MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

The Lego Movie, 2014’s surprise blockbuster success and Oscar snub, bringing in over $450 million internationally, represents a new hybrid form of storytelling in animation. A unique pastiche of conventional children’s film genre narratives (self-esteem, romantic epic, being yourself, rebelling against authority, fantasy containment) and advertising ploys (special yet fearing different, creativity within boundaries) integrated with social, political, and religious themes and reflexive elements construct a film both similar and dissimilar to any children’s animated feature to come before it. While irrefutably a large-scale advertisement for The Lego Group, the film should not be pigeonholed solely as such, as it also explores controversial subjects ranging from unsuccessful romantic heroes and subliminal brainwashing to neoliberalist policy and totalitarian states, even being met with contentious reception from media outlets, most notably Fox Business. Still undoubtedly an entertaining film intended for primarily a young audience, The Lego Movie does not shy away from more mature themes, fashioning an underbelly of political critiques, social principles, and religious etymology. By enquiring into thought-provoking topics intelligently, the film dually addresses children and adults. Though exploring these provocative themes within the frame of a children’s animate feature, the film nevertheless enjoyed a large commercial success, bringing into question the extensive reception of said themes. Were the film’s adult topics obscured by the genre’s form, or were they simply not conspicuous enough to provoke spectators? Closely analyzing the scope of these social, political, and religious themes within The Lego Movie, I will examine how they are portrayed within the children’s film genre and the film’s unique ability to combine many orthodox and unconventional narratives into a cohesive storyline.