PCP on DVD - The Lego Movie

So, my son is getting old enough to watch movies now, as he's almost 3 years old. Recently, he was home sick for a few days because he had Hand, Foot, & Mouth disease, and had to be kept quarantined from his daycare so as not to infect everyone else. We spent the time watching a few movies and some of his favorite television shows, and surprisingly, one of the movies we watched for him turned out to actually be quite fun for me as well.

The Lego Movie - 2014, rated PG. My rating: 9 out of 10.

I had heard good things about this film from some friends who had seen it with their children, but I was skeptical when it first was announced. The movie seemed like it would be a 90 minute commercial for a children's toy (albeit, the best toy ever), and I didn't think that there was any way this film could be that good. Man, was I wrong.

The Lego Movie turned out to be very funny, both for kids and grown ups, and it was surprisingly way better than I expected. It turns out that it is from the same writer/director duo that helmed the also funnier than I expected 21 Jump Street, (and its sequel that I haven't seen yet), as well as the quirky yet funny animated series Clone High. Given that the things I've seen them do before had me in stitches, it should be no surprise that this film was also quite hilarious.

The film works on so many levels. It is a straight forward action film, your typical hero's journey, with a plot that is simple and easy for children to understand, obviously, because it is primarily a kid's flick. However, there's a lot going on at a deeper level for adults as well. There's a lot of jokes that primarily adults will get that will fly over the heads of some of the kids, and the film also serves as a deconstruction of many action film tropes, similar to how 21 Jump Street also made fun of many of the film tropes that it employed. One of the funniest jokes in this one, on a meta level, is the interactions between the characters of Superman and Green Lantern. Superman finds Green Lantern to be annoying and lame, and does what he can whenever possible to get away from him, which is funny for the kids, but for the adults it is even funnier, when you realize that Superman is voiced by Channing Tatum, and Green Lantern by Jonah Hill. There is something about that casting gag that just cracks me up, every time I've watched this movie (which is many times now as my son loves it). The rest of the voice cast is outstanding as well, including Morgan Freeman, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Charlie Day, & Will Ferrell in major roles.

I don't want to give away any of the plot details, especially the third act plot twist, but I do recommend you go out and see this film yourself. Even if you don't have kids, there's a lot in this film for you to like as well. So, go out and pick this up on Blu-Ray if you haven't seen this yet, I promise you won't be disappointed!