Glenn here. Okay, sure, The Lego Movie may not be the kind of movie that we would normally cover here at The Film Experience, but, hey, why not? And if you've so far avoided the first trailer of The Lego Movie then now's the time to catch up because, surprise, it doesn't look half as bad as you're probably expecting! Besides, with this year's animation race looking rather dire it's probably as good a time as any to look forward to next year's candidates, which are already looking like a far more interesting bunch.
YES
- Chris Pratt! We're loving him a lot lately - I've personally been catching up on Parks and Recreation on Netflix, but he has also been providing charming, unheralded support in films as varied as Zero Dark Thirty, Moneyball and the upcoming Her (moustache fans look out!) And as voice work in animated movies becomes seemingly less and less like an artform, it's nice to see a celebrity cast who actually seems entirely right for it. His enthusiasm, at least in short trailer form, is infectious. He's basically Andy Dwyer in Lego form.
- I never saw it, but I know Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has a lot of fans and The Lego Movie is from that film's directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. They seem to have a zippy, irreverent style that falls on the right side of manic.
- Batman and Superman, you guys! I'm not gonna lie. I am way more interested in this Batman and Superman crossover than I am the Zach Snyder Man of Steel sequel (and I liked Man of Steel!) And not only that, but we get Will Arnett and Channing Tatum doing the voices. There's also The Green Lantern, Abraham Lincoln (he's a superhero, right?), Han Solo and - I think - the first cinematic appearance by Wonder Woman.
- "Everything is Awesome!" Next year's best original song, obviously.
- The production design. It's rare to say, but I'm really interested to see how to make the film look equally Lego-inspired and yet expanded to the cinematic landscape. The trailer already gives a good indication and I am enjoying the smaller sets (the lead character's apartment) so hopefully they have a lot of fun with the possibilities unlike, say, Transformers, which turned a very tangible piece of machinery into something with no possibly real world connection.
- "Abraham Lincoln!" Further to the point up above about Chris Pratt's vocal work, I am living for the way he pouts "Abraham Lincoln" as he flies away on his rocket-powered throne.
NO
- Morgan Freeman. We get it. You have an authoritative voice!
- Liam Neeson's good cop/bad cop character appears to be riffing on the mayor of The Nightmare Before Christmas, no?
MAYBE SO
- "The chosen one". Yes, it's a tired story conceit that needs to be retired from literature (and, thus, film), but at least they're having fun with it. Hopefully it stays that way.
- CGI. One thing that looks to set this big-budget animated title apart from the rest is that even if it's all computer animation, it doesn't necessarily look like it. So I hope then that the action sequences don't take over the second half and render its unique look as null and void. If you've got an interesting look then stick with it! Don't squander it by turning into the same as everyone else.
In conclusion I am a big, big YES! This looks fun and funny and charming and unique and I just want it now. I want it so much more than Free Birds or Epic or Mr Peabody & Sherman for which I saw a trailer today and it looks appalling. It reminds me a lot of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in the way it verges on surreal. That film deserved an Oscar nomination I kid you not, but was likely perceived as too gimmicky and too TV.
I'd actually love to know what you guys think of The Lego Movie, since it features so many things movielovers should get into, but it's also, ya know, a movie about Lego. Hmmm. Speak up in the comments!