Review: The LEGO Movie (2014)
SPACESHIP!
★★★★
Growing up as a child, I played with many toys, which I adored, but the one toy that played with the most was LEGOs. Call me, biased, but I believe LEGOs are the single greatest toy ever created. It's a toy that allows you be to have an imagination, to express your creativity, your joy, and excitement. It's the perfect toy for children to help them grow, but difficult to grow out of. Yes, even as an adult I still play with LEGOs, once in a while.
"LEGO" was founded in the 1932, by Danish Carpenter, Ole Kirk Kristiansen, who originally sold household goods, until the great depression hit. This left Ole at a low point, but he and his son, Godtfred decided to create wooden toys and the bricks, even solely focusing on that after a fire burnt their workplace in 1947. Since then, the "LEGO" brick has become a faster and popular selling toy. Since then, LEGO has sold millions of sets, and even crossed over with other licensed themes, like Star Wars, and Harry Potter.
Prior to its premiere, "The LEGO Movie" was in development for a number of years; Warner Bros. began brainstorming a LEGO movie concept as early as 2008. Known for their work on "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were brought on board in 2010 and collaborated closely with LEGO to make sure the movie respected the brand's heritage while being accessible to a broad audience. The film's distinct visual style was created by combining stop-motion and computer-generated animation to replicate the appearance and movement of genuine LEGO bricks. Even though the animation is primarily computer-generated imagery, the filmmakers went to considerable lengths to give it the feel of a handcrafted stop-motion world. For further realism, they included apparent fingerprints and scuffs on the characters.
The movie centers on Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt), a regular LEGO construction worker who observes the law and leads a straightforward, routine life. When he is wrongly recognized as "The Special," a Master Builder foretold to prevent the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell) from joining the LEGO universe, his entire world is upended. Emmet sets out on a quest to embrace his creativity and save the world with the aid of heroes like Batman (Will Arnett) and Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks). In this humorous and action-packed tale on the nature of creativity and control, he learns along the road that being unique is about more than just doing what you're told.
Emmet believes that he's the chosen one, the one to stop Lord Business and save the LEGO World, similar to the prophecy in The Phantom Menace. Later on in the movie, Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), just as he's dying, gives Emmet the shocking news that the prophecy is made up. This brings Emmet to his lowest point, thinking he was used and he's a "nobody." But when his friends and the ghost of Vitruvius convince him that he's special and has proven himself to be someone and not a nobody, he reaches his full potential, making him a great hero. This is a wonderful moral. It tells kids that they're special in their own way and they can be anything.
For many years, I've always thought this movie was made using stop-motion, however, I learned a shocking piece of trivia. The film was not made using stop-motion, but all in CGI, made to look like stop-motion. This movie fooled me for 10 years. Good job. Jokes aside, other than stop-motion, the cast is perfect. But most importantly is the message. This film reminds you what the true meaning of LEGOs are. They are toys that can be build, taken apart, and built into something in your imagination. That's why I believe LEGO is the greatest toy ever created.
Watching this for the first time in 10 years was fun. It made me feel like a kid again, which is the genius of this movie. Everything is indeed awesome! I don't think any movie has ever used CGI to look like stop-motion and LEGO to tell a story. If you're familiar with pop culture, then you might recognize some of the cameos made in this film, because this whole movie is one big crossover, and a lot of fun.