No writer's block for the creators of the Lego Movie!
We went to see the Lego Movie with our 16 and 20 year-old big kids. Rotten Tomatoes gave this a 96% rating, which made it a sure bet with teens and young adults. We indeed had a great time and really enjoyed the quirky humour and fantastic visual effects. Any Lego fan will be pleased with this movie. (More about Vaughan Mills' Lego Discovery Centre)
The movie synopsis from the official movie's website is the following: An ordinary guy named Emmet (Chris Pratt) is mistaken as being the Master Builder, the one who can save the universe. With the aid of an old mystic Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), a tough young lady named Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), and Batman (Will Arnett), Emmet will fight to defeat the evil tyrant Lord Business (Will Ferrell) who is bent on destroying the universe by gluing it together.
Here are the top-10 pieces of fun trivia I found about this movie. I think you will appreciate leaning this before before seeing Lego Movie or watching it again when it comes in DVD (Sources: cinemaclock.com, tvtrops.org, screencrush.com)
1. Some sources say that the movie is fully CGI (Computor-Generated Imagery), some others that it's part stop-motion and part CGI. I think this article offers the most satisfying answer (mostly computerized, with elements of real sets): http://screencrush.com/making-of-lego-movie/
2. Attention to detail: The Warner Bros and Village Roadshow Pictures logos in the opening are made up of Lego bricks.
3. Everything in the movie was designed to look as if built out of LEGO pieces. This even includes effects like water, fire, laser bolts, explosions and smoke. For instance, the lasers are actually transparent LEGO rods (commonly known as "Lightsaber blades"), while smaller puffs of smoke are LEGO ice cream pieces. This is in contrast with the direct-to-video LEGO movies and cartoon series, in which parts of the sceneries and most of the effects were made to look realistic.
4. The numbers seen with the pieces when Master Builders were assembling their free form models are the official Lego Element ID's (or part numbers) for each of the components used in each of the models.
5. Benny, AKA the "1980-something space guy", a Minifigure from LEGO's classic Space line, has a broken helmet and a worn-out, scuffed logo on his suit, similar to how many real-life vintage Space Minifigures look after decades of being used. The helmet is even shown to be cracked at the same spot where the real-life LEGO piece would usually break.
6. Various Lego characters, either original or from licensed properties, make cameos or play bit parts. These include, among others: Johnny Thunder (from the Adventurers line), Lloyd Garmadon the Green Ninja (Ninjago), C-3PO, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian (Star Wars) the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dumbledore (Harry Potter), Gandalf (Lord of the Rings), Shaquille O'Neal and the NBA All-Stars (Sports), Lion Knights (Castle), and many characters from the Minifigures series. But, the directors couldn't get all the licensed characters they wanted (such as Marvel Universe, Pirates of the Caribbean and other Disney properties).
7. Lord Business (the villain) is president of Octan, a fictional gas station brand that first appeared in 1992 and has since been featured in numerous Lego sets. His cape is in the shape of a tie.
8. What an appropriate and funny line in the theme song for a Lego movie: "Everything is better when we stick together." (The song actually plays a role in the movie!)
9. The Lego Movie cost was approx. $60 millions. It made approx. $70 millions (just in the USA) in the first weekend it was released.
10. Warner Bros is preparing for a potential sequel.
Scene at Lego Discovery Centre in Toronto.
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