Alison Brie, Nick Offerman and others will star in 'The Lego Movie'
Children of the 20th Century grew up playing with toys, whereas the current young generation also has a collection of movie-themed聽 to enjoy (Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman, Lego Harry Potter, etc.). No surprise, Warner Bros. is expanding the multi-platform franchise to now include theatrically-released movies, beginning with a project titled鈥� The Lego Movie.
Lego Movie previously went under such titles as Lego: The Piece of Resistance and just Lego, but the 3D computer-animated feature is now prepared to release under a title so generic, it almost sounds like a joke. Of course, that鈥檚 probably the idea, coming from writer-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, ).
Here is the official synopsis for The Lego Movie:
The 3D computer animated adventure tells the story of Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.
Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) is voicing Emmet, meaning he will headline Lego Movie in animated form, before playing the flesh-and-blood leading (hu)man Star-Lord in Marvel鈥檚 .听Will Arnett () is reported to be voicing the Batman Lego and Morgan聽Freeman is lending his vocal gravitas to a character named Vitruvius.听The rest of the star-studded voice cast includes Liam Neeson (Taken 2), Alison Brie (), Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) and Elizabeth Banks ().
Here is the official movie logo (click for full-sized version):
The Lego Movie screenplay was written by Lord and Miller, drawing from a story they co-wrote with Dan and Kevin Hageman (). Personally, I see a lot of potential for delightful cartoonish mayhem and self-aware humor in a premise that involves a Lego mini-figurine being 鈥渕istakenly identified as the most extraordinary person,鈥�聽so this project seems to be starting on the right foot, even in the writing stage.
Lord and Miller have earned a reputation for bringing sly wit and inspired creativity to their directing efforts, even on the most calculated of cash grabs (such as a 21 Jump Street movie that preys on lingering nostalgia for ). Combine that with their proven skill at using the 3D animation medium for proper effect in their聽Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs adaptation, and that is reason enough to anticipate their Lego Movie (in my humble opinion, anyway).
Sandy Schaefer blogs at .
