Animated movies continue to evolve and grow as we venture further into this new golden age of cinema. Coming off the heels of their incredible movie Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, Chris Miller and Phil Lord return with their latest project: The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. The original film is still one of my favorite movies of all time, so I was extremely excited for the sequel. That being said, I was also cautiously optimistic because trying to replicate the magic and fun of the first film felt like a near impossible task. However, it’s now safe to say that director Mike Mitchell was able to create something amazing while capturing the magic of the first movie.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part picks up right where the first one left off with Dad and his son Finn playing with the LEGO together, followed by Finn finding out that his little sister Bianca is allowed to play with them too. Her adorable, but deadly creations land in Bricksburg and everything is flipped on its head. Flash forward five years and the town of Brickburg is destroyed, and now inhabited by Apocalypseburg which was a fun parody of Mad Max. The town wasn’t the only thing to change – every character besides Emmet (Chris Pratt) adapted to the apocalyptic environment, which included them maturing and emotionally hardening themselves.

(Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

While I felt the first 15 minutes or so felt a little slow, the story really picks up when General Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz) arrives and takes Batman (Will Arnett), Wyldstyle and a couple of Emmet’s other friends for a wedding ceremony. Of course, Emmet decides to go after his friends and on the way he meets Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Pratt). Rex felt like an amalgamation of all of Chris Pratt’s most iconic roles, and you could even compare his Emmet to Andy from Parks and Recreation. The writers went above and beyond to lay in easter eggs to Chris Pratt’s other films which were awesome. The character development of Emmet was great to watch because I could relate to his character trying to be optimistic and stay the same even though everyone around him is trying to make him change. I think a lot of kids will be able to see themselves within Emmet and the self-realization his character makes throughout the movie.

(Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

A newcomer to The Lego Movie cast was Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish). I was pleasantly surprised with how well Haddish did when it came to singing in her role. I expected her character to be hilarious (which she was), so the singing just made her character that much better. It also helped that all the songs were catchy. Not only that, but the timing, how they were used to further the plot and give exposition was genius. It’s rare that I will allow myself to groove in the theater, but I couldn’t help but do just that. The jokes and humor worked for most of the movie, though it just felt that there were a few jokes that didn’t quite land. At the same time, I could see those jokes working for little kids and that’s more of the audience the movie is geared towards.

With some of the DCEU stars like Jason Momoa and Margot Robbie making some awesome cameos in the movie, and with many more to look out for throughout the entirety of the film, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is a worthy follow-up to the first film. I will say I enjoyed the first movie a bit more, but if you were a fan of the first movie, you will not be disappointed in this fun sequel.

Be sure to check out The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part when it hits theaters on February 8, 2019!

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