Rating: 9.5/10
Wow. Here’s a movie I totally forgot about. Let
alone that I forgot that it was coming out in February, of all movie
months. I mean you would think with a
title like “Lego Movie” it deserved to be released in February, a month were
movie goers are maybe starting to hope that good movies could start to come out
again sometime soon, probably in March.
But no, “The Lego Movie” is actually quite a huge
surprise. With a title that would suggest it’s a corporate made sell out film
that only exists to sell toys and waste our time, “The Lego Movie” does the
exact opposite. Here’s a movie that not only shows off creativity with every
frame, it’s also one that supports the idea of imagination and that anyone is
capable of having a great one, especially children. If that’s not a great
message for a kids’ movie, I don’t know what is.
But that’s the thing; this isn't just your average
kids’ movie. This movie’s message in the long run centers all around the idea
of imagination. Like how it can be advanced or encouraged, but also how it can
be restricted. Even to the point where one can get used to the mediocre and
stop thinking creatively. It’s not only an interesting message for both
children and their parents watching, it may as well be a message to the current
mainstream entertainment industry, and trust me the movie isn't subtle about
that part at all.
The “bad guy” is President Business voiced by Will
Ferrell, who owns the biggest corporation in Lego World, which gives off
mediocre programming, owns and controls everything in the city, and tells
everyone to follow the “instructions” given to them. Watching all the Lego
people in the city is something to behold. To say the world building in this
movie is on par with “Toy Story” and “Wreck-It Ralph” is an understatement.
Enter our hero Emmett, voiced by Chris Pratt, who is a generic construction
worker, who actually loves his benign existence and following the instructions.
That is until, of course, he stumbles upon the McGuffin of the story, meets a
pretty rebel Lego girl named WyldStyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks), finds out
there are other worlds made of Legos besides his city, and the whole movie just
keeps getting more ridiculously awesome the longer it goes.
I'm doing my best not to spoil the good stuff, for a
lot of the best stuff is the small and big surprises the movie is willing to give
and where they go with them. But I will say the stop motion animation is
wonderful and just about so mind-numbingly complex at times, you start to
wonder how much computers may have helped. But if they did, you're not going to
notice among everything else going on. The plot is simple enough and follows
the regular hero tale. The hero is found, finds he can be the savior of all,
has to save the world, and basically if you've been of fan of Star Wars and
Luke Skywalker, you can guess the rest of the plot points. BUT the movie knows
this and does such an interesting and unique take on "the hero tale"
it's worth noting.
I find the best children movies are ones that both
the children and the adults can enjoy on different levels. That's nothing new
to say really, but anyone who has tried can probably tell you it's not an easy
thing to pull off. "The Lego Movie" does this effortlessly, by
playing the best card you can in this genre: not talking down to the children.
If anything, the message the filmmakers are trying to present (and I'm hoping
Lego is as well), is that you have all the pieces to work with (whether you
know it or not) and chances are you may be given instructions or a path to
follow, but let it be said that's it's never a bad idea to not always follow
them, and try thinking outside the box. Chances are good that it may lead to
new ideas and good creative thinking. When you really think about it, it's an
old message, but it's one I think people need reminding of.
When I first heard about "The Lego Movie"
I thought it be the quickest movie to sell out and say nothing original or
unique. As it turns out it's a movie that reminds us to try to be just that.
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