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I seriously, seriously assumed this was a very clever fan-parody.
Just proves that I’m An Old, right?
This post is in: Movies, Open Threads
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I seriously, seriously assumed this was a very clever fan-parody.
Just proves that I’m An Old, right?
Comments are closed.
Wag
Ok. My 7 year old Lego fanatic son and I are so there.
Can’t wait.
Ruckus
This actually sounds like a movie worth going to.
AL, just because we are olds doesn’t mean we have to act like it. I’ve decided to act at least 20 yrs younger than my arthritis makes me feel. No, make that 30 yrs otherwise, I’m still just old.
jl
Nothing LEGO can be a parody.
I read some logician proved that using strict geometrical logic. Or maybe it was Bogart. I dunno.
Or it might be a law of nature. I’ll look it up and get back to you.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Ruckus:
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
-Satchel Paige
Alison
I just…wat.
Movies based on toddler toys.
And I bet my life they’re already working on the sequel.
This is why it offends me when people say Hollywood is run by Jews because my people are not this void of ideas or creativity or brains.
Petorado
While the kiddo’s LEGOs have been a godsend for their endless entertainment value, I can’t help but think that Hollywood has became way too lazy by saying “screw it” to movies that become heavily merchandised and are now just straight-up making movies about the merchandise itself. How creative.
BethanyAnne
And just in case the song is stuck in any one else’s head: Take On Me – Literal Version
Gromit
@Alison:
Not familiar with Legos, I take it?
Violet
@Petorado: Hollywood makes movies to make money. Overseas revenue is often more important than domestic when making decisions about what to make. Merchandise tie ins already available? Even better. Creativity has little to do with it.
Yatsuno
Stuffed to the gills with homemade Vietnamese food. Tomorrow is new kitteh time!
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Alison:
And the “Toy Story” franchise has been based on what, exactly?
Alison
@Gromit: Of course I’m familiar with them. Yes, I realize people of all ages use them. I even have a little Lord of the Rings Lego thingie someone gave me as a gift.
But *in general* they are things kids play with, they are marketed to kids, they are found in the toy aisle and are not generally featured in holiday gift guides on what to get your parent/boss/spouse/etc. So I feel fine calling them kids’ toys.
Alison
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): I don’t even know, but I’m not sure how my comment precluded other movies also based on this stuff. I realize this is not the first of its kind. It’s just another annoying entry in the field.
JCJ
@BethanyAnne:
That is a good one. I like the literal version of “Safety Dance” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7aGFrVSTAY and “Billie Jean” as well.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Alison:
It’s that first sentence. It reads as if this is all new to you, and not a trend that was set- ZOMG! Tempus fugit!- almost 20 years ago.
ETA: And I don’t disagree, but I tend to view flicks like this the same way Siskel & Ebert started viewing flicks like the “Police Academy” things- just dumb movies for kids. The big problem here is that there’s so much money sunk into making these things.
mdblanche
Paula Deen is still receiving support from a wide cross-section of people.
Mnemosyne
Actually, the trend was probably set when they started making the Lego video games, which are immensely popular. Once “Lego” became an animation style, it was only a matter of time before they made an actual film.
Alison
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Well, as you might imagine by my being here on the Internet, I haven’t been living in a cave. I don’t see how expressing dismay implies surprise or unfamiliarity. I mean…I promise you I’m not either that stupid or that disconnected from the world.
But seriously, this is hardly worth debating IMO. Just more vapid stupidity out of Hollywood. Film at 11.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Mnemosyne:
Oh, good, you’re around! I was thinking you might know the reasoning behind the trend in Hollywood towards making these animated films their blockbusters. Are they just that much cheaper to make, or is it because of the built-in merchandising or a mixture of both?
rachel
Hannity has yet another misogynist guest on his show.
Gromit
@Alison:
Setting aside the distinction between “kids” and “toddlers” (most Lego sets are unsuitable for toddlers, which is why Duplo exists), what exactly are you trying to say about the cinematic appeal of this particular line of toys?
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Alison:
Heehee…Well, I have seen individual members of the interwebs’ commenting class that really don’t know about stuff like this. Not that they’re sighted on a common basis, but they aren’t quite rarely seen, either.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
This Wikipedia list of the most expensive recent films suggests that animated films aren’t that much cheaper to make. The merchandising tie ins are probably a big motivator. There is also the fact that the stars of these things aren’t going to be negotiating for a better deal when the sequel(s) are made.
Alison
@Gromit: OMFG I’m not saying anything other than that it’s fucking silly to make movies based on toys. The “cinematic appeal” will likely be mostly children which is fine although forgive me for thinking even children deserve better quality entertainment.
Jesus Christ, I didn’t realize this was going to be such a contentious subject.
Pinkamena Panic
@Alison: Why not shove your elitism up your ass, then?
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Alison:
They also deserve beets, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Now, try to get children to eat them.
Ruckus
@Higgs Boson’s Mate:
Some days 90, some days 14. Having no idea how my real age is supposed to feel though so I’m just winging it everyday.
Alison
@Pinkamena Panic: Are you serious? I’m an elitist because I think a Lego movie is silly? Look, I’m not like, anti-capitalist entirely, but this kind of commercialization is just ridiculous to me. Kids movies should be light and silly most of the time yes, but that can be done without it basically being one long product placement, can’t it?
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Alison:
You’d have a point if kids didn’t already like Legos.
Ruckus
@Alison:
It really isn’t a that big a deal. Unless you are saying that the studios can only make one movie a year so they have blown their entire wad on this. Which is what you sound like. Maybe it isn’t your cup of tea so to speak but so what? I could care less about vampire, and horror films so I don’t go to see them. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be made or that others shouldn’t enjoy them. It’s a big world out there, enjoy what you enjoy and don’t worry about the rest, it’s only a fucking movie. Either that or open your own studio.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Higgs Boson’s Mate:
Which will be a fair point if Legos doesn’t market new sets with exclusive new stuff. I can’t picture this, though.
MikeJ
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: Next week I’m pitching Mud Pie: The Motion Picture.
Gromit
@Alison:
Why? Maybe it will be a terrible movie. Maybe not. More likely it will be no worse than the average animated movie. But it does have a sizable built-in audience. Which gets back to my original point: there is a lot of largely well-earned love for Lego out there, not all of it from small children. You do know this, right?
Gian
@Alison:
check out lego “ninjago” on the cartoon network.
or the lego minifigure themed star wars parody things
If you have kids, either they or their grade school friends were into ninjago for a while.
and yes, it’s crass cross promotion for the toys, which makes it no different than any other kid’s programming out there.
If the damn thing has a decent original script and isn’t meant to be a “action vehicle” for some “rising” star (see the shitty transformers or battleship flicks, or better thought, don’t) than good on it for having an original script.
but I’m an old who knows that legos are a choking hazard for toddlers. And I’ve seen tons of bad movies based on toys or videogames (“clue” back in the day was kinda cute though)
If I could go 12 months without a tv show from the 60s or 70s turned into a shitty movie…
Alison
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: Sure they already like them. But I mean…fucking hell, I don’t know, I just feel like this sort of thing is just scraping the bottom of the barrel. Will kids like it? Probably, and that’s fine. I’m not saying it’s going to destroy them or something. Just that it’s not exactly a showcase of creativity.
I feel the same way about plenty of shit aimed at adults too. I’m not going Chicken Little about it, just commenting on it.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@MikeJ:
My project, Grass Stains, is already at the story conference stage.
Alison
@Gromit: Yes, I do know this. Thanks for the condescension though.
Seriously did not think I was saying something so contentious. I guess you learn something new every day. And now that I have, time for me to go to bed.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Gian:
Oh, c’mon! I’m hopping between two scripts-in-progress right now: “What’s Happenin’?” and “James at 15”. Give a guy a break, wouldjya?
Mnemosyne
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. The simplest is that Pixar made studios realize that if an animated film is good enough, adults will pay to see it, not just children, so they can make a crapload of money. Animated films are absolutely NOT cheaper to make overall (I think it’s something like $150 million total on average) but it’s spread out over 4 to 5 years, so it’s not as huge a chunk out of the studio’s budget year-to-year.
Also, animation generally does quite well overseas, and studios now make 50 percent or more of their box office from overseas.
Like I said, I strongly suspect this Lego movie is being made based on the success of the video games, not the toy. In which case, you may as well ask why they made Doom or Silent Hill or Final Fantasy.
Suzanne
I’m 33, and I fucking ADORE playing with Legos.
I have my next exam on Monday. I am fraught with anxiety. And my toddler is being annoying (surprise). I want to be done with these damn things and get back to playing with Legos.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
No balls to write a feature length version of “My Mother the Car”.
Mnemosyne
@Alison:
As I said above, I think you don’t realize that there is a whole series of “Lego” video games using these characters that have been very successful. The movie isn’t actually based on the toy, it’s based on the video games.
It’s not like when they did a movie version of Battleship or Clue, which I assume is what you’re thinking they did.
Yatsuno
@Suzanne:
With all due respect, you ARE an architorturist. :)
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Higgs Boson’s Mate:
Didn’t that debut on NBC’s red network in the ’30’s?
Not enough rings in this tree. Write what ya know, and all that jazz….
The prophet Nostradumbass
Nice ad on the site tonight, “Get regular updates from President Clinton”; presumably about how much the current President is a “wussy”?
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
LOL. The show, which starred Jerry Van Dyke, aired for one season over 1965-66. Thirty episodes were shot. It was savagely panned during its short life and it is still regarded as one of the worst series ever made.
srv
I cannot believe the racism inherent in legos is tolerated at this site
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-racist-menace-muslims-declare-victory-in-fight-over-antiislamic-lego-8555610.html
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): @Higgs Boson’s Mate:
But I have been up late enough the last few years to get very familiar with “Sea Hunt”. Gotta pitch that sumbitch to one of the Bridges brothers.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Higgs Boson’s Mate:
Yeah, I do know that much about it. I might have actually seen it, but since I was a newborn when it premiered, I just don’t remember ever seeing it. I remember watching Casper cartoons when I was two, though…But there’s been a film made already.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Sea Hunt? Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking.
Amir Khalid
@mdblanche:
I looked at the photo that NYT used with the story; for a while, I wondered if you meant to type “… from a cross-section of wide people”.
In other news, I’m sitting at home, indoors, and still the air here smells (and looks) like smoke from burning garden refuse.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@BillinGlendaleCA:
As a series, it just repeats itself far too much. But there’s quite a bit of comedy to be mined from it.
The same network was running “Highway Patrol”, too. That’s a pretty good show, imo. It was shot really well, and the prints they’ve run are pristine. Even if an episode’s storyline is on the weaker side, it always looks great.
mdblanche
@Amir Khalid: Six tons of one, half a dozen of the other.
BethanyAnne
@Suzanne: I’m about a decade older, and I’m right there with you. I adore legos, and this movie looks cute and fun. I realized a few weeks back that lots of what I like resembles legos. I found sugro last year, and thought it was awesome. This year’s find is shapelock. //back to playing Minecraft.
Gravenstone
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: What, Car 54 wasn’t bad enough for you?
Joseph Nobles
Snowden is on a plane to Moscow. He’ll be landing right after 9:00 am Eastern. Hong Kong told the US that their extradition paperwork wasn’t all in order and what the hey about all the hacking anyway? A spokesman for Putin said they were unaware of his plans or destination. Most think he’s moving for Iceland or Ecuador.
Source: Twitter, but all the bigs are reporting it now.
MattF
All this arguing. It makes me want to go watch a few episodes of Spongebob Squarepants.
CarolDuhart2
@Mnemosyne: Not only that, but these films are practically timeless, which means they could be re-released and reshown over and over for decades of additional profit. Think of Disney’s Cinderella. made in 1950 but still being shown and watched all over the world.
Yes, animated movies aren’t cheaper to make initially, but a good one definitely has staying power, doesn’t cost a boatload in residuals, and can be shown anywhere in the world. Also a good one doesn’t get too dated to show for decades, and when it does show its age, it comes across as quaint rather than offensive or patronizing.
Amir Khalid
@CarolDuhart2:
Song of The South is but one of some well-known exceptions to that.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Twenty? Bah! Closer to thirty.
CarolDuhart2
@Amir Khalid: Sure, Song of the South is one of those exceptions. Along with some war-time (World War II cartoons). But the majority of animated stuff still is okay for kids, and the offensive ones can be shown to adults as parody or commentary. And by the way I meant good or at least passable ones. Something like the Lego movie falls in the “good” category, even if the plot may be thin.
In any event, I argue that their value is in the “timeless” category. Live actors may age or die. Locations may change. Some things that may get a rise out of one generation may barely move the needle in another.
It’s hard for a regular movie to leap more than a couple of generations in terms of relevance. Animated movies can avoid those pitfalls through good work.
TR
Saw Man of Steel last night and liked it quite a bit. I’ve never been a Superman guy but I got into it. Really well done.
Just One More Canuck
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): How about “Hogan’s Heroes – The Movie”
FridayNext
@Mnemosyne:
Not only is there a whole series of Lego themed games, stop motion animation films using Legos have been popular by amateur and professional film makers for years. They used to be just on Youtube, but now there is website called Brick Films. The whole movie is more complicated than just Hollywood glomming off a toy company or vice versa.
FridayNext
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Actually “What’s Happenin’ ” was already a movie. In fact it started out based on the movie Cooley High.
TR
@Just One More Canuck:
It was called Stalag 17.
FridayNext
@Alison:
No. You thought you would just show up and make some elitist judgement on a movie you haven’t seen and thought Balloon Juicers would dance around you in happiness and agreement but a) You must be new here because this group can get contentious about anything and everything except stray animals (and that’s why we love it.) and didn’t seem to be aware that Lego’s is a world-wide phenomenon and a toy matched in iconic status by very few others. Maybe Crayons. Maybe. They have spawned entire genres of art FOR ADULTS that include sculptures and stop-motion animation films (see Brick Films mentioned above and there are even entire film festivals built, so to speak, around Lego films). People and adults have been taking Legos seriously for a very long time. (Including the very adult Lego sets that allow help you build replicas of some of the worlds most famous buildings and architectural styles).
In truth this might be a very silly movie. I hope not. I have high hopes for it because the Lego brand is associated with high quality, thoughtful products and they have worked with hobbyists and artists to cultivate original and creative use of their product (an American company probably would have sued the first Brick Film maker and that would have been that.)
But in truth I am surprised it took them this long to make it. The popularity of Brick Films probably crested a few years back. On the other hand this movie does not appear to be stop motion. Oh well, I look forward to the amateurs making real stop motion films making fun of the larger film.
OmerosPeanut
Technically, you’re still right, Anne. The fan just has major backing.
Barney
A genuine movie project under development: Hungry, Hungry Hippos
Cassidy
@Alison: Actually Alison, they’re based on the video games which have been consistently popular with adult gamers and lauded by media as exceptionally well done sandbox games. The LEGO model of video games is an example of a franchise being done right. Due to its popularity, especially the LEGO Batman series (the closest thing to a decent Justice League movie or videogame DC fans will ever get), it was inevitable that they’d make a movie.
JGabriel
I can’t believe this thread turned into a Flame Alison thread just because she thinks Lego movies are silly and that it’s crass to market so heavily to kids.
I mean, really, what is there to argue about here?
I’m with you, Alison.
Ruckus
@FridayNext:
Not to mention things like decorative building repairs…
The biggest thing? They are fun.
The concept is so simple, the execution can be anything but. The company as you pointed out encourages people to do new (and sometimes daffy) things with them. Rooms full of Rube Goldberg machines that sort things.
JGabriel
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I am still eagerly and desperately awaiting movie remakes of Salvage I and Quark.
Edited to Add: I have always been amazed at the gritty and complex lives of space garbage collectors.
Ruckus
The point here?
Of course it’s silly, of course it’s aimed at kids, of course adults can like it. Or not.
The real point?
Don’t take always take the world too seriously. This is a fun thing that isn’t about horror, vampires, killing other things, stealing cars, owning more than anyone else, or destruction. It’s about making things.
lojasmo
@mdblanche:
Has Dumb & Dumber weighed in on the Deen issue? Inquiring minds want to know.
dance around in your bones
Leave Alison alooone!
Speaking as someone who fairly recently moved in with 3 grandkids aged 7 and under, I appreciate a well-made kid’s movie, since you will be watching it approximately 3,000 times a year. I mean stuff like Finding Nemo, Wall-E, Monsters,Inc and etc.
When you find yourself singing the theme to Dora The Explorer as you walk around the house you’ll know what I mean. As in, just shoot me now. Not to mention stepping on those dang Legos.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Oh, certainly. But I think we were talking big screen, not small.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@FridayNext:
Oh, sure…Except that television show wasn’t set ten years earlier, it was set in Watts rather than in Chicago, none of the characters had the same names, the film was a drama while the television show a sitcom…
RSA
@mdblanche:
Nice description. Also, here’s one reason we can’t have nice post-racial things:
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@JGabriel:
“That’s My Mama”, “Superttrain”, “Pink Lady (and Jeff)” and “Real People”. Skip Stephenson and Sarah Purcell FTW!
FridayNext
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Admittedly the connection ultimately became tenuous when focus groups decided they didn’t like the original themes and African-Americans portrayed realistically and preferred cartoonish blacks like JJ Evans and Rerun. But the show was originally meant as a spin-off from the movie, so making a movie out of the show would be circular. Personally, I think the growth industry seems to be adapting movies and television shows into lavish Broadway musicals, so how about WHAT’S HAPPENIN’? The Musica!!
Bobby Thomson
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Butts in the seats. Four or five tickets, even at reduced rates, brings in more cash than two tickets, and a LOT more mouths to concessions.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Movie version of that TV cartoon in 1987.
Bobby Thomson
I don’t know why anyone would assume ex ante that a Lego movie would not have a good script.
JGabriel
Bobby Thomson:
Possibly because we’ve read that the characters will all be artificial and plastic.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
The ’87 movie was released direct-to-video, based on the shitty box office returns of the the theatrical releases of “My Little Pony” and “Transformers”. If anything, that trio of flicks soured Hollywood to the type of production we’re talking about here.
@FridayNext:
The shame, I think, is that America wasn’t willing to accept a t.v. drama centered on African-Americans at that time. Come to think of it, there haven’t been a lot of t.v. dramas centered on African-Americans at all since then. Yeah, “The Wire” is great, but it’s hardly representative.
I don’t think that you can find many sitcoms that didn’t make their characters into cartoonish caricatures- regardless of the color of the characters’ skin- in the ’70’s, and that hasn’t changed much in the interim.
Lex
The real creativity and ingenuity here belong to Lego’s marketing people, who, irrespective of religion, have managed to — pardon my bizspeak — leverage the brand across multiple platforms over decades. Let’s see Lincoln Logs do that (although, credit where due, that brand has hung in nicely for almost a century on the same platform it started on).