By Natalie DeFord, A&E Writer
With multiple worlds, cameos, references and satire galore, “The Lego Movie” is not just a journey for kids.
The entire movie is a mockery of society, inspiring people to be themselves and to not follow the norms and rules, because everyone is special.
The Lego characters must follow the instructions of the evil President Business — voiced by Will Ferrell — who wants to freeze the ideal perfect society, and perfect Lego sets, by gluing the universe together. He and his surveillance system give off some Orwellian vibes.
Of course, since this is a Lego universe, there are instruction booklets telling citizens what to do. These instructions look just like real life instructions for building Lego sets.
The main character Emmet — voiced by Chris Pratt — is an ordinary Lego figure trying to fit in and make friends with his coworkers and neighbors. Obviously, there are instructions for doing just that.
The president tells all of the characters, among other things, that in order to be happy, they must all watch the same TV programs and listen to the same music — no original thoughts or actions.
Emmet is simply “an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world,” according to http://thelegomovie.com.
He’s a construction worker who’s used to building by the rules and his adventure to stop President Business is hilariously awkward since he knows nothing except how to follow the instructions.
On his journey he is accompanied by Vitruvius — a prophesying wizard voiced by Morgan Freeman — and the ‘master builders.’
The master builders are the people who build without instructions and can take an array of pieces provided by the world around them and use them to build just about anything they need.
Along with the master builders are several characters people may recognize, who have been featured in Lego sets throughout the years.
Among the general mermaids, pirates, cowboys, knights and astronauts, characters like Batman, Wonderwoman, Superman, the Green Lantern, Dumbledore, Gandalf, Abraham Lincoln and Han Solo can all be spotted in Lego minifigure form.
These are not the only things referenced throughout the movie, as there are also golf balls, Band-aids, foil and even a half-eaten lollipop used as a walking staff. These items are intermixed with the Legos as they might be within in a child’s toy chest.
More and more objects and character types are found throughout the movie as the characters legitimately travel through different scenes made out of actual Legos.
Everything is Lego. Even gunshots and laser-blasts are made of flying lego parts. Every object, set and background is composed of real Lego pieces that are identified by their real names and numbers just like in real Lego sets and instructions.
Emmet and the master builders journey through the fabrics of space to visit different worlds within the universe, including The Wild West and Cloud Cuckoo Land.
In Cloud Cuckoo Land there are no rules except the leaders say citizens must have only positive feelings. Negative feelings are to be stored deep down inside where no one will ever find them. Naturally, this can lead to trouble.
Negative thoughts are banned from Cloud Cuckoo Land, but original thoughts are not allowed anywhere.
President Business aims to prevent all things straying from what his ideal depiction of the perfect universe is by micromanaging everything.
But, the main message of this movie is to express yourself and be unique. Everyone can be special if they put their mind to it, and playing with Legos is the ultimate analogy — and catalyst — for this.
“The Lego Movie’s” combination of satire, hilarity and nostalgia is enough to please moviegoers of all ages.
