Onto a new year of film. Now I’d just like to say, that typically, the first movie I see in a year is something charming and child friendly. Something without a lot of real substance. (Journey 2, Oz The Great And Powerful, etc.) So I decided to start 2014 off with The Lego Movie. Fair enough. On the surface, the film looks like your everyday typical ‘chosen one’ plot, but with Legos.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I should have listened to the overwhelmingly positive reviews and word of mouth. This film succeeds on every imaginable level.

It seem’s odd to review a film that basically everybody else has already seen. I almost feel you should just go read someone else’s review. ‘AniMat’ calls it “the most innovative animated film since Toy Story.” ‘alyssagrimley’ praises the film for being “clever, heartfelt, and thought-provoking— in other words, better than any movie bearing the title “The Lego Movie” has any right to be.” And both of them are correct.

Okay, you know the story if you’ve seen the ads. And there’s an amazing cast behind it all. Let’s skip to the animation. I originally thought that the film was stop-motion, but then I realized that it would have taken stop motion animators a good 50 years to put this together. The film is CGI, but it’s so convincing, it could easily fool you. The attention to detail is amazing, especially when it comes to background jokes.

This film is terrific at world building. The Lego universe shown in the film is so colorful, creative, and filled with wonderful characters. The filmmakers have created a world that, if possible, I would book vacation plans for.

The humor in the movie is spot on. All of the characters are funny, and a good chunk of them have dramatic depth as well. To me, it’s when the film tries to be dramatic that it truly excels. Without spoiling anything, this movie had a moment where I honestly thought to myself, “This film should be a contender for Best Picture.”

I’m not saying it’s going to be a major Oscar player. But it should get some recognition in Animated Feature and Original Song. This is a case that’s never happened before: the first film I see this year, and I’m beginning to have my doubts that this year will produce another film that can top it.

*****

WARNING: HERE BE SPOILERS.

Well, I guess you just can’t talk about this film without talking about the ending, can you?

First of all, let me say that I knew that the human world was going to be involved at some point. You’ve got Will Ferrell talking about band-aids, glue, nail polish removal, all stuff made by humans. The question at this point is ‘what connection do these two world’s have?’ And the ultimate reveal is not only clever, but was deeply moving.

And in case you’re wondering, the moment that made this film an Oscar contender in my eyes was that moment when Will Ferrell is holding the President Business mini figure and realizing that he’s the bad guy in his son’s eyes. I cried during that scene. What’s brilliant about this movie is that, much like The Princess Bride, the true emotion comes from the simplicity of the external story.

For Your Consideration In All Categories Including Best Animated Feature and Best Picture Of The Year