The LEGO Movie
Year: 2014
Rating: PG
Length: 100 minutes / 1.67 hours
As a child, LEGO was my toy of choice. I collected it. I built with it. The endless possibilities it provided gave me endless hours of entertainment. In translating this toy to the big screen, the primary concept of imaginative play is front and center. The LEGO Movie (2014) benefited from an alignment of two forces that made it into an instant classic. First, the animation accurately depicted the feel of these plastic bricks. Second, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have created another comedic masterpiece for kids and adults.
The debt that The LEGO Movie owes to all the kids (and adults) who used the bricks to make their own stop-motion films is unavoidably huge. The LEGO video games were a bit more flexible in their character animations…sometimes to their detriment. By keeping the models stiff and abiding by the blocky limitations of the medium, The LEGO Movie made each scene feel like it could be recreated with actual pieces of LEGO. Even the details of the little scratches on the plastic brought added realism to the chaotic worlds in this film.
While the plot of this film was incredibly similar to The Matrix (1999), I can forgive the comparison because The Matrix is also an excellent film. What helps sell this movie immensely is the incredible comedy that Lord and Miller have infused into it. Lots of lines are legitimately funny, and not in a gross-out humor way that often plagues films marketed toward children. All the voice acting is spot-on and the amount of talent they got to work on this is impressive. I still think it got snubbed for a Best Animated Picture Oscar but at least it earned that Best Song with “Everything is Awesome.”
A hilarious version of The Matrix for kids, I give The LEGO Movie 4.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
