The Lego Movie Review
Chris Pratt
Morgan Freeman
Elizabeth Banks
Will Arnett
Writers: Christopher Miller and Phil Lord
Synopsis: Everyday construction worker Emmett Bercowski is chosen as a Special to battle the evil forces of Lord Business who is threatening to force the world into a state of permanent stasis.
Emmett (Chris Pratt) is a normal guy who follows the instructions. His equilibrium is a world in which he follows the plan every single day. After work one day, he accidentally falls into a hole whilst investigating a mysterious hooded figure skulking around the construction site. After a hilariously painful descent he discovers “The piece of resistance”, a fabled object that alters Emmet and his future forever.
What I was not expecting from The Lego Movie was for it to make me consider my own existence. We have all played with Lego at some point, but this was my first encounter with the Danish toy bricks that manifested itself in a serious bout of omphaloskepsis.
Scraping at the yellow surface reveals some surprisingly deep themes for what I went into the cinema thinking was ‘just’ a kids movie. The monopolistic OCTAN corporation (headed by President Business) brainwashes the masses with rewards of “Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you’re part of a team” mantras in its cultural produce. Taco Tuesdays are the reward for absolute compliance, alongside repetitive episodes of “Where’s my pants?” as Langian-esque lines of construction workers move en masse, a conforming workforce quote the show verbatim.
The mirror stares back hard with the Lego movie, tweaking the insecurities of the viewer. Through the eyes of Emmett, we are constantly reminded of our own place in the world, presenting slightly uncomfortable questions of our own conformity and how well we fit into our world. Emmet’s consultation of his book: Instructions to fit in, have everybody like you and always be happy, left me dually sad and wanting to buy the book.
“Come with me if you want to not die” – Wyldstyle
What I wasn’t prepared for was how these themes could be told in such a brilliantly fun way. At a reasonably modest 100 minutes long, there isn’t masses of time to dwell on any of these points as the breakneck pace rarely refuses to let go. As you will have seen from the trailers, the film is visually stunning in a lo-fi Lego way. The visual intensity is high, in particular the incredibly pacy action scenes. The entirety of the film is actually a CGI product styled to look like it could have been made in a child’s bedroom with extreme closeups of the characters revealing intentional fabricated moulding flaws in the faces of the characters (Emmet has a seam running through his hair and Wyldstyle, a subtle scratch on her face). This charm of detailing is compelling, somehow making the viewer ultimately identifiable with the world and its characters.
The impressive voice cast are at the top of their game, with Parks and Recreation’s Chris Pratt (delivering perhaps his best performance to date) as Emmett, alongside Elizabeth Banks (Wyldstyle) and Will Arnett (Batman). Morgan Freeman’s first foray into voicing a digitally animated character secures Morgan freeman’s trademark sage comedy niche. Alison Brie is perfectly cast as UniKitty, the repressed hybrid Unicorn-Cat from Cloud Cuckoo Land and the cast seem positively gleeful in their delivery.
The story is co-written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, (21 Jump Street and Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs) with the post-post-post modern writing smartly referential to the breadth of multiple universes that Lego brand now straddles. DC characters bob along Star Wars stalwarts in the background, being careful not to steal screentime from the central cast. Lord and Miller guide the densely populated tale expertly to its paranarrative conclusion which is satisfying enough to leave you smiling and singing along to the Lonely Island’s Everything is Awesome, again and again and again.
The final message seems to be its not just about finding out who you are in a passive sense, but about developing your identity by the things that you create and make happen in your life. Create stuff, share stuff, be the hero.
In a strange example of life imitating art, I have begun waking up nearly every morning with Everything is Awesome on a loop in my brain. Good morning apartment, Good morning wall, Good morning doorway. Now, where are my pants?
