The Lego Movie was really good actually
reasoning:
- accurately predicted the present lurid hellscape of cheerful corporate brainwashing, consumption-based identity, and vapid, monopolized entertainment more precisely than any other dystopian media that I can think of
- is an accessible introduction to cosmic horror. The main character describes "the man upstairs" as having "hands like giant pink sausages, like eagle talons mixed with squid," a description reminiscent of a human description of an eldritch horror. In-universe, the "real" human world is a reality that is so much higher and more complex than the characters' world that they can't normally perceive it—because their universe and its rules are simplified imitations of a larger "real" world. Objects (non-lego objects, like q-tips and nail polish remover) from the "human" world are treated as "relics" that have unnatural powers, because they operate by the rules of the "higher" reality—giving them the ability to do things like erase a side character's face. When Emmett falls into the abyss (off the table where the Legos are being kept) toward the end of the movie, he briefly understands that he's a Lego, which messes him up a little.
- it's very meme-able and multiple times I have wanted to use a screencap as a reaction image but been unable to find a suitable screencap
I’d like to add one because I love this movie
- Is incredibly fast paced so always has your attention. And by fast paced I mean most animated kids movies has a major turning point roughly 20 minutes in. The Lego Movies major turning point is just under 7 minutes in. SO much happens and it’s great.
- The idea that creation and art is what connects us not mindless consumption spoon fed to us by big corporations
- Tells kids to draw outside of the lines!!! Make something stupid make something fun. You don’t need to practice and be “good” at something because we all have ideas it’s about letting yourself explore them (double decker couch is stupid and wonderful)
- Batman
- Specifically made Lego's most profitable demographic (perfectionist adults) the antagonists of the story instead of making a kids movie that panders to parents with jokes that go over kids' heads
- Introduced the microgenre of lego movies that way in lego batman they could just say time to masterbuild and we all know what they're talking about
- Great introduction to common tropes such as the layman thrust into adventure, wise wizard teacher, and general hero's journey arcs
- Wildstyle was attractive to both Batman and Emmet while also being her own character and having agency and conflict and flaws
- Unikitty's sudden anger at the very end also gave a for the most part cutesy and comedic side character power and depth
Unikitty's character arc is so good as a child- accessible way to show the importance of embracing scary and negative emotions in life and in art
According to her, Cloudcuckooland is a place where "any idea is a good idea, except the NOT happy ones. Those you stuff down deep inside where you'll never, ever, EVER find them."
Unikitty, with increasing desperation, repeats the mantra of "just stay positive!" to herself when terrible things happen, like the raid of Cloudcuckooland that destroys her home. She tries to repress and avoid her negative feelings—until at the end she flies into a destructive rage as all the negativity she's been stopping herself from feeling roars out. Her "angry kitty" side isn't evil; it's the result of Unikitty's unhealthy way of dealing with her feelings