Genius on all levels

Bottom Line (at the top): One of the best animated features to come out in several years. A feast for the eyes and imagination, with a good heart and message at the center. All CG, but the animators had the brief that not one piece could be anything other than a real LEGO piece, and could not move or be animated in a away that a real LEGO object could.



But before I get into the real review, I need to address some of the more extreme negative reviews here, which are are bordering on absurd:



"Naked" LEGO mini-figure is "inappropriate? Folks, it's a piece of plastic, and is not just unisex, but asexual altogether. The joke, which apparently sailed over the heads of a few parents, is that you CAN'T have a "naked' minifigure! That is what is so funny- and I'm pretty sure ALL the kids seeing it will get that, even if a few sheltered adults didn't.



And "too violent except for over 10 years old"? First off- again it's all LEGOS; even the explosions were just orange, red and yellow bricks. Anything bad could and did get rebuilt and fixed. The peril and violence is certainly NOT PG-13, and honestly, barely PG. Any classic fairy tale Disney movie has as much peril as this one and they all still have their G ratings.



OK, so on to why it is so great. All of our family loved it equally, Dad (me) Mom and son. For LEGO builders like my son and I every tiny detail was so accurate and lovingly created that alone was half the treat. But really, it's the story and great characters that keep it going strong all the way through. Just like real LEGOS, the movie continually brought out new and surprising ideas.



And then, just as you think it's earned it's place on the top of the shelf of animated greats, it's brings it to a whole other level in the final act. My wife, who almost never will suggest seeing a movie twice was already wanting to see it again just days after we left the theater.