A multi-layered family comedy that works on several levels at once with some of the most consistently funny material I have ever seen wrapped in amazing animation, The Lego Movie is a solid hit out of the park.

The Lego Movie tells the story of Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt), an unassuming construction worker who is happy with his life of following the instructions, loving the TV show he is supposed to love and listening to the song he is supposed to love all day while going to work and doing everything just the way he is expected. His one issue is that he doesn’t seem to have any friends to share his life with but he never thinks too deeply about it because he is so caught up in being happy and content all the time. All that changes when he inadvertently finds a magical piece that becomes attached to him and becomes embroiled in a plot to destroy the world by President Business (Will Ferrell) who is aided by the evil Bad Cop (Liam Neeson). Only when Wild Style (Elizabeth Banks) saves him and takes him to see Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) a master builder who is to train him to be the Special, the only one who can stop President Business.

Before getting too deep into this I have to say that I have talked to some people who are skeptical of this movie because it is animated, and it is about Legos and I guess they think it will be stupid or silly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Well, it is silly, but not the sort of silliness that people dismissing it think it is. First things first, this was written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the team responsible for Clone High, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street. So right off the bat the pedigree of quality is right out front. At this point I will see anything these guys do just because their material is so consistently great. Under their direction the Lego Movie goes from potentially cheap product tie in to hilarious social satire, surprisingly heartfelt storytelling and manages to do all of it with a healthy dose of nostalgia and in a style that reminds the viewer of how a child plays. The Lego movie is absolutely brilliant in its construction and has a lot of meaningful things to say without ever becoming overly serious or being bogged down by message.

It is truly and impressive feat to manage all of the above without becoming tiresome or over earnest but the tone here is perfect and the way that it slides through its themes and points is fairly amazing to watch. The film is a meditation on free will versus determinism, the nature of creativity, the need for multiple viewpoints and perspectives, Batman, the Joseph Campbell Hero’s Journey, the nature and importance of play and storytelling, pop culture and the need to fit in while also wanting to be special. There’s some heady stuff there but it is presented in such a way that adults and children will both find plenty to take away and it will all be taken with the maximum amount of fun possible.

For any movie to pull off the sort of heavy lifting that the story and all its themes and layers is amazing by itself but then you have to factor in the animation and that pushes this thing over the edge from ‘great, impressive movie’ to ‘legitimate masterpiece.’ The movie is pure CGI from top to bottom but the style in which it is presented is that of stop animation with Legos. Everything in the world is made up of Lego pieces. If a character jumps into water, the splashes are Lego pieces. When something is on fire, the flames are Lego pieces. Everything is all Legos, which is counter to some of the Lego direct to video material in which environments and elements within are more realistic. This makes for a very exacting and minute task. Given the amount of material here and the exciting action set pieces, it is astounding that this film could be made at all. Sure the CGI must have helped make it easier to animate, the amount of detail here is absolutely herculean.

I cannot state enough how hilarious this movie is as well and the humor draws from many sources but my favorite was the multitude of cameos from various Lego sets and licensed properties. The rights for this must have been a real bear with all the things represented here and I am not going to spoil anything in the review aside from the fact that (as has been shown on the trailers) Batman figures prominently into the film and it is a version of Batman we have never seen before and would never see in any other context. That and it is cool that Will Forte voices Abraham Lincoln at one point which is an awesome throw back to Clone High.

The voice performances were excellent and star studded here with Chris Pratt doing a great job in the lead. Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson are both hilarious going against type while sort of reinforcing it. Will Ferrell and Elizabeth Banks are both flawless in their tone and delivery. I was sad at first that none of the regular Batman voice actors were used here like Kevin Conroy but Will Arnet was perfect as this version of the Dark Knight. Charlie Day is terrific as Benny the 80’s something space mini-figure and now that Nick Offerman has played a pirate I may be able to die happy (but hopefully not soon). The assortment of top notch voice talent for the cameos is staggering and I wish I could name them off but I would rather leave those to be discovered on their own.

Conclusion [10 out of 10]

I really cannot say enough good things about this movie and frankly I feel like if you don’t like it there may be something dead inside you. If you have ever played with Legos, or anything at all for that matter, and you are looking for family comedy that is both hilarious and about something, you need to see this movie. Don’t be turned off by the fact it is a cartoon about a children’s toy. It is so much more than that and I cannot recommend it highly enough.