The Lego Movie is Awesome

Hey guys, I enjoyed The Lego Movie this past weekend for plenty of reasons. I hope you found many as well.

Because I work at Legoland California, I was familiar with the sets and movie characters before knowing the story. I had wondered if the movie would feel weird from my familiarity with Lego pieces and working in a Lego gift shop. This question would apply even more to Lego fans though. Instead of feeling weird, I laughed even more from recognizing Lego pieces, their multiple uses, and their limitations. If you are a Mystery Minifigures collector, then you will enjoy appearances from different series.

If you have a chance to visit Legoland California, then check out the special exhibit called The Lego Movie Experience with Lego model scenes from the movie including the dad's workspace. The opening was Feb. 20, but the exhibit is available for a year. The location is next to Studio Store on the left side of the park.

The Lego Movie Experience at Legoland California

The Lego Movie had some humor similar to Muppet humor. It is not so much the literal vs. figurative meaning of words. I have not been able to label it yet. I do not want to list examples of this humor either so you can enjoy the moment. I also cracked-up over the sound effects and use of Lego pieces for special effects such as explosions.

An explosion example of a special effect with Lego pieces.

Those of you who have read my other blog posts know I love Meta and dystopias. Well, The Lego Movie has both aspects! :D

Two of my favorite characters are Metalbeard and Benny the 80s spaceman. Since I saw the Lego set Metalbeard's Duel, I thought Metalbeard looked cool with his many unique pieces. My friends and coworkers know very well that I like puns and cheesy corny jokes. Yesterday at work, I kept pointing out the chest pun in Metalbeard. He is great to watch and hear on the screen.

Metalbeard

I wish this "Spaceship!" tee had Benny's whole body.

My family knows I am drawn to funny-voiced characters such as King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph and Shrek the Final Chapter. This fact is one reason why spaceman Benny is a favorite character of mine. Thanks voice actor Charlie Day! ;)

The main reason I like Benny has to do with his attempts to build a spaceship. I will keep an eye out for a good shirt with Benny. By the way, he is based off of the Lego figure Blue Classic Spaceman.
Rumpelstiltskin in

There are more things I enjoyed and laughed over, but one last aspect I'll say is that the story's messages are awesome. :) I recommend watching it. If you have already, who was your favorite character?

How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon was a great movie for many reasons like the character interaction.  However, I'm just going to look at the narrator's voice because the story is told through him, Hiccup.

Hiccup is both the main character and the narrator. He is the one who introduces us to the movie's setting and society. Also from his introduction, we sense his tone of indifference and the movie's humor. In the following clip, we get more of both:

My favorite line in that clip is the last one about keeping in all that Viking. Gesturing at Hiccup's body as the problem highlights his lack of strength. However, Hiccup's body is not the only reason he cannot convince others--and us the audience--of his Viking fury. His tone does not sound confident of or even excited in what he states. He is indifferent to this lifestyle and not even his own words can convince himself to follow it. We are shown this factor right off the bat to understand the story's direction.

Something else to notice about Hiccup's voice is that it's matured. Hiccup is a goofy adolescent who has a crush on a girl. However, his voice is not a boy's or changing from puberty. The voice actor is an adult not a boy. Thus, Hiccup carries seriousness along with the humor of being an adolescent. His voice has matured and he is trying to be mature himself. One of the story's themes is coming of age then; He is finding himself and his place in society.  

Hiccup's voice is heard before we see the society and dragons so I thought it was worth looking at.