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The LEGO Movie Review

With Toy Fair kicking off this weekend, it only seemed fitting to catch a showing of The LEGO Movie (Toy Fair & a LEGO movie is almost becoming a tradition). Although the LEGO corp has been in the entertainment business for a while now, this was still something of a new venture for them. Rather than the previous "let's LEGO-ize an existing property" concept, this was an all-new story that had to stand on its own. Well, almost entirely on its own...nostalgia was possibly the biggest star in a cast that included Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Elizabeth Banks, Channing Tatum, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams.

Fortunately, the outstanding cast and warm fuzzy feelings were merely bonuses in a story that had a brickload of creativity and just as much heart. The story itself was pretty simple: boring drone learns the value of creativity, while loners/villains learn the value of teamwork and/or family. Pretty standard "kids movie" fodder. But it was handled beautifully, fleshing the characters out so that we could actually care for them with a minimum of exposition and a good amount of humor.

In addition to engaging younger audiences, there are quite a few things to keep adults entertained as well. Some were just subtle quirks that only older builders will get, like 1980-Something Space Guy with the broken helmet and worn-out chest symbol. Others were more overt jokes, like the Millennium Falcon's cameo as a party boat, but will likely sail right past younger audiences. I especially liked the inclusion of several non-LEGO elements in the film, such as the Kragle and the Blade of Xact-0...familiar concepts to anyone who had a messy playroom as a kid.

Like other LEGO movies & games, The LEGO Movie was a lot of fun without ever dipping into stupid—something that I sincerely appreciate. Even though I tend to be more of a "by the book" guy rather than a "master builder" when it comes to my LEGO collection, I can fully endorse the movie's message of creativity.

Collector/Modeler Interest:
LEGO has released several sets in conjunction with the movie, all of which appeared at one time or another in the movie. Several of the sets have been minimized to make them saleable (a 100% screen-accurate Lord Business' Evil Lair would cost several thousand dollars and require an entire building devoted to holding it), but the important bits are all there.


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