Like the Title Song says...

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2017)

Today, before watching an animated movie, the biggest question is "which element of newness can it ever provide to eyes that have enjoyed hundreds of Disney (and even DreamWorks) classics?"
Indeed, as time goes by and the audiences get more blasé, the probability for an animated film to meet with commercial success might be relatively high, but whether it would stand the test of time and become a classic is another story. Each of the three 'Shrek' sequels did pretty well in the box-office, but compared to the first opus, they're all pretty forgettable.
But this is an adjective I wouldn't use for "The Lego Movie" as it is a wonderfully crafted and smartly conceived animated comedy. It doesn't just bring enjoyment; it also possesses such a meticulous attention to little details that you wouldn't mind watching it again in case you missed something. Of course, the very premise of an animated movie made of Lego bricks is to challenge the eyes with as many details as one can spot in a simple blink, that's the essence of the Lego bricks, but the writers or creators didn't just take that high-concept for granted: the special effects are the vehicles to a solid plot and a story with a message that is positive without being dull or predictable.
There's a moment where all the protagonists meet in Cuckoo Cloud Land (or was it Cloud Cuckoo Land)? And although some of the characters in the background add nothing to the story, the multiple cameos they form is simply irresistible (they go from Simpsons characters to Ninja Turtles or movies and fairy tales icons) you really have to push the pause button if you want to spot each of them. This perfectionism has nothing to envy on Disney's and reward our expectations as we don't expect uncluttered landscapes from a Lego film. And while it starts with Lego Land and the ominous President Business' building, it also gets out of the urban zone of comfort and make us fly over the vast Western canyons or enjoy a trip on and under the sea, the occasion for many cool effects simulating waves, smokes or clouds.
Last time I had as much fun was with "Rango" and there's some kinship between the two films besides not being from Disney (or another 3D major studio), they have extremely appealing heroes. Rango had a certain edgy quality but Emmett (Christ Pratt) is simply too sweet for words. It's like the writers, instead of taking the wrong step and making the most possibly original character, went to the totally opposite trajectory, making an even more original one. This is a Lego-man who sees the half filled glass, who cheers at everything, because in Lego life, everything is built upon instructions, you can't do any wrong because that's an option life doesn't include. So nothing can upset him: the lousy one-joke sitcom, the overpriced coffee, his motto echoes the town's hymn "Everything is Awesome", a cheesy electronic pop hit that seems to come directly from the 90's.
But under this cheerful front, Lego Land lives with an impending doom of evil President Business (Will Ferrell) and according to Vitrivirus, a wizard with the voice of Morgan Freeman, a chosen one will save the town (quite a prophecy, isn't it?), it turns out to be Emmett, but he needs to believe it to succeed. The film takes one of the cheesiest clichés but makes it the soul of its message and making something original out of conventional stuff is a stunt I didn't think was possible. And the is the kind of masterstroke I won't dare to spoil but let's just say, there comes a moment where even the comedic inventiveness can't drive the plot, and the writers need an extra push and we make the one discovery that gives its full meaning to the Lego, the reason why anyone can enjoy it.
Speaking for myself, I stopped playing Lego when I got a new digit in my age but playing now with my daughter, I rediscover the appeal behind this simple but genius concept, interlocking brick one or another, creating more and more challenging forms, some with a meaning, others not, but avoiding dullness at all costs. There is something in Lego that is so boundlessly creative, that you can't help but feel the need to reinvent stories or scenarios within the limits of your mind's imagination. It's just as if the 3D animation existed before the screen version, and "The Lego Movie" was inevitable. And it is perhaps the only animation process where the temptation of portraying the 'player' was so strong, as if there was something subtly existential or deeply metaphysical in that quest for perfection. I had a foretaste after watching the Simpsons 'Lego' episode, there's indeed some great source of creativity behind these little bricks.
Nevertheless, this quest for perfection is integral to the film's appeal, so is the need to deconstruct things for the sake of imagination. There was something in that Cuckoo Land that reminded me of South Park's "Imagination Land", and this is what the film is about: the power of imagination, and that includes imagining yourself as a hero, and being able to build and to decompose as well. And not to make the film sounds too philosophical, it is also a terrific comedy with superb characters, including Elizabeth Banks as the bad-ass WyldStyle (the jokes about her names never get old), a 80's Spaceman and Unikitty, a hilarious mix of Hello Kitty and 'My Little Pony' style unicorns.
Honorable mention to the scene-stealing performance by Bruce Wayne aka Batman and a funny twist on the good cop/bad cop trope, well it's full of pop culture references, they're good but they're not even the best thing about the film.
Everything is awesome in that 'Lego' movie and I'm looking forward for the sequels.