Lego, one of the most popular toys in the world, now has a movie with an equally ambiguous title, “The Lego Movie.” Warner Brothers studios and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have created a star-studded animated movie made entirely of Lego pieces. The film captures the open-ended and exploratory nature of the toy while still providing a heartwarming story that kept the audience laughing from start to finish.
The wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) tries to protect the “Kragle” super-weapon from the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell), but the Kragle falls into Business’ tiny Lego hands. Vitruvius warns Business of a prophecy of which a person called “The Special” will find a piece that is capable of stopping the Kragle and use it to save the Lego world. Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) an ordinary construction worker, stumbles upon the piece making him “The Special.” Will the prophecy come true? And will that be enough to save the Lego world?
The actors are on-point throughout and everybody will recognize at least one (or several redundant) celebrity voices during their time with the film. The cast list, without spoiling too much, includes Will Arnett, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Elizabeth Banks, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.
Though it is digitally animated, all the parts involved in the movie are Lego pieces. That is to be expected in a Lego movie, but what is surprising is that even the fire, water, smoke and steam are all done with Lego pieces. Fights and action sequences whiz by as the characters build objects, weapons and vehicles in a fast-paced, consistently dazzling display of Lego prowess.
The sound design often breaks what the audience might expect. Lego-centric sounds, puns and jokes are explored, but they never over-use any one element of the humor. It ranges from subtle clicks of the pieces to real laser sounds coming from the guns, and occasionally catches the audience off guard with a ship in the sea that sounds like a man just making a “whoosh” noise with his mouth. The nuances are incredible and unlimited.
“The Lego Movie” has the classic message of the everyman as a hero, but with a Lego twist that reminds the audience of the merits of being creative in a world that often only follows the instructions.
With its visually satisfying design, laugh-out-loud hits and perfectly timed surprise cameos from Lego franchised pop-culture mega hits, “The Lego Movie” is a must-see for all ages. As the cast from “The Lego Movie” would say “Everything is awesome!”
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