Everything is awesome

Rating: 10/10 (12 May 2015)

The Lego Movie really can be summed up in its signature song, Everything is Awesome. It is a colourful, delightful romp that is equal parts quality viewing and mindlessly entertaining. It is a movie for all occasions and audiences. The animation is delightfully done, giving the impression of stop-motion animation to fully create what it would be like to act out this movie with real Lego.
Directors Lord and Miller have assembled a stellar voice cast, giving perfect characters to each of its actors - the seductive Elizabeth Banks, the cute Alison Brie, the wise Morgan Freeman, the enthusiastic Charlie Day and the tough Liam Neeson. Chris Pratt and Will Arnett (the latter being the most underrated comedic actor alive) are the film's highlights as protagonist Emmet and rival Batman.
The story is simply superb. Not only is it an interesting and engaging story, it captures everything we love about Lego. Anyone who has ever played with any Lego set knows the battle between imagination and instructions. Will Ferrell's President Business is the most perfect villain the film could have. The weapons and arguments used by each side are so perfect and no audience will have trouble identifying with one side or another.
Making a movie about Lego is something that I know tweaked a lot of noses, but it really created something incredible here. The ability to tap into almost anything - LOTR, Harry Potter, The Simpsons, the NBA and DC Comics (with voice acting from 21 Jump Street duo Tatum and Hill providing some huge laughs) - means that this movie had no boundaries, and indeed that is a huge reason why I loved it. It also provided vital jokes and story archs - see quotes like "does anyone know what this piece is, and do you need it?" for just one example.
Towards the end of the movie there is a revelation that truly changes the entire scope of the film, and that makes the film even more special. In any sense, The Lego Movie is one of those movies you can watch again and again and again, never getting over the laughs or the colour or the fun. I cannot recommend this highly enough.