Writer: Casey Chong

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Watch this if you liked: “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs”

Back in the good old days, no kids' toy collection will ever be complete without a mention of "Lego", the famous interlocking colourful bricks. Now for the first time ever, filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs", "21 Jump Street") have finally brought the toy to big screen with "The Lego Movie"!

"The Lego Movie" follows Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt), an ordinary mini-figure who works at a construction site. One day, he is mistakenly identified by a tough young woman named Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) as the Special - or better known as "Master Builder". From there, Emmet meets an old wizard named Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) and soon he joins a group of strangers including Batman (Will Arnett), Metalbeard (Nick Offerman), Uni-Kitty (Alison Brie) and Benny the "1980-something space guy" (Charlie Day), on an epic quest to stop the evil tyrant Lord Business (Will Ferrell), who is bent on destroying the Lego universe on Taco Tuesday by gluing it altogether.

Like the colourful world of the Lego universe, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller bring a lot of playful energy to this vibrant and wildly entertaining animated feature. Thanks to the many creative properties that have licensed themselves to Lego in recent years, Lord and Miller get to play around with the idea of parodying some of the most famous Hollywood blockbusters to up roaring result. You name it, there's Batman and members of Justice League (Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Flash); Gandalf from "The Lord Of The Rings" and "The Hobbit" trilogy; Professor Dumbledore from "Harry Potter" series; "Star Wars"; "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and even the NBA All-Stars (which includes Shaquille O'Neal himself)!

While Phil Lord's and Christopher Miller's screenplay is generally the same old "a-special-one-who-is-destined-to-save-the-world" cliche (except for the well-meaning "twist" finale which really caught this reviewer off guard), "The Lego Movie" has enough wacky scenarios and action-packed moments to offset the formulaic storyline. For instance, the seamless mix of stop-motion animation and CGI effects (courtesy of Animal Logic) are visually dazzling and spectacular.

Then there's the wonderful voice cast. Chris Pratt is perfectly endearing as Emmet, while Elizabeth Banks brings enough zest to her tough-girl attitude as Wyldstyle. Will Arnett is similarly impeccable as Batman, while Morgan Freeman certainly has a fun time parodying his trademark voice-of-authority mannerism as Vitruvius. Last but not least, are two particularly entertaining villainous performances from Will Ferrell as Lord Business and Liam Neeson as Bad Cop/Good Cop.

"The Lego Movie" may not be a pitch-perfect animated feature, but it's a tremendous cinematic experience worth watching for the whole family. In fact, this reviewer thinks that watching "The Lego Movie" in 3D version is almost like experiencing a roller coaster ride!

Cinema Online, 05 February 2014