The LEGO Movie: 15 million bricks in the making

 

With 15 million bricks in the making, this is one movie LEGO fans should not miss.

 

Indeed, the makers of "The LEGO Movie" did not spare any brick, set piece or prop for the movie that hits Philippine theaters on Feb. 6.

 

The 15 million bricks were needed by writer/directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller to give life to their 3D animated comedy.

 

"There are two different ways people play with LEGO bricks. One is to follow the instructions on the kit and put together this awesome thing, whatever it is, which you then set on your shelf and never use so it doesn’t break, and the other is to take a pile of random pieces and make something from your own imagination, then take it apart and make something else," said Miller.

 

As for "The LEGO Movie," he said they used both approaches, which he said "is really about innovation and creativity and the importance of change.”

 

Like many children, both Lord and Miller grew up with LEGO, having buckets of the colorful bricks to build spaceships and other things.

 

Yet, Miller said it was not just the building but the "infinite possibilities of things to make and express that was so irresistible and exciting.”

 

Fast forward several years later, and the two get to combine the bricks and the humor from the international LEGO community.

 

That includes LEGO Cuusoo, the LEGO Group’s fan submission site for potential new products, “ReBrick” forums, and various short films using LEGO bricks and minifigures.

 

“We both thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing to make a big, fun, action-packed LEGO adventure that captures the feeling of being a kid putting these pieces together, but on a truly epic scale?’ And what if it could retain that handmade quality these little films have that’s so engaging. Because part of the appeal of LEGO bricks is how accessible they are as an art form, we wanted to make a film that felt like something anyone could do in their own basement…provided they had a gigantic basement and a few million bricks!” Lord said.

 

Meanwhile, producer Roy Lee lauded the two directors for an "amazing job on ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,’ which was a fairly thin book, and they came in and reinvented some of the characters and really expanded it from what was on the page. With the LEGO concept, we had a blank canvas and they were the perfect guys to come in and invent a whole new world to explore.”

 

“What we always try to do with our movies is create something that would make us laugh, and make our friends laugh. We don’t ever want to do something that talks down to kids,” Miller said.

 

Lord added kids and their parents will get it, “but we wanted to bridge the generations and keep in mind that there’s a community of adult LEGO fans who make the most complex and incredible creations a kid might not even think of." — TJD, GMA News