Everything is awesome: The Lego Movie

I finally got to watch The Lego Movie! It's a really good and enjoyable film for the most part. Not only is it entertaining story-wise, it is also very well and uniquely animated. Practically everything in the film was a Lego structure or piece. I was especially impressed with how the sea and the waves looked like they were built out of Lego pieces. I also liked how the characters "moved", resembling stop-motion animation and giving the impression that someone is actually playing with or moving the pieces.

photo courtesy of The Lego Movie wikipedia page

Adding to its appeal is its myriad of popular characters such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Dumbledore, Gandalf, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and even Shaquille O'Neal. Despite the starstudded "cast", it's normal, almost forgettable guy Emmet who is the lead character. In traditional underdog fashion, Emmet is supposed to be "the special" who saves the Lego world from Lord Business.

Spoiler alert! Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

As mentioned, I really enjoyed this film for the most part. I can't say I completely enjoyed it because I was let down by the ending. As Emmet sacrifices himself to prevent, or at least delay, the destruction of the Lego World by Lord Business' secret weapon - the Kragle - it is revealed that all the pieces are being played with by a kid. His father is gluing all the Lego pieces into place in an effot to build a model of a city for his work. In essence, Emmet is kind of a representation of the kid and Lord Business that of his dad.

Of course, there are different interpretations of this twist. One is that the whole animated part of the film is really just the imagination of the kid. This is kind of how I interpret the film and this why I find the ending a bit flat. I guess I was really looking forward to how Emmet and the rest of the master builders would defeat Lord Business as themselves so to find out that the whole storyline is just the kid's imagination was very anti-climactic. Of course, there is that part when Emmet actually moves in the "real world" which can lead to another interpretation, that the whole thing wasn't just imagination and that the Lego pieces are "alive" as well. Personally, I would have preferred the movie to have just stuck to one "universe" where only Lego pieces exist.

Despite my disappointment at the ending, The Lego Movie is still really fun and definitely worth watching. It brings out the inner kid in its viewers and it also has a lot of clean humor that adults will appreciate. Special note: when Lord Business says "Release the Kragle" - a clear allusion to the popular "Release the Kraken" line from Clash of the Titans - it seemed like only a few people in the audience picked up on it because only a couple of us laughed at that gag. :)

If you haven't seen the film and are wondering why I have the words "Everything is awesome" in the title of this blog post, it is because "Everything is awesome" is the movie theme song and all the characters in the Lego World. You can check out the song here.