The Lego Movie

It’s been over ten years since I saw this movie, and I was surprised by how good the animation was, the story, and how well it all worked. In 2024, rewatching it after such a long time, it's good to see the jokes are still funny, the animation holds up, and that this wasn't the thing that got me to try and be a master builder.

The Lego Movie (2014) – 100 mins (spoilers)

The story is about Emmet, who is just an ordinary construction worker, but accidentally becomes the chosen one. He then goes on a mission to stop President Business and his plan for Taco Tuesday. While on this adventure, he learns the lesson of being an individual and not always having to follow the instructions. However, it turns out this story is all just a kid playing with his dad's Lego. None of it was real.

I like the fact this story is very meta. It wasn't something I was expecting at the time, but it does work. For me, the story is very similar to The Matrix, which I think is evident if you’ve seen it. It does have a nice lesson to teach younger watchers, that sometimes you have to be yourself and don’t give up. And of course, **Everyone is Awesome.**

Let's talk about that song. OMG, is it annoying, and such a goddamn earworm. Of course, over the years, I have always loved the song. Even listening to it while watching the movie, I didn't find myself upset with it. I, of course, know the joke behind it (corporations are evil) and that everything kids think is awesome, and to be grateful for the little things.

However, with this watching, I noticed that the use of the instrumental of the song throughout was cool. I did like all the different arrangements of the song. The sound design of the film is great too. Sometimes things are just silent, and other times there are child-like noises to accompany the actions.

If we’re going to talk about sound, we have to talk about the voice acting. Even though it now seems that Chris Pratt does a lot of voice acting, this was his first, and honestly, it’s good. The whole voice cast is great. What's even more surprising is this was Morgan Freeman's first voice acting role. I think that is a very big thing to have for your movie. While I do really like Elizabeth Banks, her line "Yeah yeah blah blah blah" is genuinely hilarious.

While watching this, there were a lot of things I liked. Little moments that I happened to notice as I was watching. The $37 for coffee is too true, because it is expensive. I like that there are subtle references to 1984, something I didn't get last time I watched it. I love the photocopying of the butt joke. All the different themes of Lego we see throughout are good, making me realize how diverse Lego was. I love that now I know Lego, that the master builders see the different numbers of each piece - nice touch. And of course, Batman flying into the sun and making the bat symbol will never not be cool for as long as I live.

The animation of the movie is also very cool. I know it was part stop-motion and part CGI, but for me, the best part of the animation is the way they make the characters move. They move as if they are the toys. Sure, there are some liberties with the animation, but the minifigures move like their toy counterparts. While I do love the effect they use for explosions and water, using studs and 1x1 square pieces to show these effects are really good.

Overall, this movie was a really good time. Still holds up today. After I finished, it made me realize this is a good movie, and I need to make sure to watch more animated movies. I do hope in the future I will be able to cover all four.