Lego is a hugely important part of my life. If you’ve read my review of Bionicle: Mask of Light, you’ll know that the Bionicle line of toys in particular were really all I cared about as a child. But I did still love traditional Lego, I had plenty of Lego City kits when I was young, a handful of licensed kits from films like Harry Potter and Speed Racer, and a number of Lego Technic sets outside of the Bionicle lines. More recently I’ve moved back to collecting Lego sets more geared to adults, with the Architect range being of particular interest to me. But let’s dial things back to films shall we? The Lego Company had successfully managed to launch its multimedia entertainment division with the release of Mask of Light in 2003, this was followed up by multiple Bionicle sequels as well as a number of other films based on specific toy lines. But in the early 2010’s things were starting to look rough for toy company with shares rapidly dropping in value and people losing interest. They needed to shake things up, grab the attention of the general public in a big way…and what better way to do that than with a theatrically released animated film that’s all about the endless creativity of Lego.
Emmett (Chris Pratt) is a construction worker in Bricksburg. Every day he gets up and does the same routine, living a peaceful life provided by President Business (Will Ferrell) and his global conglomerate that produce absolutely everything, Octan.
But when Emmett comes into contact with a mysterious object that latches itself to his back, he becomes the target of the Octan corporation who fear he will use the object to destroy the peace they have created. Aided by an underground movement known as the Master Builders, led by Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) and Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Emmett is informed that he is ‘The Special’, and only he is capable of stopping Octan from wiping out all creativity and individuality in the world.
Emmett (Chris Pratt) is a construction worker in Bricksburg. Every day he gets up and does the same routine, living a peaceful life provided by President Business (Will Ferrell) and his global conglomerate that produce absolutely everything, Octan.
But when Emmett comes into contact with a mysterious object that latches itself to his back, he becomes the target of the Octan corporation who fear he will use the object to destroy the peace they have created. Aided by an underground movement known as the Master Builders, led by Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) and Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Emmett is informed that he is ‘The Special’, and only he is capable of stopping Octan from wiping out all creativity and individuality in the world.
It can’t be understated just how incredible The Lego Movie is, and for a film that is essentially just a toy commercial it has so much heart and love poured into it by its creative team that it becomes so much better than it ever had any right to be. The story is written in a way where it’s so crazy and creative that kids will be transfixed by it entirely, but it’s got some surprisingly complex characters and such a powerful emotional core running throughout the narrative that it means that adults have something to really sink their teeth into. A story about finding inspiration in yourself and others to do incredible things, The Lego Movie doesn’t pull its punches when the stakes get high, rivalling the kind of quality writing you would expect from the likes of Pixar.
Emmett is a fantastic lead. A total blank slate who sees everything at face value who is inducted into a world of endless possibilities. Pratt’s vocal performance toes the line between loveable idiot and inspirational optimist perfectly, and his line delivery will often leave you in fits of uncontrollable laughter. I would go so far as to argue this is his finest performance in any film to date.
Similarly, Freeman and Banks deliver knockout performances. Freeman’s Vitruvius is a blind prophecy spouting wizard that speaks his mind with a cutting brutality. Whilst Banks’ Wyldstyle is a badass goth with so many personal insecurities. What her and Emmett learn from each other is the real driving force of the film, and it’s this unlikely pairing that often makes the funny scenarios even more hilarious.
There’s a large supporting cast too, with writer-directors Phil Lord & Chris Miller drawing on decades worth of Lego toy lines and licensed properties to fill out The Lego Movie’s massive character roster. One such character is Batman (Will Arnett) who is played the most outrageously egotistical and self-obsessed way possible. What makes it even better is that it works so well, this is all of Batman’s worst traits amplified to turn him into this toxic man-child who thinks he’s the coolest person ever because, well…he’s Batman.
I also wanted to give a quick shout-out to potentially my favourite character in the film, and that’s Bad Cop (Liam Neeson). This is a character that could have very easily just been so dumb and irritating, but Neeson’s spot-on line delivery and comedic timing have transformed him into what I would potentially consider to be one of the funniest character’s I’ve ever seen in an animated film. Every single time I re-watch this film I’m left howling at Neeson’s performance, fighting back tears as I desperately try to get air into my lungs.
Emmett is a fantastic lead. A total blank slate who sees everything at face value who is inducted into a world of endless possibilities. Pratt’s vocal performance toes the line between loveable idiot and inspirational optimist perfectly, and his line delivery will often leave you in fits of uncontrollable laughter. I would go so far as to argue this is his finest performance in any film to date.
Similarly, Freeman and Banks deliver knockout performances. Freeman’s Vitruvius is a blind prophecy spouting wizard that speaks his mind with a cutting brutality. Whilst Banks’ Wyldstyle is a badass goth with so many personal insecurities. What her and Emmett learn from each other is the real driving force of the film, and it’s this unlikely pairing that often makes the funny scenarios even more hilarious.
There’s a large supporting cast too, with writer-directors Phil Lord & Chris Miller drawing on decades worth of Lego toy lines and licensed properties to fill out The Lego Movie’s massive character roster. One such character is Batman (Will Arnett) who is played the most outrageously egotistical and self-obsessed way possible. What makes it even better is that it works so well, this is all of Batman’s worst traits amplified to turn him into this toxic man-child who thinks he’s the coolest person ever because, well…he’s Batman.
I also wanted to give a quick shout-out to potentially my favourite character in the film, and that’s Bad Cop (Liam Neeson). This is a character that could have very easily just been so dumb and irritating, but Neeson’s spot-on line delivery and comedic timing have transformed him into what I would potentially consider to be one of the funniest character’s I’ve ever seen in an animated film. Every single time I re-watch this film I’m left howling at Neeson’s performance, fighting back tears as I desperately try to get air into my lungs.
The film isn’t just a winner when it comes to the story and performances though. The Lego Movie is utterly gorgeous to look at, and completely unlike anything else outside of its own sequels. Initially it appears to have been constructed using stop motion animation and actual Lego bricks, and as much as I hate to break the illusion it is entirely computer animated. But the level of detail, and the precision at which the visuals have been crafted do often leave me genuinely believing that someone did this by hand. Shots are filled from top to bottom with detail, and all based on existing Lego building blocks, including small imperfections in the plastic production, peeling paint, or even visible thumbprints to give the impression that these are real toys that have been played with. There’s also just so much going on that it’s often worth checking out the background of shots just because of how much stuff happening; for example, early in the film there’s a musical number as the camera pans around Bricksburg showcasing the morning commute for the city’s residents and it genuinely took my breath away the first time I saw it.
There are a couple of small issues I have with the film though. The pacing isn’t great. Despite only being an hour and forty minutes long, The Lego Movie feels like it’s a lot longer than that. It’s the second act that really slows things down, and the third act can at times feel a little cluttered what with some last-minute plot twists. It’s nowhere near enough to spoil the film, but I do sometimes find my attention drifting during the second half. One scene in particular, which re-contextualises the entire film, can feel a little out of place just because of how different it is to the rest of the film, and it comes out of nowhere.
To cut a long story short, The Lego Movie is incredible. It’s not just a great family film, but it’s arguably one of the best animated films ever created, not bad for a feature length toy commercial. It’s got a great story, fantastic performances from the voice cast, and it looks amazing. Lord & Miller truly understood what it felt like to play with Lego as a child and managed to communicate that in a way that kids and adults alike will love. It also served its purpose perfectly of re-invigorating interest in the toy, and spawned a direct sequel and two spin-off’s, so not bad going really. If you’ve yet to see The Lego Movie then you’re really missing out, in fact it’s so good that I might just watch it again right now.
There are a couple of small issues I have with the film though. The pacing isn’t great. Despite only being an hour and forty minutes long, The Lego Movie feels like it’s a lot longer than that. It’s the second act that really slows things down, and the third act can at times feel a little cluttered what with some last-minute plot twists. It’s nowhere near enough to spoil the film, but I do sometimes find my attention drifting during the second half. One scene in particular, which re-contextualises the entire film, can feel a little out of place just because of how different it is to the rest of the film, and it comes out of nowhere.
To cut a long story short, The Lego Movie is incredible. It’s not just a great family film, but it’s arguably one of the best animated films ever created, not bad for a feature length toy commercial. It’s got a great story, fantastic performances from the voice cast, and it looks amazing. Lord & Miller truly understood what it felt like to play with Lego as a child and managed to communicate that in a way that kids and adults alike will love. It also served its purpose perfectly of re-invigorating interest in the toy, and spawned a direct sequel and two spin-off’s, so not bad going really. If you’ve yet to see The Lego Movie then you’re really missing out, in fact it’s so good that I might just watch it again right now.