The Lego Movie

Dan Lin conceived of the idea for the film and began discussing it with Roy Lee before leaving Warner Bros. to form his own production company, Lin Pictures, in 2008.[15] Meanwhile, Warner Bros. home entertainment executive Kevin Tsujihara had recognized the value of the Lego franchise by engineering the studio's purchase of Lego video game licensee Traveller's Tales in 2007, thought the success of the Lego-based video games indicated a Lego-based film was a good idea, and reportedly "championed" the development of the film.[15][16] By August 2009, Dan and Kevin Hageman were writing the script described as "action adventure set in a Lego world".[17] Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were in talks in June 2010 to write and direct the film.[18] Warner Bros. green-lit the film by November 2011, with a planned 2014 release date. The Australian studio Animal Logic was contracted to provide the animation, which was expected to comprise 80% of the film. By this time Chris McKay, the director of Robot Chicken, had also joined Lord and Miller to co-direct.[19] McKay explained that his role was to supervise the production in Australia once Lord and Miller left to work on 22 Jump Street (2014).[20] In March 2012, Lord and Miller revealed the film's working title, Lego: The Piece of Resistance, and a storyline.[21] In April 2012, Warner Bros. scheduled the film for release on February 28, 2014, a date that subsequently changed.[22]

By June 2012, Chris Pratt had been cast as the voice of Emmet, the lead Lego character, and Will Arnett voicing Lego Batman; the role of Lego Superman was offered to Channing Tatum.[23] By August 2012, Elizabeth Banks was hired to voice Lucy (later getting the alias "Wyldstyle")[11] and Morgan Freeman to voice Vitruvius, an old mystic.[23][24] In October 2012, Warner Bros. shifted the release date for the film, simply titled Lego, to February 7, 2014.[25] In November 2012, Alison Brie, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, and Nick Offerman signed on for roles. Brie voices Unikitty, a member of Emmet's team; Ferrell voices the antagonist President/Lord Business; Neeson voices Bad Cop/Good Cop; and Offerman voices MetalBeard,[26] a pirate seeking revenge on Business.[25]

LEGO Design byME set designed with Lego Digital Designer, the same software used to create The LEGO Movie.

The film is strongly inspired by the visual aesthetic and stylistics of Brickfilms and qualities attributed to Lego Studios sets. The film received a great deal of praise in the respective online communities who saw the film as appraising nod to their work.[27] Many Brickfilm-Fans and AFOLs (Adult Fans of Lego) praised the painstaking amount of detail in the production. Animal Logic tried to make the film's animation replicate a stop motion film although everything was done through computer graphics, with the animation rigs following the same articulation limits actual Lego figures have. The camera systems also tried to replicate live action cinematography, including different lenses and a Steadicam simulator. The scenery was projected through The Lego Group's own Lego Digital Designer (created as part of Lego Design byME, which people could design their own Lego models using LDD, then upload them to the Lego website, design their own box design, and order them for actual delivery), which as CG supervisor Aidan Sarsfield detailed, "uses the official LEGO Brick Library and effectively simulates the connectivity of each of the bricks". The saved files were then converted to design and animate in Maya and XSI. At times the minifigures were even placed under microscopes to capture the seam lines, dirt and grime into the digital textures.[28] Benny the spaceman was based on the line of Lego space sets sold in the 1980s, and his design includes the broken helmet chin strap, a common defect of the space sets at that time.[29] Miller's childhood Space Village playset is used in the film.[30] In July 2012, a Lego-user contest announced on the film's Facebook page would choose a winning Lego vehicle to appear in the film.[31]

The film's total cost, including production, prints, and advertising (P&A), was $100 million.[7] Half of the film's cost was financed by Village Roadshow Pictures.[7] The rest was covered by Warner Bros., with RatPac-Dune Entertainment providing a smaller share as part of its multi-year financing agreement with Warner Bros.[32] Initially Warner Bros. turned down Village Roadshow Pictures when it asked to invest in the film.[7] However, Warner Bros. later changed its mind, reportedly due to lack of confidence in the film, initially offering Village Roadshow Pictures the opportunity to finance 25% of the film, and later, an additional 25%.[7]

The film's theme song, "Everything Is Awesome", has been critically praised and has undergone some close analysis. Eric Brown, writing in the International Business Times, describes the song as a parody of fascism, saying that the song "seems little more than an infectiously catchy parody of watered-down radio pop, right down to the faux-dubstep breakdown. There's a lot more happening under the surface, however."[39]

In an interview with Fox News, producer Mark Mothersbaugh says the song "was supposed to be like mind control early in the film. It's totally irritating, this kind of mindless mantra to get people up and working. It's like the whip crack on their back, but then by the end of the movie it morphs into, instead of being just a mindless, go-to-work song it becomes about co-operation and people working together to do bigger things."[40]

The Lego Movie premiered at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles on February 1, 2014, and was released in theaters on February 7, 2014.[41] The film was released in Australia by the film's co-producer, Roadshow Films.[3]

Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including a set of collectible minifigures. A website was opened up so fans could make minifigure versions of themselves, and later, put that in the film's official trailer. The company recruited a roster of global partners to a broad, multi-category licensing program to support the film.[42][43] Official Lego Brand Stores also scheduled events. Each week of January 2014, a new character poster (Wyldstyle, Batman, Emmet, Lord Business) came with every purchase.[44] By building a creative model in-store, people received a free accessory pack. Barnes & Noble hosted a themed event in January, February, and March.[45]

In February 2014, ITV released the world's first Lego ad break, featuring ads from British Heart Foundation, Confused.com, BT, Premier Inn, and ended with a trailer for the film itself.[46][47] That same month, McDonald's released eight collectible holographic/3D cups in Happy Meals to promote the film.[48]

A video game based on the film, The Lego Movie Videogame, by TT Fusion for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, and Windows, was released on February 4, 2014.[49] An exclusive "Wild West Emmet" minifigure was released with preorders of the game at GameStop.[50]

The Lego Movie was released on Digital HD on May 20, 2014. It was released by Warner Home Video on DVD and Blu-ray (2D and 3D) on June 17, 2014. A special Blu-ray 3D "Everything is Awesome Edition" also includes an exclusive Vitruvius minifigure and a collectible 3D Emmet photo.[51]

The Lego Movie was met with "nearly unanimous positive reviews".[52] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 96% with an average score of 8.15/10, based on 250 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Boasting beautiful animation, a charming voice cast, laugh-a-minute gags, and a surprisingly thoughtful story, The Lego Movie is colorful fun for all ages."[53] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100 based on 43 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[54] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[55] Filmmaker Edgar Wright, and Time film critic Richard Corliss, each named The Lego Movie as one of their favorite films of 2014.[56][57]

Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Arriving at a time when feature animation was looking and feeling mighty anemic...The LEGO Movie shows 'em how it's done",[58] with Peter Debruge of Variety adding that Lord and Miller "irreverently deconstruct the state of the modern blockbuster and deliver a smarter, more satisfying experience in its place, emerging with a fresh franchise for others to build upon".[59] Tom Huddleston of Time Out said, "The script is witty, the satire surprisingly pointed, and the animation tactile and imaginative."[60] Drew Hunt of the Chicago Reader said the filmmakers "fill the script with delightfully absurd one-liners and sharp pop culture references",[61] with A. O. Scott of The New York Times noting that, "Pop-culture jokes ricochet off the heads of younger viewers to tickle the world-weary adults in the audience, with just enough sentimental goo applied at the end to unite the generations. Parents will dab their eyes while the kids roll theirs."[62]

Claudia Puig of USA Today called the film "a spirited romp through a world that looks distinctively familiar, and yet freshly inventive".[63] Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail asked, "Can a feature-length toy commercial also work as a decent kids’ movie? The bombast of the G.I. Joe and Transformers franchises might suggest no, but after an uninspired year for animated movies, The Lego Movie is a 3-D animated film that connects."[64] Joel Arnold of NPR acknowledged that the film "may be one giant advertisement, but all the way to its plastic-mat foundation, it's an earnest piece of work—a cash grab with a heart".[65] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "sassy enough to shoot well-aimed darts at corporate branding".[66] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post said that, "While clearly filled with affection for—and marketing tie-ins to—the titular product that's front and center, it's also something of a sharp plastic brick flung in the eye of its corporate sponsor."[67] Moira MacDonald of The Seattle Times, while generally positive, found "it falls apart a bit near the end".[68] Alonso Duralde of The Wrap said the film "will doubtless tickle young fans of the toys. It's just too bad that a movie that encourages you to think for yourself doesn't follow its own advice."[69]

Conservative political commentator Glenn Beck praised the film for avoiding "the double meanings and adult humor I just hate".[70]

Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris referenced The Lego Movie not being nominated Best Animated Feature, which many critics considered a snub, saying prior to the award's presentation, "If you’re at the Oscar party with the guys who directed 'The Lego Movie,' now would be a great time to distract them."[71]

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson criticized the film's anti-corporate message, saying that it taught children that "government is good and business is bad", citing the villain's name of Lord Business. "That's done for a reason", Johnson told WisPolitics.com, "They're starting that propaganda, and it's insidious". The comments were criticized by many, and Russ Feingold brought up the comments on the campaign trail during his 2016 Senate bid against Johnson.[72]

The Lego Movie grossed $257.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $210.3 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $468.1 million.[8] Calculating in all expenses, Deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of $229 million placing it 3rd on 2014's list of most profitable films.[73]

In the United States and Canada, the film opened at number one in its first weekend with over $69 million, which was the second-highest weekend debut in February, at the time, behind The Passion of the Christ (2004) ($83.8 million).[74] The movie retained the top spot at box office in its second weekend by declining only 28% and grossing $49.8 million.[75] The Lego Movie was number one again in its third weekend while declining 37% and grossing $31.3 million.[76] In its fourth weekend, the film dropped to number three grossing $20.8 million.[77]

The direct sequel to the film, titled The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, was released on February 8, 2019 with Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, and Will Arnett reprising their roles of Emmet, Wyldstyle, and Batman, respectively, and Tiffany Haddish joining the cast.[95]

There are two spin-off films, The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, which were both released in 2017.[96]

The 4-D movie featuring in-theatre effects, based on the film itself, titled The Lego Movie: 4D – A New Adventure, opened at select Legoland theme parks across the globe in 2016.[97]

On May 10, 2017, Warner Bros. and Lego announced that the character Unikitty would receive a spin-off television series on Cartoon Network, with Tara Strong voicing the character. The series premiered January 1, 2018.[98]