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The Lego Movie

Started by CaledonianGonzo, February 08, 2014, 03:57:08 PM

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CaledonianGonzo

I can't be the only one super-jones'd about this, can I?

I mean - have you seen the reviews?

http://badassdigest.com/2014/02/07/i-really-wanted-to-hate-the-lego-movie/

Nah'mean nahm'sayin?

Replies From View

But Lego what?  Lego Firemen - there's a movie.  Lego Policemen - yep.  But not just "Lego" - it's far too broad.

madhair60

From the Clone High/Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs/21 Jump Street people, there is 0 chance this will be anything other than brilliant.

CaledonianGonzo

]
Quote from: Replies From View on February 08, 2014, 05:15:53 PM
But Lego what?  Lego Firemen - there's a movie.  Lego Policemen - yep.  But not just "Lego" - it's far too broad.

Lego *existentialism*

Jack Shaftoe

Just seen it. It's really, really good. Lightning fast, incredibly imaginative and extremely funny. A very strong Monty Python vibe in some parts, too.

Cannot fucking wait. Starting to get all the figurines. Have watched the trailer multiple times. Will be getting the accompanying game for the Wii-U as soon as it comes out.

No, wait, this is me writing. Not my five-year-old son.

Glebe

Bit skeptical about the trailer, but it's getting great reviews, so...

Jack Shaftoe

Quote from: Replies From View on February 08, 2014, 05:15:53 PM
But Lego what?  Lego Firemen - there's a movie.  Lego Policemen - yep.  But not just "Lego" - it's far too broad.

They go with it. Don't want to say more without spoiling it, but they use the broadness totally to the film's advantage.

Quote from: Glebe on February 08, 2014, 07:11:41 PM
Bit skeptical about the trailer, but it's getting great reviews, so...

I thought the trailer was surprisingly great, but I'm not sure if we saw different ones.
Actually got me interested in seeing the film, which I didn't expect. Between this and Frozen, I actually want to check out two kids films. But at the moment, I've still not had the time to see 12 Years a Slave and Inside Llewyn Davis, so they get top priority above BABY MOVIES FOR BABIES. Although I will definitely try and check them out too.

Incandenza

Yeah, it's extremely fun. Takes a bit to get used to the aesthetic and the manic pace, but it's utterly charming, witty and beautifully put together. Kept thinking it was basically the film Wreck it Ralph wanted to be. Wonderful.

Replies From View

"Lego" is being used in this thread title as an adjective.  Like The Varicose Veins.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Lego is a load of sellout bullshit and that's before you consider you're seeing a film which is essentially an extended advertisement.

The McDonald's Movie soon everyone. But don't worry it has a really right-on cast of writers who make jokes for it. I really doubted whether a Big Mac could emote effectively but now I know it can. In awe.

I hadn't heard anything about this until I was in the US last week. It makes a lot of sense, considering how well the Lego video game franchise has done. They've done an incredible job of keeping themselves relevant in an age of disinterest in physical toys of any kind, let alone ones you have to use your - ech - imagination for. Will definitely check it out.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

It used to be, now its bloated, expensive enough to price out the working class, and exists as a vehicle to sell film merchandise which comes in prescripted sets and requires very little creativity and no individuality.

Come and see The Nike Movie, starring Mike Tyson! I doubted some boots could really engage emotionally with a convicted rapist but I was wrong!

It really does seem that Minecraft is scratching the itch for children that Lego used to. Lego has remained somewhat relevant due to those games, but they're don't encourage creativity. It's just feedback loops of collecting, which can be fun and compelling, but doesn't really spark the imagination.
The lack of more generic sets of Lego as opposed to the glut of Film Tie-In stuff has really stopped it from ever being the endlessly compelling and experimental venue for childhood expression and creativity.

But I'm totally fine with that, since Minecraft is amazing, and educational, and creative and deserves all the success that it gets. Lego had that, but it's really not that anymore, unfortunately. Still, the movie sounds like it's really quite good, and actually comes at the whole "Kids Movie" thing from a unique and clever perspective. And possibly is a somewhat self-critique with the antagonist actually being Big Business.

CaledonianGonzo

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on February 10, 2014, 05:54:26 AM
It used to be, now its bloated, expensive enough to price out the working class, and exists as a vehicle to sell film merchandise which comes in prescripted sets and requires very little creativity and no individuality.

Lego still comes in big buckets of assorted bricks that you can build what you want with.

It also came in prescribed sets back when I was a wean.  Granted not branded in the sense of Batman Lego or Star Wars Lego - but that would have been awesome!

phantom_power

Lego is fucking awesome. The toy itself is as varied as the imagination of the child using it and can be expensive but no more so than all the other shit you buy nowadays. The games are really good as well, and the humour of the Star Wars TV specials is also very good. I'm not sure how Lego can be a sell-out when it is a consumer product that the makers obviously intend to be bought. They are just very good at diversifying.

I don't think a film being an extended advert for a toy is a reason for it to not be good. Most kids films are if you look at it like that.

Jack Shaftoe

I'm just pleased they didn't try and make another CGI movie about a particular product line like Bionicles or whatever, but went for a film about creativity. It could almost have been 'the paper and pen' movie, but it's about the possibilities - and the limitations - of what you can do when your whole world is made up of little plastic bricks.

It actually has some really interesting things to say about
Spoiler alert
how unbridled creativity isn't always that useful - you need guys who follow the instructions and guys who can go mental and imagine anything.
[close]

madhair60

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on February 10, 2014, 05:34:43 AM
Lego is a load of sellout bullshit and that's before you consider you're seeing a film which is essentially an extended advertisement.

Stupid.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Come and see The Danepack movie! I never expected a rasher of streaky bacon to be able to portray a grief-stricken whelk farmer, but blow me down, it was fucking hilarious too!




CaledonianGonzo

Haha - because of Denmark.

madhair60

None of my friends want to see this, but I can't ignore something from the Clone High/Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs/21 Jump Street guys, so I have to go it alone I suppose.

chand

Quote from: CaledonianGonzo on February 10, 2014, 09:01:32 AM
Lego still comes in big buckets of assorted bricks that you can build what you want with.

It also came in prescribed sets back when I was a wean.  Granted not branded in the sense of Batman Lego or Star Wars Lego - but that would have been awesome!

Aye, most of my Lego as a kid was boxes full of spaceship parts or whatever which you'd build to look exactly like the cover of the box. Lacking in imagination really, but then I always had a shit imagination, plus rote-building Lego moon buggies prepared me for an adulthood where I could put up an IKEA bookcase or whatever without having to make a tiresome stand-up routine out of it.

I hope they do some Lego sets based on the video game which is based on the Lego movie.

Quote from: madhair60 on February 10, 2014, 11:09:28 AM
None of my friends want to see this, but I can't ignore something from the Clone High/Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs/21 Jump Street guys, so I have to go it alone I suppose.

People think shooting a foreigner with a bolt-action rifle for your country is brave, but I buy a poppy every year in honour of the brave men who boldly go to cinemas filled with wee children by themselves, and fear not the judging glances from parents.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.

EDIT:
Not the actual Peedos though. I don't buy a poppy for them.
Only the innocents.

eluc55

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on February 10, 2014, 10:53:49 AM
Come and see The Danepack movie! I never expected a rasher of streaky bacon to be able to portray a grief-stricken whelk farmer, but blow me down, it was fucking hilarious too!

These aren't the same thing at all, though. Lego is a charming, creative toy which most people have fond memories of. Making a film about the world of Lego is no different really from a film based on a popular book, comic or TV show. If the stories good, who gives a shit if it's selling more of an associated product. Lego is just a toy which suits an animated film.       

Ignatius_S

Looking forward to this - trying not to spoiler it for myself by finding out what the Lego sets for the movie are like.

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on February 10, 2014, 10:53:49 AM
Come and see The Danepack movie! I never expected a rasher of streaky bacon to be able to portray a grief-stricken whelk farmer, but blow me down, it was fucking hilarious too!

Third time ain't always the charm.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

QuoteIf the stories good, who gives a shit if it's selling more of an associated product.     

Do you feel like that regarding the product placement in Bond films?

Except this is worse because the entire film is a product. I bet the people who made Toy Story are kicking themselves, they could've made a fortune basing the entire thing around Barbie & Ken, Transformers, Power Rangers etc.

QuoteLego is a charming, creative toy

I don't think it is charming anymore, it's just a vehicle for major film studios and corporations to make money. If something does that it does detract from what you're consuming. It makes it risible, cynical and charmless. A lot of the lego games tie ins added nothing. Look it's the Star Wars characters but lego! ....And??!?! So what?

I fear for films in the future and what this sort of thing opens the door to. Lego is a product, it's a corporation.

You said it yourself- the story is everything- so why isn't the story everything?

Lego is an invention of genius and it is undoubtedly the best kids construction toy going, I had sacks full of the stuff and played with it longer than most kids, even until I was 15, so it gives me no joy at all to say any of this. I hope this doesn't incur the wrath of madhair as 'threadshitting'.



madhair60

Why would the story be everything? Visual medium.

eluc55

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on February 10, 2014, 12:49:45 PM
Do you feel like that regarding the product placement in Bond films?

Have to get back to work, so can't answer this post fully at the mo.

But just on this point, I think the difference is that in Bond the PP stands out like a sore thumb and is utterly contrived.

With the Lego Movie, you know what your going into from the outset, and I don't think its a contrived use of the product. The product suits a film, because it hinges on creativity and imagination. I don't mind films about Transformers and He-Man, if the stories/films are good in their own right (which they haven't been). The fact they are based on toys isn't the same as crowbarring in a reference to which watch bond wears. The toys have existing characters/mythologies that suit a film. Lego is similar.   

phantom_power

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on February 10, 2014, 12:49:45 PM
Do you feel like that regarding the product placement in Bond films?

Except this is worse because the entire film is a product. I bet the people who made Toy Story are kicking themselves, they could've made a fortune basing the entire thing around Barbie & Ken, Transformers, Power Rangers etc.


To twist that round, would Toy Story have been any worse if it had been the same but for real toys in it?

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on February 10, 2014, 12:49:45 PM
I don't think it is charming anymore, it's just a vehicle for major film studios and corporations to make money. If something does that it does detract from what you're consuming. It makes it risible, cynical and charmless. A lot of the lego games tie ins added nothing. Look it's the Star Wars characters but lego! ....And??!?! So what?

That isn't true. Each game is really tuned into the style and character of the original material, and they are really funny and idiosyncratic in their own right as well.