The Lego Movie

Voices of: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Alison Brie, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Channing Tatum, Nick Offerman, Will Forte, Dave Franco, Jonah Hill, Charlie Day, Jake Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Cobie Smulders, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels
Directed by: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An ordinary construction worker (Chris Pratt) is mistakenly believed to be the "Special" who has the power to become a Master Builder and save the world.

Review:

Tim: I loved playing with Legos as a kid, so the nostalgia factor was running pretty high for this movie. Couple that with good reviews from critics and crazy good box office money, and The Lego Movie isn't just one of the biggest movies of 2014, it's a must-see film. I thought the movie was good- it was entertaining, occasionally funny, colorful. However, I expected a lot more. It doesn't do enough to place itself among the truly elite animated films.

What the truly great animated films from Pixar, Disney, and occasionally Dreamworks do is not only entertain audiences of all ages, but they also touch you on an emotional level. Watch a Wall-E, The Lion King, or a How to Train Your Dragon and it's hard not to feel some kind of emotional connection with the characters, even if they are animated. That doesn't happen here. I liked the characters but I never truly identified with them or cared about them on an emotional level. That immediately hurts the film.

I do love the amount of innovation that took place in this film. It was determined not to be your run-of-the-mill animated movie. It also worked hard to capitalize on this massive empire Lego has created. It's crazy to think about the sheer number of characters and themes that are present here- we have a cityscape, Western world, a world in the Clouds, we have DC superheroes, a cameo from Star Wars, and much, much more. Legos cover so much and this film wisely pulled from a variety of places to create this cool mash-up movie.

The decision to make the movement of the characters a bit clunky was interesting. It certainly gave the movie a sense of people playing with Legos, rather than the characters being alive. I personally didn't love this decision- the clunky movement of the characters made the film feel a bit clunky. I didn't really get to dive into the characters because they never came to life for me- it seemed like a kid playing with toys (which isn't all that entertaining to watch, if you think about it). I understand why this decision was made, but it didn't give the film that slick, seamless quality some of the best animated films have. The decision to move the characters like they do never let me fully into the world the film tried to create. Nice thought, but it didn't quite work.

The voice cast is impressive. Chris Pratt does a good job in the lead role (man, is he ever having a meteoric rise). Will Ferrell was pretty good as the villain and (SPOILER ALERT)- it was fun seeing him in person as one of the only two human characters in the film. Elizabeth Banks did a good job as Lucy. I like Alison Brie, but her character was annoying. Liam Neeson was a terrific choice as Bad Cop, only surpassed by the brilliant casting of Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius. We also have a ton of people in smaller roles- Will Arnett (who's not funny) was fine as Batman. Jonah Hill, Jake Johnson, Dave Franco, Cobie Smulders, Channing Tatum and others were all fine, but their roles were far too small to make any kind of difference. The film didn't need big name stars for those roles, but it does make the cast look impressive on paper.

I do need to address a few important scenes towards the end, so I'm giving a blanket (SPOILER ALERT). I totally understand the reasons behind the live action scenes, but I cannot say I really loved them. Sure, the message is important, but I felt like there were others ways to convey that. The human scenes interrupt the flow of the main Lego story, and it honestly made me feel like the whole thing was pointless. Maybe the Legos were alive, but it was all just a game. That elaborate, wonderful, colorful world they created in the first 80% of the movie was just a figment of a kid's imagination. That is wonderful and all, but it didn't really make the main Lego story very compelling. Again, this is a personal preference on my part, and I understand why Phil Lord and Christopher Miller made this choice- I would just have made a different one.

The story as a whole was fairly entertaining, but nothing on screen really blew me away. I can't say the film was very funny, either. Sure, I smirked at some of the pop culture references, but as a whole, I expected the movie to be funnier. I do have to admit I absolutely love the maddeningly catchy 'Everything is Awesome' song.

As a whole, I thought The Lego Movie was a fairly good animated movie. I didn't love it, but I am impressed by what it was able to achieve. With the box office take of this film, we will undoubtedly be seeing more movies in the future- and I am totally okay with that.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Space Jam, 21 Jump Street