The Lego Movie (2014)

Director(s): Phil Lord, Christopher Miller. Cast (voices): Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Jonah Hill, Will Forte, Shaquille O'Neal, Channing Tatum, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams. 100 min. Rated PG. Animation.

It's all about the surprise. Every sign was pointing towards this being a 100-minute Lego commercial, while this is everything but. It's a dynamic supposedly stop-motion but actually digital animation, full of smart one-liners and lovely homages to every franchise under the sun, bringing a lot of sense to how the Lego universe works, providing powerful messages for kids, and probably even for adults. The closest example I can think of is Toy Story, but even that movie didn't contain the sociopolitical concepts embedded here. Forget any notion you may have about this: Watch it fresh - you'll be surprised.

PS: Thanks for the recommendation, Peter. Nice start for the year 2014.

Mo says: