5 Reasons You'll Love The Lego Movie

I'll admit that the first time I saw a trailer for The Lego Movie, which opens in theaters nationwide today, I groaned. I didn't need to take my kids to a 90-minute ad for the playsets and walk out to hear them beg me to buy them more of the ubiquitous bricks. But after taking them to a screening of the flick this week, I was pleasantly surprised by the movie's message, as well as the emotions it unexpectedly tugged out of me.

From the film's frenetic opening sequence, you'll immediately be impressed with the quality of the animation — the movie perfectly captures the actual movement of the interlocking bricks, and each piece is recognizable to anyone who's ever spent some time building with them. The story about a perfectly happy, ordinary minifigure named Emmett who is brought into an underworld plot to save the universe from complete destruction sounds familiar and is one that kids both recognize and like. It has enough fight scenes, rainbows, and cool characters to keep kids happy. But once you delve deeper into the story, it becomes one that is directed more at the parents who accompanied their kids to the theater. Read on to see why you may actually enjoy the film more than your tots!

There Are More Jokes/Innuendo Written For Parents Than Kids
Warner Bros.

There Are More Jokes/Innuendo Written For Parents Than Kids

Yes, kids will love seeing Batman, Green Lantern, Shaquille O'Neil, and the Millennium Falcon eat up the scenes, but I bet they don't remember the vintage minifigures — like the space man — that appear throughout the film. Many of the film's jokes will fly right over kids' heads, designed to entertain the parents who paid for the movie tickets in the first place The object that will destroy all human kind is called Kragle, but it is just a tube of Krazy Glue where some of the letters have been worn off! When a police minifigure is playing good cop and bad cop by turning his head around, he's made into a permanent bad cop when some nail polish remover is applied to one side of his head. It goes on from there.

There's a Sentimental Twist That Kids Just Won't "Get"
Warner Bros.

There's a Sentimental Twist That Kids Just Won't "Get"

As our Entertainment colleagues noted, the movie actually made me cry. Yes, an animated flick full of wild chases, bar brawls, and a fantasy land called Cloud Cuckoo Land strikes an emotional chord with the adults in the theater, reminding us that there are no rules about raising our kids, that everyone is special, they just have to find their "special-ness" — even if their ideas seem crazy at first.

It's Full of Famous Voices You'll Instantly Recognize
Warner Bros.

It's Full of Famous Voices You'll Instantly Recognize

These days, it goes without saying that animated flicks are full of recognizable celeb voices — half the fun is trying to figure out who's voicing which character. While your kids are focused on the actual moving minifigures, you'll be closing your eyes and trying to determine where you've heard those voices before. So we'll give you a little cheat sheet. Get your ears ready to distinguish the voices of Chris Pratt (Emmet), Will Ferrell (Lord Business/President Business), Elizabeth Banks (Wyldstyle), Will Arnett (Batman) — because, seriously, is there any better Batman voice out there? — Nick Offerman (Metal Beard), Alison Brie (Unikitty), Charlie Day (Benny), Liam Neeson (Bad Cop/Good Cop), and Morgan Freeman (Vitruvius).

The Movie Actually Has a Message — and It's Not to Buy All the Lego Sets You Can Find
Warner Bros.

The Movie Actually Has a Message — and It's Not to Buy All the Lego Sets You Can Find

Yes, every scene in the movie can actually be re-created with real Legos (though kids may be sorely disappointed when the Legos don't move on their own as the do in the flick), and Lego and Warner Brothers could have easily made this into a 90-minute ad for the building sets, but there's a real message in the film that goes beyond buying the newest 1,200-piece set and constructing a fighter jet according to the directions.

The film is filled with "cross contamination" where characters and pieces from various sets are integrated and are actually used to help reach the goal. In fact, when the characters try to stick to their original sets/eras, they fail at their missions. Through a twist at the end (I won't reveal it, but it is one directed to the parents in the audience), the message really comes home: Legos are meant for original play, not box play, and the company wants you to mix them up and play with them together.

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The Theme Song, "Everything Is Awesome," Is a Total Earworm

It's cheesy, it's lyrics are ridiculously simple, and after sitting through the movie, you won't be able to get the movie's theme song, "Everything Is Awesome," out of your head. The song is introduced in the film's opening sequence and by the time it's over, your foot will be tapping to the tune. Don't worry though, you'll hear it throughout the flick. With motivational lyrics like "Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you’re part of a team," kids are hearing a good message, but parents will "get" that the song's producers are poking fun at uniformity throughout the song (and the film itself). I dare you to walk out of the theater not humming the tune.