Alright! Today I'm reviewing The LEGO Movie, which defied all expectations of being a lazy corporate cash grab and became the surprise smash hit of 2014 that garnered critical acclaim, a franchise, 30 LEGO sets, and cemented LEGO as the world's most powerful brand.
The first thing one has to congratulate the movie for is how well it keeps the traditional brand of LEGO humor. LEGO has always had a very distinct sense of humor, be it the short films, ads, or games. The LEGO Movie keeps the trend up, creating one of the funniest children's movies ever made. The movie must have one of the best joke-per-minute ratios ever. It's gut-bustingly funny and quotable and likely watched enough times by your children to be understood on mute.
The movie also has some absolutely spectacular CGI going on. I remember telling people when it came out (And even to this day) that the film is not stop motion. The gorgeous animation is merely meant to emulate the feel of stop motion, which the film does with resounding success. The amount of painstaking love that went into the film is on full display in every frame.
The LEGO Movie is also special in the sense that it was a giant crossover flick between your favorite characters before those things became too meta for their own good or lazy cash grabs for streaming services. It’s an absolute pleasure to see characters like Batman, Superman, Abraham Lincoln, and Shaquille O’Neil interact in a joyously unobstructed and childlike way. The movie doesn’t get caught up in making sure these cameos appeal to internet nerds, instead boiling them down to toe the line between caricature and the definitive version. It’s also the first cinematic appearance of the Flash, so that’s neat.
The movie is also a great adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Here we have an everyman who lives in a society where a giant organization led by a cult of personality controls every aspect of daily life and has influenced generations to do nothing but love and revere him and his organization. The general populace is incapable of independent thought, told exactly what to do and how to do it, a giant figurehead’s face plasters giant posters that inform the populus that he is watching them, there are nationwide events meant to give people something to rally around (Taco Tuesday=Hate Week), and those who think differently are exterminated by devoted police. Shoot, throw in the parallels between Wyldstyle and Lucy both helping the protagonist rebel against the Party and start a romance and the parallel is undeniable.
The LEGO Movie is basically Nineteen Eighty-Four if Winston and Lucy visited Eastasia and Eurasia, started a rebellion, and then somehow showed Big Brother the error of his ways and brought about peace. It’s not 100% accurate to the book (Although Emmet being captured and tortured by Vitruvius, who was secretly working with Octan, and then tortured until he betrays Lucy and realizes he loves President Business would have been an interesting turn), but there are enough references and parallels that I can’t help but see it as a direct adaptation.
But, aside from the impeccable script, CG, or Orwellian parallels, the thing that makes The LEGO Movie work is the heart. For as big and crazy as it gets, its an equally personal tale of a son trying to bond with his father and vice versa. The giant twist in the movie and resulting heartfelt conversation hits harder than I’d like to admit for what should be, by all means, a soulless cash grab.
The LEGO Movie is an all around slam dunk for anyone and everyone involved or watching. It’s fun, funny, quick, unbelievably hilarious, and emotional enough to give meaning and justify its exitence. It’s much, much, much more than an hour and a half LEGO ad.
Overall, I give The LEGO Movie a 10/10. "Fast, sharp, and quick-witted, and with a heart underneath its layers of cartoonish fun, The LEGO Movie clicks in all the right places.”
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