Tag Archives: The LEGO Movie

Bulked-up Benny

When The LEGO Movie debuted in 2014, the world was introduced to Benny, a Classic LEGO Spaceman with an enthusiastic love of spaceships. In 2019, The LEGO Movie 2 gave Benny an apocalyptic upgrade which found him sporting a clawed robot arm and carrying a toolbox. Now, builder Chris Yee has upgraded Benny yet again, translating Benny’s apocalyptic minifigure look into a larger Bionicle/Hero Factory style figure. I particularly love the Classic Space logo recreated with a pearl gold conical hat and a red minifigure hand and rubber bands. I’m forced to wonder if there’s a spaceship spaceship spaceship! in all the galaxy that’s capable of containing this much awesome.

Spaceman Bienny

LEGO and Universal Pictures strike deal for new LEGO movies [News]

LEGO and Universal Pictures have announced a five-year exclusive agreement to develop, produce and distribute more movies based on LEGO licenses. This pact includes all the film rights for previously released titles, so we could see the next installment of franchises like The LEGO Movie as well as new additions to the LEGO film universe.

Previously, Warner Bros. via the Warner Animated Group had produced a total of four movies over a span of 6 years but made the decision by the end of December 2019 not to renew the license agreement with LEGO to make more big-screens titles. While the first LEGO movie was considered a box-office hit, and the total takings from the four movies combined grossed over $1.1 billion globally, individually the later titles (The LEGO Batman Movie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part) did not bring in the same box office expectations. There was interest from Universal pictures with involvement in LEGO films following their work on the Jurassic Park LEGO miniseries, and now the two companies have finally closed on the agreement.

Here’s the press release from LEGO in full:


UNIVERSAL CITY, CA—April 23, 2020— Universal Pictures today announced that the studio has entered into a five-year exclusive agreement with the LEGO Group to develop, produce and distribute theatrical releases based on its intellectual property and original ideas. The announcement was made by Donna Langley, Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, and Jill Wilfert, Head of Entertainment, the LEGO Group.

Capitalizing on its timeless brand, the LEGO Group’s expansion into content creation with titles including The LEGO Movie, The LEGO Batman Movie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, has grossed nearly $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office. Universal and LEGO have previously collaborated on the television special, Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit and the 13-episode mini-series LEGO Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar.

“The LEGO System in Play gives people the ability to build worlds and create stories that they carry throughout every phase of their lives,” said Langley. “To partner with such an iconic brand that remains relevant and is constantly evolving allows for creativity in storytelling. We’re thrilled to start building out the next chapter of LEGO movies together with Jill and the LEGO team as they continue to inspire curiosity and innovation.”

“Universal’s commitment to unique storytelling from diverse voices makes the Studio the perfect partner as the LEGO Group enters this new phase of filmmaking,” said Wilfert. “Donna and the entire Universal team bring a sense of wonder and imagination we share, and we can’t wait to execute on our shared vision.”

Wilfert will serve as producer on all LEGO projects developed and released by Universal. Rideback’s Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich will produce alongside Wilfert on the next LEGO-inspired feature. Lin produced all previous LEGO features.

The LEGO Group was represented in the deal by Ken Kleinberg and Jill Smith from Kleinberg, Lange, Cuddy and Carlo.


 

The LEGO Movie 2 is a fun, familiar celebration of play [Spoiler-free Review]

As the fourth entry in the LEGO cinematic universe, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part has the tricky task of following the established formula for LEGO movies while also trying to stand apart as a unique experience. It passes the first test with flying colors. The movie is full of the requisite witty gags, clever animation, unexpected cameos, heartwarming lessons about family, and those awe-inspiring builds that translate into wallet-draining products. However, the film strains under the weight of expectations and an abundance of characters that doesn’t quite reach the heights of The LEGO Movie.

If you’ve enjoyed previous installments in this franchise, I definitely recommend seeing this movie without reading any further. The less you know, the more delightful and unexpected this movie will be. But if you want to know more, then read on, my friend.

Click to continue reading our review of The LEGO Movie 2

The LEGO Movie 2 officially announced [News]

Today LEGO and Warner Animation Group have officially announced the sequel to their mega-hit film The LEGO Movie. Slated for release in theaters next February, exactly 5 years after the original, the new movie will be titled The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. We don’t yet have any word on the plot, but the movie has lined up the same all-star voice acting cast as the original, including Chris Pratt as Emmet, Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle, and Will Arnett as Batman.

The LEGO Movie’s Unikitty is getting her own TV show on Cartoon Network [News]

The LEGO Movie may have a spinoff TV show about Unikitty out sooner than the movie’s sequel, according to a Russian Cartoon Network reel. Following the cancelation of the animated Mixels cartoon, it seems Unikitty is coming to save the day with her adventures in Cloud Cuckoo Land and beyond, featuring a whole new crew of characters. (I can only guess that the one pictured below will be called Unipuppy!)

Continue reading

New LEGO Batman Trailer released, new sets revealed [News]

I hope you have kept February 2017 clear on your calendar. We got a new trailer today for The LEGO Batman Movie, and it does not disappoint. The LEGO Batman Movie stars Will Arnett as Batman, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred, and Michael Cera as Robin. You can catch it in theaters February 10, 2017.

In case you missed it, LEGO will be releasing sets along with the movie, many of which were revealed at New York Comicon.
[Update] LEGO has also announced two new LEGO Batman Movie sets this morning. They will be available in January.

70900 The Joker Balloon Escape, 124 pieces, $14.99 USD
LEGO Batman Movie 70900 The Joker Balloon Escape

70908 The Scuttler
, 775 pieces, $79.99 USD
LEGO Batman Movie 70908 The Scuttler

More LEGO Batman Movie sets revealed [News]

New York Comicon starts in a couple days, and LEGO has started teasing some of the great things to be revealed during the event. In anticipation of the LEGO Batman Movie (hitting theaters February 2017), LEGO has revealed three additional new sets on Facebook and Twitter for the movie: The Batcave, Batman vs Mr. Freeze, and Arkham Asylum below.

Click to see more images!

Sneak peak at The Master: A LEGO Ninjago Short [News]

Following on from the success of The LEGO Movie, Warner Bros have announced both The LEGO Batman Movie and The LEGO Ninjago movie. Yesterday, USA Today released a clip of an animated short from the latter, entitled “The Master battles a chicken”.


The LEGO Ninjago Movie is due in theaters September 22, 2017, and features a stellar cast including Jackie Chan as Master Wu. The short will play before Storks, due to open in theaters September 23, 2016.

Via USA Today.

Captain Kittypool! No, just Kittypool.

If you even think about bringing government, baby sitters, bedtimes, frowny faces, bushy mustaches, or negativity of any kind into her town then she’s gonna do to your face what Limp Bizkit did to music in the late 90s! Grantmasters, continuing in his quest to find new and exciting uses for that Belville shoe, created this adorable mash-up of everyone’s favorite brick-built pony-cat and the foul-mouthed antihero that’s currently tearing up the box office. Cotton-candy coated chimichangas anyone?

Kittypool

Resisting arrest?

When you’re scouting for things worth blogging, it’s easy for your head to get turned by enormous creations or complex builds. However, sometimes it can be a relatively simple model in a good composition which catches the eye. This neat diorama from city.s is a great example of how a clean building style, decent photography, and a touch of humor can create an arresting image (pun absolutely intended)…

Everyone knows red cars get pulled over more often

The color contrast in the picture is excellent, with the red of the “resistance piece car” really popping against the blue sky backdrop. And the brick-built vehicle itself and the road surface are nicely done. But the choice of face for the Emmett minifig was the touch of detail which made me smile. And, when it comes down to it, surely that’s what a LEGO creation is for?

The many Star Wars faces of Unikitty

Unikitty is one of my favorite characters from The LEGO Movie, but I don’t know that I love all the line-ups of Unikitty variations I’m constantly running across. But this one is different. tankm has built nineteen different Unikitties as characters from the entire Star Wars saga.

tkm-Uni-KittySW-01b

Here are my three favorites, conveniently in a single picture — Unikitty Chewie, Unikitty Han Solo, and Unikitty Han Solo in carbonite.

tkm-Uni-KittySW-09

I also like Luke & Leia’s parents — the expression on Unikitty Queen Amidala’s face is priceless.

tkm-Uni-KittySW-06

Unexpected LEGO parody of Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus”

“The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli is one of those paintings that you study in Art History, poring over the symbolism and innovative Renaissance techniques until the painting becomes one with the millions of reproductions you’ve seen all your life, losing any interest or meaning it may have had. (Clearly, I much prefer “Primavera”…) So, I’m always pleased to run across a refreshing new take on a classic work of art. Polish builder Bartłomiej Sekuła has built a three-dimensional version of the painting reminiscent of a tableau vivant, with minifigs representing each of the figures in the original work.

The Birth of Venus

That’s actually pretty cool on its own, but Bartłomiej goes one step further with a parody version of this iconic scene.

Click for the big reveal!