally was Will Arnett as Batman. Maybe it’s just me but unlike the other characters, I just think Batman’s self-absorbed persona is rather annoying and kinda cringy. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he’s the worst thing ever but I kinda wish he wasn’t so much of a jerk throughout parts of the movie.
The Animation has made an impression on a lot of fans as some people have claimed it to be done entirely in Stop-Motion. In actuality, the film is mostly CGI that is made to look like it was done in stop motion. A lot of that has to come from the way the characters move like in those stop-motion lego videos you’d see on the internet. The action is very fast-paced and all over the place and they get really creative of how master builders create some amazing contraptions. Almost everything is made of Lego from the tall buildings of Bricksburg to even the waves of water in the ocean. The level of detail is incredible and there are many little touches that make the world the movie takes place in a much more intricate piece of work. There are also many places the movie likes to take us and each realm of the lego world we get to visit has so much personality whether it be the barren wastelands of the old west, the overall craziness of Cloud CooCooland, or the dark and slim style of the Octan office tower. Even the music has a unique flair as most of the orchestrated pieces have the sounds of a sort of techo-vibe-like feel. I appreciate how the people wanted to have a unique kind of music score and while I do think the main theme song “Everything Is Awesome” might be a little too much for my tastes I think the score really does accompany the movie in a stylistic manner.
This movie could have failed hard if it only focused on selling us different sets and characters instead of telling a unique story but thankfully that is not the case here. The Lego Movie has a fun story with an unexpected heart at its core. It also has mostly lovable characters, outstanding animation, and worldbuilding, and a cool music score that will most likely transport you to the unique world of Lego. It’s a shame that this movie was snubbed at the Oscars, while I don’t quite think everything is awesome, that is in no way a disregard to how well-crafted this movie truly is as it sets the standard for any movie based on a toy brand.
(Final Grade: A-)