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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
MOVIE REVIEW
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Lego movie helps viewers relive childhood memories
I admit, "The Lego Movie" is in fact another example of Hollywood cashing in on toys that we all loved during our childhoods. That being said, the filmmakers have done a damn fine job creating an immensely enjoyable, complexly animated film and the first must-see of 2014.
Seamlessly combining stop-motion animation and CGI, "The Lego Movie" smartly focuses its originality more into its visual style than into its narrative. The story is a pretty simple hero's journey with elements of "The Matrix" and "Star Wars" particularly influencing it.
Seeing a familiar tale brought to life in clever ways that play on how a Lego world differentiates from the real world, with countless pop culture references providing hilarious fodder throughout, makes for gleefully silly entertainment.
It opens with the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell) stealing a weapon from the safeguard of Obi-Wan-like Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), who prophesizes that one day "The Special" will find the piece that can stop this weapon and save the universe. Eight-and-a-half years later, the Lego world has essentially become a Communist regime, controlled by now-President Business, where all Lego people must "follow the instructions" for how to live.
In comes Emmet (Chris Pratt), a jolly construction worker who never thinks outside the instructions and sings the endlessly catchy theme song of the people, "Everything Is Awesome," with pure joy. When he stumbles upon the missing piece, Trinity-like ass-kicker Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks)
saves him from Business's evil forces. She recruits him to a team of Master Builders who must stop Business from freezing all Lego life with the weapon, if only Emmett can embrace his inner Luke Skeywalker and lead them.
Vitruvius, Batman (Will Arnett), robo-pirate Metal Beard (Nick Offerman) and a few others make up the team members, with Batman providing plenty of comic relief through his self-aggrandizing, for which Arnett is perfect. Cameo jokes abound with other Master Builder appearances from the likes of Superman, Abraham Lincoln, Gandalf, Shakespeare and Shaq, to name a few.
The story reminds me of "Wreck-It Ralph" with recognizable characters showing up and the related references to them (a punch line involving the Millennium Falcon elicits an eruption of laughter), as well as different Lego realms like the city, the Old West, a happy partytime land in the sky, etc.
Directors and co-writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller bring the same witty self-awareness to "The Lego Movie" as they did to "21 Jump Street," which also seemed like a dumb idea, yet turned out to be a hit. The meta-level of the film, such as human items like a Band-Aid, nail polish remover and super glue appearing as "artifacts" in the Lego world, adds another smart, amusing dimension to
the story.
This extra layer of subtext eventually transforms the theme that everyone is special and can be creative from just another kids' movie message into a shrewd, far more satisfying piece of the plot
The creativity of "The Lego Movie" stands out its entire ruiting time, from the wonderful designs, to the animation, to the humor. But watching most of the action sequences unfold is eye-popping and wonderfully exciting, especially since the 3D's depth is so apparent, thanks to the stop-motion process.
When Wyldstyle rescues Emmet from Business's crony Bad Cop/Good Cop (Liam Neeson, hilarious and in full Irish accent), a crazy amount of Lego action happens on screen simultaneously and with such speed. When it moves to a motorcycle chase, the bricks being blown apart are cooler than real things exploding.
Though Ferrell's humor is a bit limited with only his voice, Pratt's vocal performance translates every bit of goofiness and charm seen by him in "Parks and Rec." Listening to Freeman's voice in such a light context also delights, while trying to place a voice to a name becomes a game with so many celebrities voicing smaller and cameo roles.
Virtually everyone played with Legos at some point in their childhood. "The Lego Movie" takes us back to that marvel of building your own world and bringing it to life with imagination.
- Edited by Julie Etzler
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White lioness Azira lies in her cage with two of her three white cubs that were born last week in a private zoo in Borysew, in central Poland, on Tuesday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
White lion cubs born in Polish zoo, considered rare
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BORYSEW, Poland — The owner of a private zoo in central Poland said Tuesday he feels three times lucky with the birth of white lion triplets who are getting loving care from their mother.
Andrzej) Pabich, head of the zoo in Borysew, said white lions often have defects that prevent giving birth, or mothers may reject the cubs. Triplets are rare.
subspecies of African lion found in some wildlife reserves in South Africa and in zoos around the world. Pabich says about 90 of them are now in existence.
The white lion is a rare color mutation of the Kruger
He told The Associated Press that his 2 $ \frac{1}{2} $ -year-old white lioness Azira has been patiently feeding and caring for the cubs, which were born Jan. 28. Their father, 3 $ \frac{1}{2} $ -year old Sahim, who is also white, is kept in a neighboring cage and roars at anyone who comes too close to his family.
"Luckily the birth went all
smoothly," Pabich said. "We had doubts whether it would be all OK: won't (she) reject them, will she have milk? But all went luckily well in the end. The mother accepted (the cubs), is feeding them and is very caring."
The zoo will name the cubs after they grow a little more and can be weighed and identified as either male or female, Pabich said. They will be allowed on an outdoor run in April.
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