The Lego Movie

Story

Emmet is an ordinary LEGO construction worker. That is until he stumbles upon the Piece of Resistance, the only defence against the evil Lord Business and his superweapon, the Kragle. Emmet finds himself welcomed into a fellowship of powerful Master Builders, who believe that he is the only one who can save them.

Why we chose it

A hugely popular and entertaining action animation with distinctive characters, clever satire and witty comedy. Not just for LEGO fans – though they will, of course, love it.

Where it came from

Producer Dan Lin first had the idea for the film while watching his 5-year-old son playing with LEGO. However, writing the script was itself like building with LEGO as it was pulled apart and pieced back together so many times. The animation was largely influenced by Brickfilms, short stop-motion animations made using LEGO.

Where it went next

The film was a huge success and won numerous awards, including the BAFTA for Best Animated Film. The film’s popularity led to a temporary shortage in LEGO toys and pushed LEGO past Mattel as the world’s biggest toymaker. Indeed, in 2014 approximately 62 billion LEGO pieces were sold—that’s about 102 pieces for every person on the planet!

Associated stories

The movie’s sequel, the LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part was released in 2019. Numerous spin-offs have also been released, including the LEGO Batman Movie (2017) and the TV series Unikitty!. Lord and Miller have directed several other films together, including Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009).