Review: The Lego Movie

James Canellos ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
An adaptation of the sixty year old toy franchise has proven to be one of the most original animated movies in some while. Directors and writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have constructed such a ridiculously playful and energetic film out of materials that could have easily developed into a giant ad masquerading as a movie. Their wild roller coaster ride of adrenaline follows an overly average LEGO construction figure named Emmet (Chris Pratt) as he happily lives his very routine lifestyle in his city run by the evil President Business (Will Ferrell). Emmett lives his life blissfully, until he’s mistaken as “the Special,” a savior who will prevent President Business from gluing the LEGO world together.

The concept sounds like it could have been inserted into any adaptation of a children’s toy being brought to the big screen; however, the directors choose go a different route. Lord and Miller embrace how silly the whole concept of the film is and address the problem by not taking the film too seriously. By doing this it creates a ripple effect, making every scene in The LEGO Movie hilarious. Lord and Miller have a history of poking fun at typical clichés in genre films. They did this to buddy cop flicks in 2012’s 21 Jump Street and do it again here as they take a completely different approach at all huge blockbuster films where the fate of the world is at stake. Instead of playing on the cliche of the hero’s sacrifice to save the day, the movie draws in an unexpected element to have even the most unlikely character be a hero to stop Lord Business’ plan.

What makes this film so much fun is all the jokes they crammed in this 100 minute mini-epic. Every frame feels like it has a subtle joke hidden, while every line of dialogue is a perfectly witty fit for the arc of the scene. For example, just the way the characters pronounce the “Kragle”, the device that’s going to glue together the LEGO world—it’s revealed later on that this is, in fact, a witty pronunciation on something we’re all too familiar with.
Judging by the array of one dimensional films based off board games and action figures (The Transformers movies, Battleship), the main problem of this film was whether they could tackle the subject matter in an intelligent way.The directors throw that issue right in the middle of the spotlight through Emmet, someone who lacks creativity. By including this dilemma as a plot in The LEGO Movie, it gives the creators the freedom to tell a well thought out film. Their angle will resonate so well with children and adults because its message is about thinking for yourself and being happy with who you are. You don’t need to be famous or the smartest person in the room to be a great person, or–in this case–a LEGO figure.

Chris Pratt is perfectly cast as the voice of this pumped up, yet secretly empty LEGO on a quest to find out how to be happy. The entire voice cast assemble together to add a comedic twist to what could have been a stale film, with characters like Superman (Channing Tatum), Green Lantern (Jonah Hill) and Bad Cop (Liam Neeson) making appearances. The way they interact with each other elevates the level of the comedy by taking advantage of their own stereotypes. Like how Bad Cop is continuously growls every demand and kicks over every chair he can find, playing on the stereotype his name literally represents.

However, Will Arnett steals the show as a cocky and self-obsessed version of Batman. His raspy deep-throated voice perfectly mocks our generation’s Batman by acknowledging how silly his voice could be in the Christopher Nolan series.
Through this roster of characters/cameos and with a story that’s always keeping the viewer guessing, Lord and Miller have built a magnificent animated feature that confidently takes on the challenges of adapting a beloved toy and making it an inclusive experience for everyone who wants to play.
Overall Grade: A