WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Bricks. The building blocks of so many a structure over centuries of man finding new places to construct the cities, homes, and even roadways we utilize to this very day. But, starting thanks to the ideas of Danish carpentry expert Ole Kirk Christensen in 1916, the gradual development of a new kind of brick was starting to unfold. Through multiple factory fires over the course of several decades, the building blocks known ultimately as “LEGO Bricks” came to being in 1954. Thus was born what would become a world-wide cultural phenomenon that lasted through even the hardest of times the company has faced. With the initial blocks not quite up to the desired overall results, the design was improved with the immediately recognizable locking pegs, which improved versatility and stability in the creations brought to life by end users.
But what LEGO did not anticipate was the true impact its toy would have on the world at large. As time passed, it became very apparent that kids were not the only ones interested in spilling an entire box of pieces on the floor and creating something outside the specific item the box would indicate. Suddenly, adults were taking notice as well, and an entire community of LEGO-philes was born. Taking concepts of design to next level status, the wondrous builds presented at LEGO conventions and associated venues stunned and amazed even the top executives at LEGO, who were more than happy to take opportunity to recognize some of the incredible things that have been done, all from the multi-colored bricks we know and love.
Next, my Mind:
Directors Kief Davidson and Daniel Junge have created an absolutely fun and engaging journey into the history of this amazing toy-that-went-beyond -just-a-toy with “A LEGO Brickumentary”. And this is completely apropos in celebrating the marvelous ingenuity of those who took what started as something aimed at little boys and then sat back and watched it become something so much more. And even during the company’s decline during a twelve-year stretch between 1992-2004, the makers never gave up on it, but rather took note of what consumers were saying and finally made the changes necessary thanks to some even more direct input from said consumers.
The film awes with the creations the LEGO enthusiasts (dare we say fanatics!) came up with, from one man who created and submitted for mass production a Mars Rover he designed, to a woman who re-created the entire Elven city of Rivendell from “Lord Of The Rings”, to a master builder at LEGO who designed the massive “city set” for 2014’s “LEGO Movie”. And to top even that off, LEGO Group built the single largest, fully-LEGO made model ever and debuted it in Time Square, NYC—a full-sized X-Wing fighter from “Star Wars”! Another NYC artist literally created original works of art from LEGOs as well as LEGO-based reproductions of classic paintings! The list goes on, the history factual and interesting, and when it all comes down to it, a whimsical movie about a toy that’s transcended time and age groups shows us the creative force that is humanity, piece by piece.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
