Living with a seven year-old boy obsessed with Lego means I've been subjected to some pretty average made for DVD Lego films, so I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of Lego's first proper 3D animated full length feature film.
What do you know - it's awesome. And "awesome" is a word you should expect to hear a lot in coming weeks, thanks to opening song Everything is Awesome, an incredibly catchy and annoying track kids will sing endlessly.
Like the movie as a whole, it manages to combine the perky, positive and fun Lego ethos with a tongue-in-cheek, satirical humour that keeps both kids and adults entertained.
After the opening about the awesomeness of working as a team, the next thing to hit you is the fabulously detailed and colourful CGI visuals. Lego consists of figures with limited movement and worlds built from blocks, so directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have done an exceptional job bringing the characters to life and creating imaginative settings, aided by a wonderful cast and witty script.
There are two character types in this film, just as there are two types of Lego builders in real life; those who follow the instructions perfectly, and those who like to make it up themselves. Our hero is the delightfully hopeless Emmet (Chris Pratt), an everyday guy and construction worker who obediently follows the instruction book, living his life by the rules set down by obsessive compulsive perfectionist President Business (Will Ferrell).
