It would maybe make sense to put this in a ‘best of the summer’ list but it is so good that is deserves its own post. On my trip to New York in July we watched the beginning of this movie and I had to finish it upon coming home. Thanks to redbox for the freebie. Overall, the animation genre is usually a win. There are some from Pixar and Disney and others that are not good even if visually they do a good job on making it sweet. Wreck It Ralph was the last animated film I watched and its whole play on being yourself, even if that means being deemed a bad guy from the world around you..really made it work and made it enjoyable. The glitch character also resonates with not conforming to what others say about you, but rather to live upholding what you say about yourself.

The whole animated genre( and musicals too) play to a more privy advantage because most of the audience(even little kids) don’t expect any complicated plot lines, adult like dialogue and any form of impact or meaning. But, more times than not I have been more impacted and more impressed by the animated genre. The Incredibles, Ratatouille, The Iron Giant, Up, Megamind, and all the Toy Story films all make your cry, laugh and are incredibly inspiring. I would put the Lego Movie in this same category.

Story By: Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Screenplay by: Christopher Miller and Phil Lord

Stars: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Day, and Liam Neeson

Plot: Emmet is your below-than-average lego worker and not even close to being a master builder. He gets mistaken for someone that he is not. someone who is great. And the search and adventure begins when he is “the one” for the prophecy and all to stop the evil tyrant known as President Business(Will Ferrell) who is trying to freeze the world with the infamous Kragel. The showdown of characters and action sequences( all lego parts, even the bullets in guns) take us on a wonderful aesthetic of the lego world coming to life. The deeper meaning, however, is that humans can live and function like plastic lego people without any function other than to blend into what others are doing and what the world conforms them to be. Don’t be a lego part, be a creative and wonderful person. After all, “everything is awesome!”

The deeper meaning: it would be safe to say that playing it safe is not how to live life to its fullest. The fact that Emmet’s friends all say, “he is a blank slate..he just does what everyone else does.” We live in a robotic world. The zombie genre( which can be either disgusting or when its mild..highly entertaining..i.e. World War Z) always hits this point very clearly: technology and stress and the addiction to trying to be rich and happy has created zombie like people. The world is just one big addiction to the system. As Jon Foreman sings in ‘back to the beginning again…’ he says, ‘ with the weight of these machines across my back/ I am busy living in a single file line.’

The lego movie is saying: we area addicted to our iced coffees( 37 dollars, of course) and we are operating like we are just plastic parts stuck to an even more plastic city life overspending with a plastic credit card. The world is plastic. And to live is the opposite. To live is to be addicted to adventure and to being creative. I love how the movie ends with showing Will Ferrell( as a grown person) interacting with the son that he has been very hard on for a very long time. The dad comes to see that he is quenching the creativity of his son by telling him not to touch his special lego parts. I think everyone has to realize that being apart of a fallen world and a fallen justice system and fallen leaders is all apart of living on this side of heaven. But, we don’t have to stay addicted to being disconnected. The more I see that Facebook and Twitter are taking over our free time and even time that we could have devoted to others. Social networking is making us increasingly more plastic and even more so parts of the puzzle of a life we maybe hate and a self that we maybe despise. After all, living well is the best revenge. And doing it well, well, that is a rare thing.

Special quotes:

“Emmet gives the speech to Cleopatra, Gandlaf, Superman flies, Lincoln, Green Lantern, and other famous people!

Emmet says , “I am the least qualified person to do this!”

“I am not special!” is what he is saying

She says he’s not even a master builder

You are special the girl says

Emmet says, ” I never have any ideas!

Vitruvius says, “I don’t think he has ever had an original idea in his life!”

Emmet tells the girl you are nicer then you really are–she says I wanted the prophecy to be for me, she says, “I wanted to be the chosen one!”

Petrivius says, “a corrupted spirit is no match for the purity of imagination.”..then petrivus gets his head cut off–

Petrivius dies and says Emmet, “I made the prophecy up!

Lord petrivius ghost says–you didn’t let me finish before, because I died!

Emmet says, “all it takes to be special, is to believe that you can be!”

This movie is more than worth your time!