The Lego Movie

Many lifelong dreams are being realized through The Lego Movie. When I saw the trailer for this, I was more than excited. Combining stop motion animation, mulitple universes and the imagination of a child make this a movie that could never be mimicked. The cast list is long and impressive, and animation hasn't been tried like this in years.

Emmett (Chris Pratt) is your normal generic Lego construction worker. He has no defining features other than the fact that there is no one else as ordinary as him. He meets Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) after stumbling upon “the resistance piece” which can be used to stop the secret weapon of Lord Business (Will Ferrell), the Kragle. Emmett is mistaken for “the special” who is prophesied to stop the end of the world, and Bad Cop (Liam Neeson) is determined to bring him down.

I have to start with the animation. Stop motion animation hasn’t been widely used lately, but this film brings it back like it was never gone. This is the best stop-motion animation I have ever seen. The level of difficulty the animators had would have Trey Parker and Matt Stone eating each other alive. Explosions, fires, floods, oceans, even smoke all made out of your ordinary Lego bricks. And if you’re not thinking about how cool everything looks, you’re deeply invested in this heartwarming story.

I’ve been kind of disappointed with Legos when I walk down toy aisles. I see all these kits specified to the things kids see on television or in movies, and I just think about how they can’t create anything of their own if their mimicking someone else’s designs. But this movie hit the nail right on the head as if it was written specifically for me. The message should get through to everyone that following the instructions isn’t completely necessary, because it’s about making your own creations out of someone else’s.

There are even some dark tones within the story as the Lego world is kind of a surveillance state with one song that promotes optimism (called “Everything is Awesome”). While creeping fascism is a reference we can all relate to nowadays, the film is also packed with pop culture references, meta jokes, and things that kids won’t understand that don’t even have to be dirty to enjoy. It's one of the most fun family films I have ever seen.

The story is kind of a quick tell. Most of what you want to see is in the last half hour. You really think you know where the story goes, some unexpected turns make the movie exactly what you want it to be. We haven’t seen an original family film like this in a very long time, and it's basically "review proof." Because every male who ever played with Legos will know that this is more than just the story.

I really want to talk about the cast; because I recognized so many voices it was hilarious. Will Arnett as Batman, Alison Brie as Unikitty, Anthony Daniels returns as C-3PO for a moment, Charlie Day as an overexcited 80s’ astronaut, Will Forte as Abe Lincoln? I loved Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as The Green Lantern and Superman, but nothing takes the cake like Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius. I mean, damn. Freeman is hilarious without context. Chris Pratt has done no wrong in his film career (save for Movie 43), and I will keep my eye on him, because he’s really breaking into the game.

The movie takes itself just seriously enough to get its message across, while still promoting and displaying imagination and creativity. I was surprised at the amount of effort that was put into making this film great, because Lego could have done this with CGI for half the price, and they could have just had two hours of mindless action, but they chose to do it right, and oh, did they do it right. When you have a speech or sequence at the end of any movie that moves you in any way, then you have truly empathized with those characters, and you know that they did something right. Lego Movie has heart, imagination, action, romance, and plenty of laugh-out-loud comedy for you to stop reading this and head to the theater.

Rating: A