Whit Honea on “The LEGO Movie,” the toys it inspired, and the joy of building it together.
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The day started like any other. It was the weekend, our collective responsibilities were elsewhere, and we were taking it one brick at a time.
The LEGO Movie, rated PG, had been out for a few days, and like most films aimed at the younger crowd, we already knew the names of the characters without having met them. And by “we” I mean my sons. They talked about the movie with anxious bits of heresay and wonder. They were emotionally invested well before we bought the popcorn, and adding butter was just the icing on the cake. So to speak.
My wife and I were hopeful. We wanted everything to be awesome, but we had been burned by movie hype before. We let the boys savor their anticipation, and we braced ourselves for what could come.
It only took a moment for our guard to go down and the smiles to go up. The LEGO Movie started with a bang, and it never lost its momentum. It had parents and children laughing loudly throughout the entirety of the film.
The LEGO Movie is smart—the humor is layered in pop culture and geek-lore. It is also packed with adventure—do you like westerns, chases, superheroes, pirates, love stories, space, dragons, and the assorted stuffs of engaging epic storytelling? It’s in there. And it is funny.
There are messages and inspiration running rampant through the film. For instance, be yourself, think outside the box, be creative (yes, they even make the case for using LEGO sets beyond their specific theme), work as a team, do the right thing—all of the good stuff that will keep parents nodding, knowingly. And then there is the tender part about a boy and his father.
When we got home we went straight to our new LEGO Movie sets, Lord Business’ Evil Lair and Castle Cavalry, respectively, and relived our favorite scenes from the film.
We are still reliving them now, and they are memories that we are building together. That’s right, I went there.
It turns out that everything is awesome, and that’s pretty cool.
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About the sets:
Lord Business is a bad dude. He’s all about controlling the world and spelling “taco” with a k, and if that isn’t evil I don’t know what is.
Lord Business’ Evil Lair (below) comes with six minifigures including our hero Emmet, the wise Vitruvius, Ma and Pa Cop, El Macho Wrestler, and Biznis Kitty. Also, Lord Business himself. Boo! Hiss!
The set is actually something of a spoiler if you haven’t seen the movie, so I won’t go into too much detail about the scene. Go see the film and then call me. We’ll talk.
The Castle Cavalry (above) is actually two sets in one. It is both a castle with lockable doors and skeleton bones, and, wait for it, the cavalry (where the cavalry equals a vehicle sporting catapults, flame flick missiles, a crossbow, and a catapult). It comes with three mini figures, including Sharon Shoehorn, the star of everybody’s favorite show Where Are My Pants?
Both sets are available wherever LEGO sets are sold, and the film is playing everywhere. Assemble your team and check out the everything you’ve been hearing about!
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LEGO provided the sets mentioned above for review purposes. We bought our own movie tickets (and popcorn).