Directors: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Cast Headliners: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman
Original Release Date: Febuary 7th, 2014
Legos are probably one of the best types of toys
ever. If one follows the instructions,
they can re-create scenes and things from favored movie/comic/other
worlds. Even more exciting is that they
are customizable. Slap any combo of
bricks together and you can make something to call your own. Imagination is the
only limit. The Lego Movie does this
amazing franchise justice and shows what the power of imagination can do.
Because it is so much more than mere bricks in a computer generated film.
Emmet, voiced by quintessential average joe Chriss Pratt,
is a construction worker in the Lego City. It’s a clever stereotype of our
world, with its expensive coffees and daily hustle and bustle. It’s ruled over by President Business (Will
Ferrell) who at first seems mostly genuine but he is quickly established as an nefarious
evil mastermind. He is perfect for this
character The characters are all so great in this, something I knew to expect
as a fan of Lego media. There’s the
humble Emmet, the cool Wildstyle (Elizabeth Banks) ,
an crazed 1980’s era space astronaut Benny (Charlie Day), an fairy cat unicorn Unicat (Allison Brie), wise sage Vitrivius (Morgan Freeman, of course
he’s a god-like character), cyborg
pirate Metalbeard (Nick Offerman), and….. Batman (Will Arnett). Each is brimming with personality and good
moments. How do these various odd people come together?
One of this movie’s strengths is its mash up of several
different Lego worlds. Like 2012’s Wreck
it Ralph, Emmet’s calling as “The Special” transports him between various
dimensions. There’s the basic
City, the Wild West, the Castle
medieval era, and so much more. There is an incredible amount of cameos and
surprises, both from visual sights to celebrities, that it really is a multiple
times must see. You can tell a lot of
heart went into these jokes. The Batman
riff’s are especially great. He’s made into the jerk character you always might
of thought of him as. The humor
provides constant chuckles from both its zaniness to its 4th wall
breaking intricacy and allusions. It really can be enjoyed by all ages, since
it is so well made. There is something for everyone. One certain cameo segment
almost makes the movie worth seeing alone.
Like….oh my.
It’s not just the mash-up factor of Legoes. The visuals
are revolutionary. The CGI emulates what
real physical toys look like quite amazingly well. The stop-motion style resembles those on YouTube,
but on super steroids. At times it feels
like the directors built acres of sets out of legos and moved in close with a
camera. It also seems like at times that
is true, with a few live action props seamlessly blended in. It is mind boggling how they were able to achieve
this unique look.
There is some really great laughs, visuals, and adventure
but what really makes The Lego Movie important is its messages. It could have been just fine as a silly
adventure, but the surprises do not just come in the form of cameos. It has an
surprisingly deep meaning to its plot which makes itself known in the last
segment. It’s almost a bit of a jarring
shift from the rest of the movie. However when it starts to sink in it blows
your mind. Overall it has some great
lessons about individuality, imagination, and courage through the whole film.
It’s not often I can say this about a CGI movie and especially a Lego movie,
but this one made me laugh often, made me awed, made me tear up, and even made
me think deeply. As they say so much in
the film, everything is awesome (about it). 8.7 out of 10
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