We tell you all you need to know about THE LEGO MOVIE…
THE LEGO MOVIE is released in Irish cinemas this weekend, and we have gathered together the facts about the film…
1. Building THE LEGO MOVIE
The movie was co-directed by Phil Lord & Chris Miller, two former animators who have been friends since meeting in college. They’re noted for being two of the youngest show-runners in the industry. Previously they’ve collaborated on the animated hit CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS and the live action 21 JUMP STREET (plus the upcoming sequel 22 JUMP STREET).
2. Play Well
Lego was originally invented by Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen, who began making wooden toys in 1932. The name Lego comes from the Danish phrase ‘leg godt’, which means “play well”. In 1949 Lego began producing an early version of the now famous interlocking bricks, calling them “Automatic Binding Bricks”.
3. The Biggest Cast Of 2014?
They’re going to need a rather large billboard to fit all these names on it, obviously Lego has a lot of celebrity fans. The movie stars the voices of Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett & Liam Neeson to name just a few.
4. CGI Vs. Stop-Motion
The animation used in the movie is a combination of CGI and traditional stop-motion. Lord & Miller deliberately tried to make the movie feel like stop-motion, and avoided making the computer-generated effects look too obvious. This was done to make the movie look like real Lego.
5. DIY Lego Movie
Everything in the movie was designed to look as it could be recreated at home.
Chris Lord explained, “Everything you see on screen is made entirely out of LEGO bricks-the oceans, the jungles, the mountains, even the clouds. We don’t want to cheat. There’s nothing in this movie-no vehicles or anything that you will see-that you couldn’t make yourself, and when you walk out of this movie, we want you to feel like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go home and build that thing that I just saw.”
6. Batman Returns
One unexpected character to appear in THE LEGO MOVIE is Batman, making it the fourth time Morgan Freeman has appeared in a movie opposite the superhero, and the third film for Liam Neeson. Other Superheroes to pop-up in THE LEGO MOVIE include Green Lantern voiced by Jonah Hill and Wonder Woman voiced by Avengers star Cobie Smulders. Cobie was originally suggested by Joss Whedon to play Wonder Woman in a movie relaunch back in 2008, which sadly never went into production
7. Soundtrack
Indie hipster duo Tegan & Sarah have recorded the main song used in the movie “Everything Is Awesome!!”. It’s a sugar coated, highly infectious, slightly annoying sing-a-long tune that you’ll find yourself humming for days after, and you’ll probably hate yourself for it. It’s just so catchy.
8. Lego At The Movies
Many successful movie franchises have had Lego versions licensed, some of the more popular movies to be recreated in plastic include STAR WARS, BATMAN, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, INDIANA JONES, THE HOBBIT, SPIDER-MAN, PRINCE OF PERSIA, TOY STORY, THE LONE RANGER and HARRY POTTER.
9. Lego Spin-Offs
Since 2000, Lego has been promoting “Lego Serious Play”, a business consultancy service fostering creative thinking. They’ve also launched a clothing range, released 47 Lego themed video games, opened 90 Lego stores around the World and opened six theme-parks. Not bad for a company that started out selling wooden toys.
10. When Can I See It?
THE LEGO MOVIE is at Irish cinemas from February 14th