When I first heard that there
was going to be a Lego movie I, like most of you, scratched my head. Yes, the idea made sense in a sort of
soulless, empirical way – movies based on toys have become popular nowadays, so
why not adapt the biggest toy label out there? – but from my understanding,
Legos don’t have any specific story in and of themselves, beyond recreations of
genre iconography or just straight-up Lego’d versions of other movies, TV
shows, etc. At least the Transformers have
actual identities filmmakers can work with (and then butcher), but Legos? What, would the filmmakers have all the
different Lego sets team up together? Would Batman, Gandalf, the Ninja Turtles, and
Shaquille O’Neil stand side-by-side against the forces of evil?
As a
matter of fact, yes. That is exactly
what happens and as a result, “The Lego Movie” is pretty much as amazing and
funny as you might think it would be, while also being kind of an insightful
riff on the very idea of a Lego movie itself.
Of
course, the film’s story is a conventional student of the Hero with a Thousand Faces playbook, beginning with its everyman protagonist
Emmett (Chris Pratt), a construction worker living in a meticulously organized
metropolis run by Lord Business (Will Ferrell). However, everything changes for Emmett when a
chance encounter leaves him in possession of a mystical artifact called the
Piece of Resistance, whose user is prophesized to stop Lord Business from
destroying the universe.
Thus, a
race through various Lego worlds begins as the newly-messianic Emmett, action
girl and love interest Wyld Style (Elizabeth Banks), wizard Vitruvius (Morgan
Freeman), and a host of other resistance members called the Master Builders try
to outrun Lord Business’s forces and awaken Emmett’s true potential.
It’s
an entertaining journey, and it allows “The Lego Movie” to live up to its title
and become the sort of animated feature that cartoon nerds like me dream of: a
movie whose own aesthetic is so well-realized it’s actually a joke in and of
itself. The punch line? That everything
in this world is Lego, from the paper to the clothes to the water to the fire
and smoke. And though the filmmakers use
3-D digital animation, they employ it to make something that looks like
stop-motion, and I cannot tell you how much it pleased me not only to see this
style in play, but to see it work so well.
What’s
more, the cast doesn’t phone it in either—Chris Pratt still rocks the loveable
goofball persona he mastered on “Parks and Recreation”; Morgan Freeman almost
seems to be parodying his usual role as ‘important voice guy/God’; and
supporting players like Nick Offerman and Allison Brie are almost
unrecognizable in their roles, but still bring the funny. Of course, all of them are outshone by my
favorite of the bunch—Liam Neeson, who pulls double-duty as “Good Cop and Bad
Cop” and plays with and against type as much as Mr. Freeman.
But what of the story they populate? That has to be mentioned because at the heart
of “The Lego Movie” is, well, some actual heart—a surprise, since directors/writers
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have made a career of gag-fueled parodies that
have trouble with sincerity. Sure
enough, when “The Lego Movie” tries to give its characters conventional story
arcs, it comes off as off-putting, to the point that you find yourself
awkwardly waiting for the jokes to come back. And yet, once we get to the third act and
certain truths about the story are revealed, there’s genuine emotion to be
found.
So certainly, that’s an achievement. But maybe what I love most about “The Lego
Movie” is its unbridled optimism. In a
Hollywood scene where nostalgia properties have to ‘grow up’ with their
audience and sentimentality is shunned, “The Lego Movie” stands tall and says
proudly that there’s no wrong way to play with your toys, so long as you’re
playing with them. And as a result, it’s
funny, it’s gorgeous, and it’s a complete blast.
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