Everything is Awesome in THE LEGO MOVIE

It's only February but we had made up our mind which show will be OUR movie of the year...
Drum rolls please... Tatatatatatata



THE LEGO MOVIE

Watching THE LEGO MOVIE Trailer

Over the weekend, we decided to make our way to Film Garde Complex for a family movie. Watching movies these days is quite an expensive affair. The tickets and popcorn cost us close to $60 for a family of 4. Yet, since we like to indulge once in a while, this movie will be worth it. Save for Mommy, the boys in the family including yours truly are huge fans of LEGO.

The story in brief
Emmet (Chris Pratt) , an ordinary , rules- following perfectly average LEGO is identified as the special one and the key to saving the world after discovering a relic. He is drafted into a team of master builders consisting of the wizard Vitruvius(Morgan Feeman), the romantic link Wyldstyle( Elizabeth Banks) and the menacing Batman (Will Arnett). They are to do battle with Lord Business and his secret weapon, the Kragle and stop the evil genius from destroying the world as they know it.

The plot itself is relatively cliche , ordinary guy saves the world against a super enemy with his 'special' abilities. Yet the movie manages bags of laugh and kept the boys engaged with its all familiar cast. Adults will be tickled by the little pop culture jokes and parodies we spotted from other movies.

Matrix - the prophesy of someone special to save the world
Terminator - Come with me if you want to not die
Clash of the Titan - release the Kragle
Transformers - The final battle scene (think bumblebee)

The familiar LEGO families also made their cameo appearances in the movie. The DC superheroes such as Superman, Green lantern, Wonder Woman and Flash, Millennia falcon and crew from Star Wars, Ninjago , Harry Potter's Dumbledore and even Gandalf from LOTR graced the big screen. The boys had no problem identifying them since they have some of the characters in their *ahem* collection. Appearing alongside are old western sets and even the Dunlop range. Sadly marvel characters and some other LEGO minifigures are not represented as the rights are not 'owned' by Warner Brothers.

Selected Cast from THE LEGO MOVIE in our current collection

This is a tongue in cheek movie. It practically pokes fun at what LEGO is perceived to be today. When we mention LEGO, we often have a vision of 'a sophisticated, interlocking brick system' that is more well known for its amazing sets of branded lookalike models ( such as the iconic Millennia Falcon) that follow a set of instructions to build. In the midst, We had forgotten what LEGO sets out to be, bricks that are meant to be sculptured to any forms subjected to the creativity of individuals.

The adults are probably the main culprits at stifling creativity. Admit it, when you buy a Lego set for the kids, do you build for them or at least ensure that they follow the instructions to a T?

How would a child uses his creativity if all he is told is to follow instructions?

The good news is that this movie had a scene cleverly written into it to remind us as such. This brillant way of storytelling ensures parents who bought their children to the LEGO movie would take away a lesson or two from this awesome show. I will not divulge the plot in case you would like to catch the movie ( you should ... with your kids! )

As for me, guilty as charged! 

When the boys play with their different sets of LEGO, there are rules such as 'No smashing of build planes, cars or houses' , especially if Daddy had taken hours to painstakingly build it. Like the villain in question, I had even been tempted to use tape or glue to make sure the pieces stays together. Somehow these rules had taken a twist... The boys formed their own rules such as no mixing of DC and marvel LEGO minifigures during playtime and that actually limits the world of LEGO. Not exactly my intention, but I have undoubtedly reined in their creativity with my rules. 

Gasp , I have become Lord Business ! 

Time for me to remember that LEGO are toys and they more importantly, they are not mine.

Spot the new cast member !

So what lessons did I learn from a movie?

• Never underestimate a child imagination
• Adults don't always need to fix things, they should just let creativity take over
• LEGO is more fun if you play with your children, than playing it on your own ( whoops)
• LEGO are toys and are not meant for the architect or engineer wannabe in you

What lessons did my sons learn?

• They can mix and play with any LEGO characters. Now Superman can do battle with HULK to see who is the strongest
• LEGO bricks can be use to create other things other than what is written on the instructions
• They are special in their own ways no matter how ordinary they are
• Everything is awesome! (the song just sticks in your head after the movie) They just have to discover why so.

Our Lego World

THE LEGO MOVIE is now out in the cinemas. If you have only one show to watch in the movie this year with your children. This will be it !

Winning the oscar for Best picture may be a long shot, but we bet this movie will be the odds on favorite for Best animated picture this coming Academy awards!