"I'm not the special. I'm just a regular, normal guy"
Emmet (voice of Chris Pratt) is what he says he is about. He tries to fit in with little success. He does everything everyone else does. But one day, while he is working, he falls through a large pit and finds a magical lego called the "piece of resistance". What he doesn't know, is that that one "piece" holds the key to stopping a villain's evil plan. With the help of a tomboy named Wildstyle (Elizabeth Banks), a hippie named Vitrivius (Morgan Freeman) and other lego figures and figurines, they aim to stop Lord Business (Will Ferrell) from freezing everyone.
For one, the animation is gorgeous. We see fantastic visuals made of thousands of those colored bricks. Yes, some of it is computer-animated, but its still original compared to what else we usually see. One of the best visuals in the entire film is a view of waves rolling, made entirely out of legos. It was a visually-stunning shot that I just took a "mental picture" of. The cinematography is also fantastic, making use of real elements such as krazy glue (which actually is pronounced as "kragle"), nail polish and band-aids (those explained differently).
The writing is genius here, with not just a whole bunch of hilarious gags, but some of the wittiest references to pop culture I have seen. Star Wars gets a hilarious makeshift, Lord of the Rings is also referenced in addition to classic westerns. Another good thing is that the humor is primarily good, sophisticated, and a clean variety, rather than indulging in adult and toilet humor. And while it doesn't stray completely away from those styles (a couple of passing off-color jokes do appear very briefly), its still enough to perhaps boycott the MPAA's description of "rude humor" in the MPAA rating.
The voice cast does a particularly strong job here, with Pratt nailing the role of Emmet as if he were just an average actor. Freeman is spot on with his mystical, wisdom-infused character, while Ferrell carries two roles (I'm not spoiling the other one), and has surprising diversity in his emotions between both characters. In fact, this may just be my favorite movie he's been in (its nice not to see him gross and way too charismatic for a change). Will Arnett gives LEGO Batman an extremely appropriate balance of grit and self-absorption, while Alison Brie brings sweetness to the sure-favorite character for girls, Unikitty. Banks may be the weakest here, but she still does a good job bringing the love interest to life (which is actually more of a conflicted character than you might expect). Its also interesting to hear Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders and Shaquille O'Neal lend their voices to LEGO figures (Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and himself, respectively).
The last thing I have to praise this movie for is an absolutely brilliant third act. There is a twist in that portion that brings in a whole new meaning to the plot and even brings a relate-able message for the parents in the audience. I won't spoil what happens, but its a strong reminder of the importance of creativity and imagination in our lives. Another strong message emphasized is that even as adults, we don't always have to act like adults, especially around our kids. Its surprise moving ending really brings this movie's level of enjoyment to new heights.
On the downside, I do think the beginning is just a tad obnoxious. The main character also gets just a tad annoying in that part. However, I guess the story was made to make us think Emmet was boring before going on his life-changing quest. Still, the TV show and clothes gags could have been taken out (as are a couple of other head-slap worthy jokes in the film). The storyline is familiar, though there's enough twists and original points here to almost nearly dispel this light, yet not-so-original problem.
The LEGO Movie looked fascinating to me ever since the plot was announced. The trailers were impressive with startling animation and just the fact of LEGOs being on screen just made it a must-see. I admit, I wasn't a huge LEGO builder as a kid (I did have Lincoln Logs and a Bionicle set), but a lot of my friends and relatives were. And its a cool toy brand, so its always interesting to see toys come to life.
But, what ended up on screen is far more than just one of the most imaginative movies I've ever seen. What I saw here was almost animated genius. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have amped things up here several notches from Cloudy from a Chance of Meatballs, with an extremely clever and hilarious screenplay, and terrific animation.
A few elementary-school inspired jokes aside, the humor is witty and clever. The action is exciting. And the characters are developed enough to engage. Plus, with a terrific final act and an extremely catchy, non-annoying theme song (everything is awesome!), this is about as close to a Pixar movie a non-Disney animated movie can get.
One of the best non-Pixar, non-Disney animated movies made for the silver screen, The LEGO Movie truly is something special. Its a February movie that should have been released in the summer, and an animated event that successfully thrills kids while engaging their parents at the same time.
The only strong warning I have to give is, don't be surprised if you have to open your wallet for LEGOs after the movie.
Score: 8.8/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of
Language: Several uses of "gosh", "heck" and "dang" and scattered name-calling, but nothing profane.
Adult Content: One weird scene has a Star Wars character label Wyldstyle a "heavenly body", and talks to Batman in an awkward way. Batman later comments (in disgust), that the people on the ship were "all dudes". A few moments of LEGO nudity (but its important to note all LEGOs have the same anatomy, a rotator between their legs so they can move).
Violence: Several scenes of LEGO violence, but there is no blood or gore anywhere (unless you count a few LEGO decapitations). The MasterBuilders are zapped with electricity in a trap. Several LEGOs fall from ominous heights and hit sharp and/or hard objects (at least when compared in the real world). Metal Beard gets out of the bad guy's lair with just his head, and his organs (we see a few small LEGO bits fall from a distance).
Alcohol/Drugs: Part threat, part double-entendre, Lord Business threatens to forcefully "put [people] to sleep". Besides that, none.
Other: In a ridiculous gag stolen from Despicable Me, Robot drones copy their (clothed) backsides on a printer. A stray bathroom joke notes how hard it would be to "wipe ye bum with a hook for a hand".
