The Lego Movie (2014) [Blu-ray]
Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline: The story of a nobody who saved everybody

An ordinary LEGO minifigure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil LEGO tyrant from gluing the universe together.

Storyline: The LEGO Movie is a 3D animated film which follows lead character, Emmet a completely ordinary LEGO mini-figure who is identified as the most "extraordinary person" and the key to saving the Lego universe. Emmet and his friends go on an epic journey to stop the evil tyrant, Lord Business. Written by DeAlan Wilson www.ComedyE.com

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown on June 9, 2014 -- Reviews don't get much better than that. No critical flourish required. Not that it's my review. Those were my son's words, whispered in hushed awe and wide-eyed wonder as the credits rolled on our first viewing of The LEGO Movie. He could hardly contain his excitement. Me? I... *ahem* was having troubles of my own. Trapped in a state of complete and total reversion, I was suddenly nine all over again. Had you spotted me in the theater, sitting there with a dopey grin framing every pure, unabashed laugh let loose between breaths, you would have wondered, "what's wrong with that guy?" But all my mind could do was embrace the sentiment my son would articulate by film's end. It's like everything I used to see in my head when I played with LEGOs!!! More than the best animated film of 2014 (thus far), The LEGO Movie is more clever and complex than it might first appear, channeling both the essence of boundless creativity and the reaches of a child's mind for 102 delightfully surprising, wildly inventive minutes. Beautifully animated and brilliantly conceived, it isn't the feature-length toy commercial or product of calculated marketing some feared it might be. Not even remotely. It does what few other films before it have managed to do: tap into the most fundamental mechanics of childhood -- the joy, enthusiasm, fears, insecurities and dreams -- and construct a fully realized, intricately layered landscape of the imagination.

Meet Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), a cheerful but dim-witted city worker so painfully average he isn't even the everyman of his own life. His closest friends barely remember him when he walks away, and he doesn't have any notable action features, hobbies, props or, really, anything that might set him apart from the masses. That all changes, though, when a chance encounter with a young Master Builder named Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) lands him in a deep cavern where he becomes bonded to the fabled Piece of Resistance, a mysterious red block an ancient prophecy says will be found by a savior called "The Special." Arrested by corrupt policeman Bad Cop (Liam Neeson), Emmet quickly learns he's no longer the law-abiding nobody he once was; he's inadvertently become a dangerous rebel who holds the key to saving the world. Soon the fledgling messiah is swept up in an adventure that pits the finest imaginations of the LEGO kingdoms -- Wyldstyle, wizened sage Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), Batman (Will Arnett), cyborg-pirate Metal Beard (Nick Offerman), 1980s space guy Benny (Charlie Day) and colorful hybrid Unikitty (Alison Brie) -- against the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell), a wealthy megalomaniac who plans to use a super-weapon dubbed The Kragle to super-glue every citizen and structure in the place and form he deems appropriate.

Co-filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street) have infused their LEGO world -- or worlds as it were -- with a snappy free-for-all energy and crackling spontaneity that might strike stuffy-collared adults as seat-of-the-pants. Scatter-brained. Erratic even. But one trip down the LEGO aisle of your local Toys 'R Us reveals just how perfectly nonsensical the adjoining kingdoms and Master Builder ranks are. It's a film no other toyline could inhabit; one intimately connected to everything that's kept LEGO atop the toy heap for decades. A place where Superman (Channing Tatum), Gandalf the Grey (Todd Hansen), Abraham Lincoln (Will Forte) and Shaquille O'Neal could feasibly meet for a cup of coffee. Where Green Lantern (Jonah Hill) could cite Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) for hosting an illegal game of sabacc while policing a galaxy far, far away. Where almost anything could happen between anyone in any number of franchise universes. Where the craziest ship you can imagine could be built from street corners, ship hulls, conference rooms or Old West saloons. Simply watching The LEGO Movie play in its sandbox is endlessly entertaining. Seeing how intelligently it plays in several sandboxes at once even more so.

The animators and voice actors are more than up to the task, taking inspiration from Lord and Miller's flights of fast-paced fancy. Pratt and company are hilariously cast and deliver the goods, without exception. Any one of the side characters and cameos could have been promoted from bit player to full-fledged leading brick and The LEGO Movie wouldn't flinch. Quips, one-liners and, yes, even puns are laugh-out-loud funny, and that's ignoring the never-ending sight gags, easter eggs and little, LEGO-fanatic touches that can only be unearthed on multiple viewings. The animation is glorious, a blazing blend of the new and nostalgic, brimming with meticulous stop-motion care, artistry and personality as brought to life with deceptively humble CG. The environments are comprised of LEGO bricks from dirt to river to sky. Flame jets spin and flicker, water flows by in a flood of single blue pegs, explosions and smoke plumes... all made of LEGOs. It's a LEGO movie by LEGO lovers, for LEGO lovers. It has fun with long-standing debates (free-lock vs. glue), takes a few jabs at itself (instruction booklets spring to mind) and has a wicked sense of humor when it comes to the toyline's limitations (unarticulated joints and a lack of opposable thumbs). Yet never at the expense of the deep affection of fans, young or old. There isn't an inch, shot or beat that undermines the totality of Lord and Miller's design methodology or LEFO life.

Describing the impact of it all, particularly in breakneck motion and in delirious swing, is near impossible. The sights, the sounds, the jokes, the heartstrings, the struggles, the victories, that third-act twist... wow. Just... wow. Marveling at how effortlessly it comes together, though? That's a cinch. The LEGO Movie is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Unless mind-blowing exceeds jaw-dropping, in which case The LEGO Movie is mind-blowing. Mind-blowingly awesome. It had to be said.

"Everything Is Awesome" isn't just a song you'll still be humming affectionately years from now, it's an anthem of everything The LEGO Movie is and will continue to be, no matter how often it's revisited. The story, script, voice cast, animation, energy, music, gags, easter eggs... the entire production. Awesome. The vision, the artistry, the humor, the discovery, the all-ages fun. Awesome. The one word your children will one day use to describe The LEGO Movie to their children... I think you get the point. It's an insta-classic worth owning, something made that much easier thanks to Warner's terrific Blu-ray release. Though a bit light on substantive extras, the video presentation, 3D experience and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track combine to create a set that deserves its place on your shelf. It's also a shoo-in for our "Best of 2014" list. Look for it to earn a spot in multiple categories by multiple reviewers.

[CSW] -2.8- "Let's take extra care to follow the instructions or you'll be put to sleep, and don't forget Taco Tuesday's coming next week." The Lego Movie is one of the most creative films I have seen in a really long time. I guess if it wasn't a kid's movie I would have rated it higher. The reason I only gave it a 2.8 is because for a kid's movie the plot was actually pretty dark. No, seeing Legos blown up isn't blood and guts, but...... It starts off a little slow but picks up steam and has so many missed puns at other movies that you'd have to scan back to catch them. It is a parody-adventure bursting with kinetic visual whimsy; off-beat and self-aware but if, as some suspect, it's nothing but a cynical marketing ploy to sell merchandise, it succeeds at that. It doesn't sustain its high energy all the way to the end and its message isn't exactly profound. It is fine but not worth the lavish praise that it has received. But rent it and make up your own mind, it is worth watching at least once.
[V5.0-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box 10/10


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