Per the critics on Fandango, The Lego Movie was a “must go” flick. Per my friend’s friend’s review, it had lots to offer. Per me, I wonder how many people will be satisfied to stop at the surface and believe they saw the underlying themes, only to ignore the deeper current I felt running through much of the movie (the current that, as I saw it, made fierce jabs at much of the population).
No, I’d not planned on starting next year’s Oscar-likely movies with animation, but I certainly don’t have a say over when movies are released. wink emoticon Given all of the buzz,though, I guess The Lego Movie might make the list next year. Granted, I don’t see a lot of animated movies, but for me it falls far short of the mark I’ve made where the level was reached with other works such as Finding Nemo, Brave, Wall-E, and Shrek.
Still, it does appeal broadly enough. And it’s better than many animated movies. And the Academy won’t miss that underlying theme. Also, as much as I initially balked at the idea of a “lego” movie, I get it as to why it is just that. And that part worked. (I also adored them staying true to the land of legos; even the water was made of legos. That was genius.)
In discussing the movie today, it dawned on me where the movie fell short. Sure, there is a story to appeal to adults (and the barely-below-the-surface story to appeal to parents). Sure, there’s another level of humor to appeal to the youngsters (and the kid in all of us; I laughed at a lot of those jokes too). Indeed, there are great quips and puns and Lego characters that take us back to our own childhoods to fondly reminisce of play-times-past. And yes, I saw that much deeper (and harsher) commentary on society. But the great *intelligent* wit that I delighted in with the aforementioned works by Pixar and Dreamworks is missing. Instead, it felt like the societal commentary was forced rather than cleverly woven in. The quips were too broken up and deliberately placed rather than flowing more naturally and subtly and smartly. The story to appeal to parents was too loud toward the end to let the viewer sit back to reflect and appreciate it.
It was good, but it wasn’t “there”—at that level I’ve come to expect from the great animated works.
That said, I should say that one of the things I found fabulously funny in the movie was its ability to poke fantastic fun at the sometimes unbearable language in today’s films. The characters here still uttered words in outbursts, but they were more like most of the words I utter (well, most of the time wink emoticon ). Said one lego-personette upon failing at something: “Darn darn darn darny-darn!”
And for that, Warner Bros., I thank you.