The Lego Movie (2014)

This was always going to do well, wasn’t it? Lego are one of the most effective brand-marketers in the world, combining incredible tie-ins with popular culture, clever viral marketing a product that kids love. AsI was writing this, I was thinking “why isn’t there a Lego/Minecraft tie in, but a quick search revealed that there is, enabling kids to build in real life what they’re already building virtually and for just £35 of their parents’ money (assuming the haven’t spent it all on the kid’s app-addiction).

I thought I’d seen all the funny jokes and good bits in the impressive trailer, but this is a funny, cleverly scripted film. The plot is simple: President Business (played by a coasting but still good Will Ferrell) wants to destroy the universe because people keep building things that aren’t part of his grand plan (I liked the repeated use of the phrase “President Business’ plan” for some reason). He’ll do this using the fabled “Kragle”, which can only be stopped using the “Piece Of Resistance”, a mysterious red block. Whoever finds the Piece Of Resistance is “The Special” – akin to Neo in The Matrix – and is able to build anything from the endless supply of Lego blocks that make up the world. The problem is that the population lives in a blissfully unaware state, dutifully repeating their daily routine, like a smiley subservient army of idiots. The musical number “Everything Is Awesome”, which is used to great comic effect later in the film too, is performed en masse, neatly illustrating the mass-hypnosis seemingly affecting everyone. Change the colour palette and the song and you nearly get a cheery cartoon-1984.

If you hadn’t realised yet, everyone and everything mentioned, other than The Kragle and the Piece Of Resistance are made from Lego. We follow our hero Emmett Brickowoski (the voice of Chris Pratt – Andy from Parks and Recreation) and Wyldstyle (or Lucy as we learn she’s called, played by the audibly lovely Elizabeth Banks) after they discover the Piece Of Resistance (Emmett finds it a fraction before Wyldstyle) and begin their quest to stop President Business unleashing The Kragle. Along the way, they meet Vitruvius (played by Morgan Freeman, essentially playing God (as only he can)), Batman (Arrested Development’s Will Arnett), Metal Beard (the brilliant Nick Offerman, also of Parks and Recreation fame) and others. Their entourage of helpers also involves some Star Wars favourites voicing their actual characters (though it seems Harrison Ford was unavailable/too expensive). President Business is aided by Bad Cop (who is also Good Cop) voiced by Liam Neeson sounding as menacing as he did in “Taken”.

The story rocks along, with the different Lego worlds providing varying characters and challenges for our band of blocky heroes. The look of the movie is fantastic – you’d be unsurprised if it was in stop-motion animation, but it’s entirely CGI. Only the long-shots are clearly not stop-motion, when for some reason the frame rate is a lot smoother. I only noticed because I knew I’d be writing this and I was looking for things. The supporting cast are effective, which is a characteristic of the best Pixar hits (where would Toy Story be without Mr Potato Head and his friends, Finding Nemo without Nemo’s tank-mates or Cars without the other talkative autos? Something like Wall-E is a rare and wonderful exception) and the casting is spot on. It seems pointless to talk about the special effects in a CGI film rendering Lego into countless buildings, vehicles and creatures but I’ll give special mention to the liquids. The surface of the sea looks astonishing. I’d love to see if it was something that could be replicated using stop-motion and real Lego because it looks just right.

I enjoyed The Lego Movie but I doubt I’ll watch it again. There’s lots to see on screen and the Directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller (credits include the very funny “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) seem to have found space for dozens of little sight gags that would be uncovered with a second look. I just didn’t care enough about the plot to go back and view it for a second time. It somehow lacked the warmth of “Toy Story”, the beauty of “Wall-E”, the emotion of “Up” and the wonder of “Finding Nemo”. It’s a remarkable technical achievement (I think) and it has the important duality of things that’ll make both kids and adults laugh. But overall it’s just a little safe. It seems to try, quite successfully, to please everyone but I’m not convinced that it will truly delight anyone.

See the trailer here:

Steve Fair - 2014