by Austin Coats, staff reporter
For many kids, Lego is a huge facet of childhood–playing with the different bricks allows children to create new worlds and let their imaginations flow. When it comes to creativity, then, “The Lego Movie” didn’t disappoint.
“The Lego Movie” portrays a kid’s imagination in his father’s Lego universe built solely by following the instructions. The father (played by Will Ferrell) has a methodical, instruction-based attitude that is exemplified in the Lego world by President Business (voiced by Will Ferrell). Meanwhile, the son, named Finn, has an attitude that is exhibited in the minifigures known as “masterbuilders,” who create Lego objects out of the bricks they find in their surrounding environment.
The movie’s main protagonist, Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), is an everyday construction worker–a pawn to President Business who seems to have no special traits. When he stumbles into a manhole, Emmet becomes acquainted with two masterbuilders, Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) and Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), who have been searching for the “Piece of Resistance” to stop President Business from gluing the world together as a display piece rather than a play set. Together, the three call upon other members of the masterbuilder community in an effort to stop President Business. Through Finn’s story, “The Lego Movie” encourages creativity in children, especially using toys like Legos.
Comedy is one of the greatest aspects of “The Lego Movie.” Quick-witted one-liners, sarcasm and irony all play into the movie’s comedic success, and make it much more entertaining–though one could argue that it struggled to keep the humor within the confines of a children’s movie.
As far as the animation aspect, “The Lego Movie” on the big screen far exceeded expectations. At one point, the characters fall into an ocean, the impact of their splash done fully in Lego pieces, and it still looks stunning. Everything in the movie is built with animated Legos, making the movie very genuine in that aspect.
Last, the plot can be pretty confusing. Many times, the movie connects plot points that the audience has little knowledge of up to that point in the movie. While everything connects by the end of the movie, this problem definitely deflates the movie. Still, a few holes in the plot don’t take away from the movie’s portrayal of the bond created by Legos and their creative properties.
8/10
Want to see “The Lego Movie?” View show times at Cinemark and Premiere Cinema.
