By ASHLEY LEUNG
A movie that originally did not attract the immediate attention of many people, “The Lego Movie” was one of the most popular animated winter movies of 2014. Directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the movie was full of laughs, action, suspense, and definitely a lot of amazing special effects. The protagonist, Emmett, voiced by Chris Pratt, was an ordinary, rules-following LEGO construction worker. He followed all of the rules and was just an average citizen of Bricksburg. On the other side of the happy, blissfully oblivious life that all of the citizens lived, the person in charge of everything, President Business, voiced by Will Ferrell, was planning to “end the world” during an event called Taco Tuesday with the most powerful substance in the universe, the Kragle.
When the movie begins, it shows the entire backstory of the entire film, showing Vitruvirus, voiced by Morgan Freeman, and President Business battling it out over the Kragle. In the end, the evil President Business is able to take the Kragle from Vitruvirus and blinds him, kicking him down into the underworld. But before he fell, Vitruvirus spoke of a prophecy, where “the greatest, most talented, most interesting, most important person of all times”, will find the Special who finds the piece of resistance. The movie fasts forwards eight and a half years later and focuses on Emmett during on the his normal work days. However, he spots a girl at the construction site after work and goes to tell her to leave before accidentally falling into the underworld somehow finding the “piece of resistance.” He gets caught and is taken by Good Cop Bad Cop, learning all about President Business’ evil plans. Right before he was melted, Wyldfire, the girl from earlier, bursts in to save Emmett and takes him to the Old West, a different universe. There, they meet Vitruvirus and explain to Emmett the entire situation. From there, the trio goes on to find allies, help Emmett find his “Special” qualities, and in the end, save the world.
What made the movie amazing were not just the hilarious jokes, or all of the iconic characters involved, such as Batman, Shaquille O’Neal, Abraham Lincoln, and Dumbledore, but the amazing special effects that were used along with actual Lego bricks to create the world of the movie. Because the creators of the film could not make the entire film out of Lego bricks, most of it were CG animation along with stop motion. Alongside, the producers paid close attention to small details and it helped to create a realistic effect to the animated toys.
A movie fit for people of all ages to watch, “The Lego Movie” is one that will definitely teach a lesson about staying away from conformity and embracing one’s true self while creating laughs for almost everyone.
