Why THE LEGO MOVIE ‘Resonates’ 10 Years Later
By Movieguide® Contributor
Ten years after the release of THE LEGO MOVIE, Lego’s head of global entertainment, Jill Wilfert, is opening up about its origins.
“It’s quite interesting, our road to THE LEGO MOVIE, and it was a fairly long road,” Wilfert told Variety last month. “We were not actively looking to get into the film business so when we were approached I was interested, of course. But the first reaction we had was, what would that [movie] be?”
Movieguide® +1 review of the Teddy Award® winning-movie reads:
THE LEGO MOVIE is an animated comedy about a heroic underdog. Emmet is just a regular guy until one day he finds the peace of resistance. As a prophecy goes, whoever finds this powerful tool is said to be the “special one” who will save the world. No one would expect Emmet to be “the special one,” but he has a good heart and tries to help. Emmet only has three days before a deceitful dictator posing as a good guy destroys the world.
Extremely well done, THE LEGO MOVIE is hilarious. The animation is top notch, and the characters are clever. THE LEGO MOVIE stresses sacrifice and a father-son relationship. There’s also a political message. The villain in the movie is a dictator who stifles creativity and wants to control everything. All ages will enjoy THE LEGO MOVIE. However, there is some confusing content in that the villain calls himself President Business, but he tyrannically opposes a free market for business. THE LEGO MOVIE is a hilarious movie with great animation and a strong moral worldview containing a strong Christian allegory.
Lego believed it critical that the story felt “authentic” and in line with their brand.
“So the first task we sent them back with was: ‘Maybe we would consider doing this, but you need to come with a story that we feel resonates and really is true to our brand.’ That was kind of the starting point,” Wilfert said.
Some of the organization’s members were skeptical about the project, but they stuck closely with the Warner Bros. team until they had a story that lined up with Lego’s brand.
The development process was “almost seven years,” Wilfert said. “It happened after the first TRANSFORMERS movie launched. For better, for worse, something like that gets a lot of people’s attention in the movie business so we started getting phone calls after that—Warner wasn’t the only one.”
“People were approaching us saying, ‘Would you ever consider doing a film?’ It took a long time to find the right story and then once we had [Phil] Lord and [Christopher] Miller involved, things moved a little bit faster.”
Wilfert believes the movie inspired those who watched it—a success in her book.
“I’ll be very un-Danish and brag a bit—it still shows up on a lot of people’s Top 20 animated films of all time, so I think it was both commercially and critically really beloved,” she said. “If anything, more [than] the critical acclaim, it was when people walked away from the film saying, ‘This really inspired me.'”
“For us, that was the most gratifying reaction that we could have gotten. We didn’t expect it, but certainly we were very pleased people recognized the quality and authenticity of the message,” she said.
Lego made three more Lego movies and several shows, too.
“In hindsight, we would probably say we had too many films too close together. All those movies did get good reviews. If you even look back to LEGO 2 the reviews were better than the box office might indicate. I think people that did see it really did enjoy it,” Wilfert told Variety.
“But really, in the film industry, it’s tough. I think you have to bring something unexpected to the table. And for us, going through that timeframe we felt like it was the right time to maybe take a little bit of a pause, re-evaluate what we’re doing,” she said.
After Lego’s deal with Warner expired, they shook hands with Universal.
“We kind of took a step back and really thought about where we wanted to go in the future with film and talked to a lot of people around town–[there was] a lot of interest as you might imagine–but felt that the team at Universal really understood the business. And they really are true fans of the brand, from Donna [Langley, chair at Universal Pictures] to everyone on down,” Wilfert explained.
Wilfert notes that movies like BARBIE have helped grow the attraction to toy-to-film adaptations. But when asked if Lego would consider making a Lego movie designed more for adults, like BARBIE, Wilfert’s answer leans toward no.
“Well, we hope that the Lego movies attract all audiences. We’ll look to reach the broadest possible audience that we can and we feel that the brand really is in a pretty unique position to really deliver that because we have fans of all ages,” she said. “Whatever we do, it will always be very appropriate for our brand and we’re also extremely sensitive to make sure that it fits with the values that we have and that we bring that to the screen in that way.”
On the real-life side of Lego entertainment, LEGO MASTERS just got renewed for its fifth season.
“The reality competition follows teams of two as they compete against each other in ambitious brick-building challenges to be crowned the country’s most talented amateur Lego builders,” a Variety article reported. “In each episode, the competing pairs who impress the judges the most progress to the next round, until the finale, during which the top teams will face off for a cash prize, the ultimate Lego trophy, and the grand title of Lego Masters. Season 5 will feature a new batch of builders from across the country challenged with creating the most inventive designs to date.”
Will Pharrel is also slated to work with Lego on a documentary about his life called PIECE BY PIECE. Wilfert will serve as an executive producer alongside Keith Malone.
“Uninterested in making a traditional film about his life, Pharrell set out to tell his story in a way that would set audience’s imaginations free,” a press release said. “Developed from his singular vision, PIECE BY PIECE defies genres and expectations to transport audiences into a Lego world where anything is possible.”
The doc will release Oct. 11, 2024.
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