The Lego Movie (2014)

Whenever toy companies try to turn their products into feature films, the end result is usually a disaster. Some notable examples include the Transformers and G.I. Joe toy line, and produced several unpopular films. But now, we get the Lego construction toys involvement in their own feature film simply titled “The Lego Movie”, and the end result is surprising. Yes, the movie is silly, stupid, but the overall experience is something to behold. There's something here that both amazes and astonishes the viewer every time one watches the film. There's a lot of jokes that a lot adults will get, but kids will enjoy the scenery and have a good time. “The Lego Movie” might only be for kids, but from an adult's perspective, it's something completely different.

The story has a Lego man named Emmet Brickowoski (Chris Pratt), who is a construction worker within a big Lego universe made up of many other Lego people. Emmet is happy with his life as he mainly follows instructions from the head of the Lego world Lord Business (Will Ferrell). After completing his shift, Emmet notices a woman scourging around when Emmet finds a shiny red building brick that foretells of a prophecy of a true hero so save the world. And that hero is Emmet!

“The Lego” is unique to say the least. The story is silly, over-the-top and full of fun. Seriously, the story does follow the hero's journey trope, but it is done in a clever and convincing way. Plus, there are jokes about the story itself, that many film fans, myself included, will totally have a blast laughing. In fact, the humor of this movie is through the roof. From inside jokes, to obvious jokes, to parodies, the movie has a lot going for its humor. And it works. The movie embraces its humorous side by throwing jokes at the viewer at every opportunity it can; one cannot catch their breath from everything that is so funny going on during the movie.

The cast did a very good job in their respected roles, as well as getting a few cameos thrown in the mix for a good laugh. Pratt and Ferrell are great, but we also have Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, Liam Neeson, Charlie Day, Morgan Freeman, Nick Offerman, and Will Arnett as freaking Batman. Plus, there are a lot of other additional voices that will fly over one's head, that it will be a delight to the ears.

The directors of this film, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, worked on the previous successful animated film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”, and while that may have struck a chord with fans of the original source material, with “The Lego Movie”, it's better suited to them. What I mean by this is that even though “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” offered up some creativity, “The Lego Movie” gives Lord and Miller a chance to go wild. And it works very well to the film's advantage.

But what's truly amazing about the film is the animation. Even though it's mostly CG, the entirety of the film looks like it was done in stop-motion as it is hard to fully animate actual Lego blocks on film. Plus, all of the attention to detail with every Lego brick, and figurine, the animators did an outstanding job at recreating the worlds of Lego and with the properties they were given as well. The action is fast, quick, and the pacing moves bright and colorful making a visual treat for the eyes.

Yet what really surprises this viewer is the entire concept of the film. If one asks what this movie is about, the response would probably be that it's pretty stupid. And yes, the film is stupid. But here's the thing: the movie knows what it is, and the characters know what they are getting themselves into. It's just fun to not take things too seriously once in a while. And that's the beauty of this film: it's simply fun.

While “The Lego Movie” may be a glorification of its product, but add a simple story, and a lot of fun to the mix, and you got something that might catch you off guard. Also, everything is awesome!