The Lego Movie
The Lego Movie (also known as Lego: The Piece of Resistance in the working title and original screenplay, Lego: The Motion Picture or Lego: The Movie) is a 2014 animated adventure comedy film co-produced by Warner Animation Group, Village Roadshow Pictures, Lego System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, and Lin Pictures, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story they co-wrote with Dan and Kevin Hageman, based on the Lego line of construction toys. The film stars the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman. A collaboration between production houses from the United States, Australia, and Denmark, its story focuses on Emmet Brickowski (Pratt), an ordinary Lego minifigure who helps a resistance movement stop a tyrannical businessman (Ferrell) from gluing everything in the Lego world into his vision of perfection.
This article is about the film. For the franchise, see The Lego Movie (franchise). For the Lego theme, see The Lego Movie (Lego theme).The Lego Movie
- Phil Lord
- Christopher Miller
- Dan Hageman
- Kevin Hageman
- Phil Lord
- Christopher Miller
- Pablo Plaisted (animation)
- Barry Peterson (live-action sequences)
- Chris McKay
- David Burrows
- Warner Bros. Pictures (Worldwide)
- Roadshow Films (Australia)[3]
- February 1, 2014 (Regency Village Theater)
- February 6, 2014 (Denmark)
- February 7, 2014 (United States)
- April 3, 2014 (Australia)
101 minutes[4]
English
$468.1 million[8]
Plans of a feature film based on Lego started in 2008 following a discussion between producers Dan Lin and Roy Lee, before Lin left Warner Bros. to form his own production company, Lin Pictures. By August 2009, it was announced that Dan and Kevin Hageman had begun writing the script. It was officially green-lit by Warner Bros. in November 2011 with a planned 2014 release date. Chris McKay was brought in to co-direct in 2011 with Lord and Miller, and later became the film's animation supervisor. The film was strongly inspired by the visual aesthetic and stylistics of Brickfilms and qualities attributed to Lego Studios sets. While Lord and Miller wanted to make the film's animation replicate a stop motion film, everything was done through computer graphics, with the animation rigs following the same articulation limits actual Lego figures have. While primarily an animated film, it has several live action scenes in the real world. Much of the cast signed on to voice the characters in 2012, including Pratt, Ferrell, Banks, Arnett, Freeman, and Brie, while the animation was provided by Animal Logic, which was expected to comprise 80% of the film. The film was dedicated to Kathleen Fleming, the former director of entertainment development of the Lego company, having died in Cancún, Mexico, in April 2013.[9][10]
The Lego Movie premiered in Los Angeles on February 1, 2014, and was released theatrically in the United States on February 7. It became a critical and commercial success, grossing $468.1 million worldwide against its $60–65 million budget, and received acclaim for its animation, story, humor, score, and voice acting. The National Board of Review named The Lego Movie one of the top-ten films of 2014. It received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards, among numerous other accolades. The Lego Movie is the first entry in what would become the franchise of the same name, which includes three more films—The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie (both 2017), and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019).
Plot[edit]
In the Lego universe, the wizard Vitruvius is blinded when he fails to protect a superweapon called the "Kragle" (a misreading of Krazy Glue) from the evil Lord Business, but prophesies that a person called "The Special" will find the "Piece of Resistance" capable of stopping the Kragle. Lord Business claims Vitruvius made up the prophecy and kicks Vitruvius off a cliff.
Eight and a half years later, in Bricksburg, an optimistic but unimaginative construction worker named Emmet Brickowski comes across a woman searching for something at his construction site. Emmet falls into a pit and finds the Piece of Resistance. Compelled to touch it, he experiences visions, including one of a giant called "the Man Upstairs", and passes out. He awakens in the custody of Bad Cop, Business's lieutenant, with the Piece of Resistance attached to his back. Emmet learns of Business's plans to freeze the world with the Kragle; the Piece of Resistance is the glue tube's cap. The woman, Wyldstyle, rescues Emmet, believing him to be the Special. They escape Bad Cop and travel to "The Old West" where they meet Vitruvius. He and Wyldstyle are Master Builders, capable of building anything without instruction manuals, who oppose Business's attempts to suppress their creativity. Though disappointed Emmet is not a Master Builder, they are convinced of his potential when he recalls visions of the Man Upstairs.
Emmet, Wyldstyle, and Vitruvius evade Bad Cop's forces with the help of Wyldstyle's boyfriend, Batman, and escape to "Cloud Cuckoo Land," where all the Master Builders are in hiding. The Master Builders are unimpressed with Emmet and refuse to help him fight Business. Bad Cop's forces attack and capture everyone except Emmet, Wyldstyle, Vitruvius, Batman, and fellow Master Builders MetalBeard, Unikitty, and Benny. Emmet devises a plan to infiltrate Business's headquarters and disarm the Kragle. The heist almost succeeds until Emmet and his friends are captured and imprisoned. Business decapitates Vitruvius and throws the Piece of Resistance into an abyss before arming a self-destruct device to execute all the captured Master Builders. Vitruvius reveals he made up the prophecy before he dies, but his spirit returns to tell Emmet that it is his self-belief that makes him the Special. Strapped to the self-destruct mechanism's battery, Emmet flings himself off the edge of the tower and into the abyss, disarming the mechanism and saving his friends and the Master Builders. Inspired by Emmet's sacrifice, Wyldstyle, who reveals her real name to be Lucy, rallies the Lego people across the universe to use whatever creativity they have to build machines and weapons to fight Business's forces.
The abyss transports Emmet to the human world, where the events of his life are being played out in a basement by a boy named Finn on his father's Lego set. Finn's father, revealed to be the Man Upstairs, chastises his son for creating hodgepodges of different playsets and begins to glue his perceived "perfect" creations together permanently. Realizing the danger, Emmet wills himself to move and gains Finn's attention. Finn returns Emmet and the Piece of Resistance to the set, where Emmet becomes a Master Builder and confronts Business. In the human world, Finn's father looks at his son's creations and realizes he is suppressing his son's creativity. Through a speech by Emmet, Finn tells his father that he is very special and has the power to change everything. Finn's father reconciles with his son, which plays out as Business reforming, capping the Kragle with the Piece of Resistance, and ungluing his victims with mineral spirits. After the world is restored, Lucy and Emmet enter a relationship with Batman's blessing. Finn's father grants Finn's younger sister permission to play with the Lego sets as well, causing Duplo aliens to arrive in the Lego universe and threaten destruction.[a]
Additionally, Anthony Daniels, Keith Ferguson, and Billy Dee Williams appear as protocol droid C-3PO, and smugglers Han Solo and Lando Calrissian from the Star Wars franchise.[b] Other appearances from licensed Lego iterations of franchises include Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit franchises; Dumbledore from the Wizarding World franchise; The Flash and Aquaman from DC Comics; Milhouse from The Simpsons; Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise and Speed Racer from the Lego tie-in sets released alongside the 2008 film adaptation of the eponymous animated television series.
Shaquille O'Neal portrays a Lego version of himself who is a Master Builder alongside two generic members of the 2002 NBA All-Stars. Will Forte (credited as Orville Forte) portrays Abraham Lincoln (whom he had previously voiced on Clone High, another Lord/Miller production). Dave Franco, Jake Johnson and Keegan-Michael Key portray Emmet's co-workers Wally, Barry and Foreman Jim respectively. Director Christopher Miller voices a TV announcer for the Octan comedy show Where Are My Pants?; his son Graham Miller voices the Duplo alien.
Marketing and release[edit]
Lego released a number of building toy sets based on scenes from The Lego Movie.[40][41] The Lego Movie premiered on February 1, 2014, at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles.[42] It was initially scheduled for release on February 28,[43] but was later moved up to February 7.[30] The film was released in Australia by Roadshow Films.[3]
Warner Home Video released The Lego Movie for digital download, and on DVD and Blu-ray on June 17, 2014. At the same time, a special Blu-ray 3D "Everything is Awesome Edition" also includes an exclusive Vitruvius minifigure and a collectible 3D Emmet photo.[44] Overall, The Lego Movie was the fourth best-selling film of 2014, after Frozen, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Guardians of the Galaxy, selling 4.9 million units and earning a revenue of $105.2 million.[45] The film was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 1, 2016.[46][47]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The Lego Movie grossed $257.8 million in the United States and Canada and $210.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $468.1 million.[8] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $229 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it third on their list of 2014's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[48]
In the United States and Canada, The Lego Movie was released with The Monuments Men and Vampire Academy on February 7, 2014. It earned $17.2 million on its first day,[49] including $425,000 from Thursday night previews.[50] During its opening weekend, the film earned $69.1 million from 3,775 theaters.[49] Upon its debut, it achieved the second-highest February opening weekend, behind The Passion of the Christ.[51] The Lego Movie attracted a mostly diverse audience, with about 64 percent for Caucasians, Hispanic 16 percent, African-American 12 percent, and Asian 8 percent,[52] as well as 41 percent being under 18 years of age.[53] Its second weekend earnings dropped by 28 percent to $49.8 million,[54] and followed by another $31.3 million the third weekend.[55] The latter made it the second-highest third weekend for any animated film, trailing only behind Shrek 2.[56] The Lego Movie completed its theatrical run in the United States and Canada on September 4, 2014.[57]
Worldwide, The Lego Movie earned $69.1 million in its opening weekend in 34 markets.[58] On its opening weekend elsewhere, the top countries were the United Kingdom ($13.4 million),[59] Australia ($5.7 million),[60] Russia ($3.9 million),[61] Mexico ($3.8 million),[58] and France ($3.1 million).[62] The film had the strongest start for a non-sequel animated film in the United Kingdom ahead of The Simpsons Movie and Up.[63] It would remain as the country's highest opening weekend for a 2014 film until it was surpassed by The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that spring.[64] As of March 2022, its top international markets were the United Kingdom ($57 million), Australia ($20 million), and Germany ($13.1 million).[65]
Critical response[edit]
The Lego Movie was met with universal acclaim.[66] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 253 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The critical consensus reads, "Boasting beautiful animation, a charming voice cast, laugh-a-minute gags, and a surprisingly thoughtful story, The Lego Movie is colorful fun for all ages."[67] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[68] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[49]
Other media[edit]
In 2014, an adventure video game, The Lego Movie Videogame, was released for multiple platforms.[101] Lego Dimensions (2015) features characters from several media franchises, including The Lego Movie.[102][103] The Lego Movie: 4D – A New Adventure is a 4-D film at Legoland Florida, that has been in operation since 2016. Written and directed by Rob Schrab, the 12-minute attraction stars A. J. Locascio as Emmet, with Banks, Brie, Day, and Offerman reprising their respective roles; while Patton Oswalt plays President Business's brother, Risky Business.[104][105]