I certainly didn’t think it was brilliant, but I did enjoy it when I was forced to see it (had to take kids). I think there are two ‘messages’ it has (and I think it’s a positive one).
The first is that an ‘ordinary person’ can achieve great things if they make the decision to stand up for what they believe is right.
The second - what you wouldn’t have got from only the first few minutes (and this is a spoiler) is that what is going on can all be seen as happening inside the head of a boy who is playing with his father’s Lego in a basement. The father is obsessed with work above his own family. “President Business” - the bad guy in the film - is the boy’s image of his father. And when his father does have free time, he spend it with his Lego, while neglecting his kids emotionally. Some of the last part of the movie makes this clear with live action scenes in the basement where the boy and his father reconnect.
You caught the essence! Thanks for laying it out. I enjoy good animation, even as an adult.
I think there are two ‘messages’ it has (and I think it’s a positive one).
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Ditto what NM75 said. The only thing I’d add is that the movie got a little long in the middle, because they were trying to jam EVERY SINGLE Lego theme EVER into the movie! LOL!
I did, however, enjoy the movie, because I’ve been exposed to Legos ad nauseum for the last several years (with two little boys) and so I got all the “in” jokes. Might not be so amusing without that.
So the whole ting is an enormous ad for Legos. Right after watching the movie, one of my boys turned to me (literally seconds after the credits had rolled) and said brightly, “Let’s buy more Legos!” So they certainly accomplished that. But in the next few days, they independently brought up both themes — about how ordinary people can become extraordinary, and also the value of free play and imagination — so they got that too. I don’t think it was the best kids’ movie I’ve ever seen but it was head and shoulders above most kids’ movies. Two thumbs up from our family. ;o)