Directors: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Cast: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Alison Brie, Charlie Day and Nick Offerman
There were generally two reactions when people first saw posters for The Lego Movie — while the cultured lamented the death of cinema at the hands of the corporate machine, the easily entertained pinched their partners and squealed, “Aiyooo, so cute baby.” Somehow or other, both groups were wrong.
Emmet (Chris Pratt) is a construction worker Lego man living in a world that’s just a little too perfect. Everything is orderly and everyone is happy, but we soon realise that this apparent utopia is really a dystopia run by President Business (Will Ferrell). A stickler for order, organization and compliance, Business plans to end the world using a super weapon called the Kragle. As it turns out, Emmet might be the only one who can stop him.
The Lego Movie has some of the most eye-popping and original animation seen in a long time. It’s mainly made to resemble old school stop-motion, using Lego pieces for everything – from buildings to vehicles, water, smoke, bullets and explosions, complemented with more conventionally animated facial expressions. The result is unlike anything else you’ve ever seen. CGI on its own isn’t enough, though, but The Lego Movie anchors its visual brilliance with a strong story and outstanding performances.
Given its generic title, it was all too easy for the film to become one long commercial, but directors and co-writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the guys who made Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) took the blank slate and created a universal story about the power of imagination and self-belief. They filled in the rest with thrill-a-minute action sequences, amusing comedy and a bit of romance, never missing a beat and never letting its pace slip. Thanks to Lego’s countless product ranges, they also had access to a ton of pop culture. Did you ever think you’d see Gandalf and Dumbledore in the same room? Or Batman hanging out with the crew of the Millennium Falcon? Or Michelangelo the artist standing next to Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle?
Movies with an ensemble cast rarely make use of all the talent they have available, but here we have some pretty big names given the space to do what they do best. Morgan Freeman in another god-like role as the oracle/wizard Vitruvius, Elizabeth Banks as the spunky dream girl Wyldstyle, Liam Neeson as the badass Bad Cop, and Charlie Day as a lovable, repressed “space guy” who’s ready to go crazy any minute. And of course, there’s Will Arnett’s Batman. If they ever decide to take the Caped Crusader a little way back to his campy origins, Ben Affleck would be out of the job.
The Lego Movie is proof that you can take big brands, cast bankable stars and still make a picture that really gets to you. As the best animated films are able to do, it makes age irrelevant.
In a Word: Awesome
