“The Lego Movie” is a hilarious, exciting, heartfelt experience

Photo by Frederick Dennstedt, via flickr

Rafael Abreu/Staff Writer 

Writer-Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “21 Jump Street”) have already proven themselves to be extremely talented and knowledgeable when it comes to filmmaking and being able to appeal to audiences of any and all ages. “The LEGO Movie” succeeds in infusing humor that can make children laugh and make adults laugh even more, but even though there are jokes and gags all around “The LEGO Movie,” it isn’t the main thing worthy of discussion.

“The LEGO Movie” concerns a generic, instruction-following construction worker (Chris Pratt) who must save the LEGO world(s) after coming across the Piece of Resistance, which is the only way to stop President/Lord Business (Will Ferrel) from completely taking over the world with the “Kragle.”

Even though it’s all CGI, “The LEGO Movie” still looks like it’s made out of real LEGO pieces, coming off as jittery and sometimes stilted, emulating a sort-of stop-motion look. It ends up looking absolutely fantastic, with details coming off as authentic. The voice acting is also great, featuring a nice array of different actors to create unique characters; even though many of the voices are done by well-known actors, it never once feels like a gimmick (like it usually is in so many other animated films with celebrity voice actors), and the acting itself never feels phoned in.

What makes “The LEGO Movie” so great isn’t its humor, its comedy, its jokes, or even its accessibility to just about anyone, but its attitude, its message, and its passion. For a movie based off a consumer product that is usually aimed towards children and collectors, “The LEGO Movie” addresses a number of issues, such as conformity, imagination, and above all, believing in yourself.

One of the best messages the film puts forward is finding out what makes you special; everyone has something they’re good at, even if others may not think so. This is an extremely important plot point in the case of the main character Emmet, who is looked down on for not having the most creative ideas when it comes to building things; however, as the movie proves, even someone as unlikely as Emmet can come up with something of value, and that also goes for every other character. It puts forth the moral that everyone has potential and everyone has something of value to share with others and the world around them.

Additionally, the film is not above juxtaposing conflicting arguments with one another. Take, for example, the catchy and purposely generic song “Everything is Awesome!!” (by Tegan and Sara featuring The Lonely Island): it’s supposed to be the most generic, friendly, boring, happiest thing ever, yet, there’s a high chance that it’ll be in your head and you’ll be singing along to it even after the movie’s over. At first, this song represents the conformity and lack of individualism in the world, but it eventually also works as a song that celebrates team work and anything that’s awesome (which is everything, by the way). It’s miraculous that the writer of this song (Shawn Patterson) was able to come up with lyrics that not only work in a world where freedom and individuality are non-existent but in a world where freedom, individuality, and creativity are encouraged to the highest degree.

For something people might assume is for children or for selling a product, “The LEGO Movie” has so much more to offer, such as life lessons, as well as stand-out comedy. It’s the kind of film that, much like the song that plays during the end credits, is fun, catchy, and something you’ll want to see/listen to again and again. It helps that Phil Lord and Chris Miller wanted to address important morals to people of all ages, leaving us with a film that, while hilarious and exciting, is also heartfelt.

rafael.abreu@fiusm.com