“The Lego Movie” is an animated comedy featuring the voices of well-known actors such as Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman and Will Ferrell.
Disney fans out there may have seen the preview for this movie while trekking out in the snow to see “Frozen,” this year’s biggest animated hit. Seeing this preview before such an amazing film may have given you low expectations for “The Lego Movie.” You should withhold your judgment, however, until you see this animated wonder.
Disney heavyweight “Frozen” has exploded on the Internet, creating memes, fan art and gifs galore. The movie’s most noteworthy song, “Let it Go,” has gripped the nation and spread throughout the world, recreated in a YouTube video where Idina Menzel sings the song in 25 different languages. On Rotten Tomatoes, “Frozen” got the impressive score of 89 percent, but “The Lego Movie” is beating it by quite a bit, with a stunning 95 percent fresh rating.
“The Lego Movie” follows the story of a loveably awkward, ordinary construction worker named Emmet (Charles Pratt) as he earns the title of “Special” and embarks on a quest to save the world from being permanently frozen by the evil President Business (Will Ferrell). The movie starts off with a bang as Emmet is first introduced in his small apartment, where he reads instruction manuals to learn how to live a happy life. Laughter comes from all parts of the audience as children laugh at his ridiculous outfit changes and adults chuckle at his lonely, single workingperson lifestyle, reminiscent of a male version of a cat lady.
Scenes of an intricate Lego World are beautifully shot with thoughtfully created computer animation as we watch Emmet travel to work. We watch the adorable Lego man as he travels through his city to the catchy song “Everything is Awesome.” Cynics out there may claim that they hate this song, but you can’t help smiling at the mindless energy, and I guarantee it will be stuck in your head for the rest of the week.
These scenes of routine life, work and commute cast Emmet as a regular Joe, however, we soon find out that Emmet may not be as ordinary as he seems. As the work day continues, we see him float awkwardly on the outskirts of the perfectly oiled machine of Lego life. We feel for him as he struggles to fit in with his peers, desperately wanting to make human connections. Emmet emerges as a loveable underdog whose actions constantly have the audience saying, “Aww.”
The action of the movie quickly comes into play as Emmet is dazzled by a female Lego character, to the laughter of adults brought back to the memory of their first crush and kids saying, “Ew, that’s gross.” While he gapes at WyldStyle (Elizabeth Banks), he trips and falls down a hole to find the “Piece of Resistance,” the only thing that could save the Lego people from imminent disaster. Emmet is then arrested, escapes, meets his spiritual guru Vitruvius and embarks on a quest to save the entire Lego world.
Along the way, he meets characters such as Batman, Gandalf, Dumbledore and the NBA All-stars, who are all “Master Builders” able to create anything out of Legos that they could possibly want. Emmet struggles because of his lack of imagination and inability to create anything. However, as the movie progresses we learn that his ordinariness makes him the perfect hero.
This movie satisfies all of the wants and needs of the audience, no matter what age. Children are amused by the physical comedy and fast-paced adventure; teens enjoy the plot of unrequited love from Emmet toward WyldStyle—who is dating a rather annoying Batman—and adults sympathize with the father-son story behind the Lego world.
