intro
As a kid, I remember coming out of the theater after watching The Lego Movie and thinking “wow that was so awesome!!!” and then making my parents bear witness to the horror that was me singing “everything is awesome” every 5 seconds for the next few months. I loved it as a kid even though i cannot for the life of me remember the specifics of why. I was a freshly turned 9 year old (or maybe 10 im bad at math) so I really never got what it was about. All I knew was that it was funny and the story was cool. I never understood that “everything is awesome” was in fact, supposed to be bad and annoying as hell to listen to. A lot of the films themes are stuff I couldnt understand as a kid, but now older, needed to hear and understand completely. While rummaging through my few remaining 3ds games from my childhood, I found my Lego Movie game. I had very bad memories with this game, funnily enough; I got stuck on a level involving tumbleweeds (or something) and quit. Though it did make me remember how much I loved this movie as a kid. Recently I had gotten into Legos again because of Ninjago, so I decided to give rewatching the movie a shot. I thought Emmet and Benny’s designs were super cute and wanted to draw fanart of them while making sure I actually remembered who they were. I also had been putting it off for a while, so me finding the 3ds game was what tipped me over.Little did I know, this film would be so much better than what I remembered of it as a kid.
the animation!!
The animation is an aspect of the film that everyone talks about when discussing this film and it is extremely obvious why. The animation of the movie is something that blows you away, even within the first few seconds of the film. You really think to yourself, “holy shit how did they do this??!?”. Even knowing that its 3d, it replicates the stop motion look perfectly. Whoever did the texturing did an amazing job capturing the scruffs and marks on each brick. It is really incredible how much attention to detail there is in this film. Even as someone who isn’t a lego superfan, I found myself amazed with the little things I did actually catch.As an artist, I was constantly pausing. Crowd design was spectacular!! I loved rewinding and just watching how the crowd moved. With a lot of the background characters being already existing IPs, I could usually just pause and see a character I knew. It was fun!! Colors and lighting and compositions were also gorgeous as well!!! Idk what else to say!!
the messaging
Watching as a kid, I couldn’t even begin to fathom its critique on capitalism, I didnt even know what that word meant for gods sake. Now though, oh my god!!!! It is really interesting how Lego of all things, aka a BILLION DOLLAR BRAND, did a movie about this (Also see the bottom of this for a link to a really good essay critiquing this aspect of the film). I see a lot of people comparing this movie to the Barbie movie –both critiques on society made by big brands- but honestly the Barbie movie did it a lot worse in my opinion but I am not gonna talk about that!!! It was just such an interesting take and im glad that that was what the film was about other than a big ad (a conception that was very prominent when the film was first announced). It is enjoyable for all ages and really challenges you as a viewer. It is definitely a comedy sure, but it mixes it so well with the message that you can take it as a serious satire, or a silly comedy and walk out feeling like it was time well spent. I must say that it is so so silly and funny I found myself laughing like. Every other second. The writers did an amazing job!!!emmet… my babygirl…
Emmet as a character resonates with me a lot. I dont want to get too personal (this is on a website anyone can see after all LOL) but Emmet has so many traits and a way of thinking that I really relate to. He sees the best in people and completely ignores the bad traits. He is a little dumb, but very kind and sweet. He loves and appreciates his friends and his job. Him being “The Special” is a very relatable thing, we all want to be the most important thing ever.His design is also super cute. He is almost always seen in the movie sporting his construction uniform– he always carries that part of him. His lil nametag on his pants is also a very interesting touch. I dont really know what more to say about that fact but its just… interesting.
the special
The reveal of “Everyone being The Special” in the end got me in a way that I really wasnt expecting. I know this is a childrens movie and I know they basically have to make a broad relatable theme that kids can understand and apply to themselves, but I really did feel deeply connected to it on this rewatch. “We are all special” sounds like such a stupid, juvenile theme I know, but the way it is executed in this film is one of the best ways I have seen it explored. Maybe i am biased though cause I havent seen many movies in the first place, especially non animated ones LOL.“You are the most talented, most interesting, and most extraordinary person in the universe. And you are capable of amazing things. Because you are the Special. And so am I.”
You dont even know how much this quote means to me… Emmet says this to Lord Business as he talks him down from Kragling (???) him and like. GAHHH!!!!! It is so sweet, especially with the subplot of the son talking to his father. It is presented and delivered so well. It reminds me a lot of the End Poem in Minecraft. Especially the “And the universe said I love you because you are love” part.
“Because the only thing anyone needs to be special is to believe that you can be”
This quote from Vitruvius particularly got me, BECAUSE ITS SO TRUE!!! Being an artist, your mindset towards things, especially your artwork, is so so dependent on what you think of yourself. You’re only a good artist if you think you’re a good artist. You’re only going to go places if you believe you are. You’re only special if you believe you are. IT JUST HITS!!!! I just cannot talk enough about how I absolutely adore this line and will definitely be thinking about it at random times of the day!!!! Just so many good quotes relating to being unique within this movie.
While I do love this film, there are also some interesting issues that arise with such a story. I read this academic paper on the movie and I think it brings up some extremely interesting points that i never considered so heres the link to it!
(EDIT: So, when I wrote this, I hadnt read the complete essay, only around 3/4s of it and skimmed over some stuff. I didnt realize the source was from a christian college LOL. It kinda goes into weird religious territory and the uhh “morality” (??) of the lego movie, like how it… takes away from god or somethin??? so just be aware of that!!! I will reread this soon very carefully and try to make a full critique of it ^_^” i might end up deleting it from here if i find it too weird)
putting this text here to remind myself to talk about the music at some point!!!
