Growing up, the LEGO world was already a reality for me due to the LEGOLAND amusement park in the UK which brought the little stoic yellow individuals to life. Now, everyone can experience the sensory overload that is the LEGO universe!
Imagine, if you can, Toy Story crossed with South Park-esque satire, Community style wit, and drinking too much wine. If you can kind of get where I’m coming from there, then you have some idea of the world which Warner Brothers, Phil Lord and Christopher Miler have created with The LEGO Movie.
The LEGO Movie is the first full-length theatrical LEGO adventure. It follows Emmet, voiced by Chris Pratt, an ordinary, rules and instructions following, perfectly average and generic LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of culturally historic strangers on a heroic quest to stop the evil tyrant President Business, portrayed by Will Ferrell, from destroying the LEGO universe with the dreaded Kragle! The bumbling Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously unprepared for such an adventure and hilarity ensues.
Despite the colour and originality of the idea, the promotions and trailers did little to excite me until I saw the cast. A plethora of the most famous and current comic actors have stormed the sound studio and have made an old, rehashed and oh-so-familiar tale new again. Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Channing Tatum, Nick Offerman, Jonah Hill and Cobie Smulders all lend their voices to some of the most classic characters know in contemporary society. There is even a guest appearance from Shaquille O’Neal, (“Y’all ready for this?”)!
The film is fabulously self-aware and pokes fun at itself very frequently. Given half a chance, you will burst out in shrieks of laughter as the characters of your childhood parade around to the highly catchy and only slightly annoying theme song of Everything Is Awesome; a song which will soon be played everywhere. Ye Be Warned!
Kids will love this film for the colour and the fun, and adults will find a deeper level of humour. It is a tale of adventure, friendship, and self-discovery which ultimately ends with a happy, everybody-loves-everybody-else revelation, and warm fuzzy feelings for one and all. The LEGO Movie is a new breed of animated film and is well worth a viewing.
Reviewed by Jenna Woods
Rating out of 10: 7
The Lego Movie opens in cinemas on 3 April 2014.
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