The Lego Movie (2014)

An ordinary Lego construction worker, thought to be the prophesied 'Special', is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the Lego universe into eternal stasis.

Directors:

Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Writers:

Phil Lord (screenplay), Christopher Miller (screenplay),

Stars:

Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 65 wins & 56 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Arnett	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Elizabeth Banks	...	Wyldstyle / Lucy (voice)
Craig Berry	...	Blake / Additional Voices (voice)
Alison Brie	...	Unikitty (voice)
David Burrows	...	Octan Robot / Additional Voices (voice)
Anthony Daniels	...	C-3PO (voice)
Charlie Day	...	Benny (voice)
Amanda Farinos	...	Mom (voice)
Keith Ferguson	...	Han Solo (voice)
Will Ferrell	...	Lord Business (voice) / President Business (voice) / The Man Upstairs
Will Forte	...	Abraham Lincoln (voice) (as Orville Forte)
Dave Franco	...	Wally (voice)
Morgan Freeman	...	Vitruvius (voice)
Todd Hansen	...	Gandalf / Additional Voices (voice)
Jonah Hill	...	Green Lantern (voice)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

based on toy | lego | good cop bad cop | evil businessman | construction worker | 

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Taglines:

Assembling in 2014

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Australia USA Denmark

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 February 2014 (Canada)

Also Known As:

La gran aventura Lego

Filming Locations:

Fox Studios, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$69,050,279 (USA) (7 February 2014)

Gross:

$257,756,197 (USA) (29 August 2014)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story is similar to the Dark Tower & Gunslinger series of books by Stephen King. Characters from different dimensions team up to search for a mystical artifact which could save or destroy the universe. Some of the primary settings include analogs of Middle Earth, the Wild West, and Modern America.

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Goofs

When Emmit runs by in his giant construction-themed robot, WyldStyle and Unikitty shout, "Emmit!" - but their faces and mouths do not move to acknowledge him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Vitruvius: He's coming, cover your butts.

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Crazy Credits

At the end credits, we hear the whole version of Batman's song and even one final version of "Everything is Awesome".

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #8.28 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Everything Is Awesome (The Awesome!! Version)
Written by Shawn Patterson
Additional lyrics by Bartholomew (as Joshua Bartholomew) and Lisa Harriton
Rap lyrics by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone
Produced by Bartholomew
Additional production by Akiva Schaffer
Performed by Jo Li (as Jo-Li) featuring The Lonely Island

User Reviews

Everything is indeed awesome

I'd be surprised if anyone saw this coming. The Lego Movie is quite simply unlike anything seen in a long while: rip-roaringly hilarious, gorgeous to look at, imaginative beyond belief, a great parody of worn out "chose one" clichés and also rather poignant and touching.

The first thing one has to mention is the animation. Not only does it look like an amateur stop-motion film with a $500 million budget, but the amount of detail and creativity put into the visuals is just staggering. At times there's so much going on the screen it's almost overwhelming, yet if you look closely you can see that every single thing is comprised of recognizable Lego parts. The various ways the world shifts, breaks, is constructed again, falls apart and moves around is simply a joy to watch. The implementation of real-world objects into the otherwise plastic world is certain to get huge laughs out of anyone, especially the revelation about the ominous superweapon "Kragle". The result is a film that looks unlike anything we've seen before.

The script is a roller-coaster ride of hilarious gag after another. The jokes come at you so fast you can't catch them all in one viewing, and blink-and-you'll-miss-it side gags clutter the screen. No running gag wears out its welcome, no joke is overplayed or overemphasised. The characters are all funny and likable with enough personality to them to fill up multiple movies on their own. Batman especially is a riotous parody of the grim, dark versions of the Caped Crusader we've been stuck with for nearly a decade. And due to Lego having rights for nearly every IP imaginable, you won't be able to guess which mega-franchise is going to turn up next.

Despite all this high praise, there are a couple of minor issues. During its third act the tone of the film starts moving to a more serious and emotional direction, which to me didn't work as well as the rapid fire comedy of the rest of the film. The voicework is great for the most part, but amidst all the others it becomes rather apparent that Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson are live, not voice actors. It's not that their performances are bad, they just seem rather flat and lifeless in comparison to the rest of the cast.

The Lego movie is a downright masterpiece, there's no two ways about it. Incredible visuals and animation combined with a hilarious script, dazzling creativity and good characters make it one of the best and most original animated films in a long time. Some minor hindrances can do very little to drag it down, and the end result is fantastic.