Thoughts on the "Lego" Movie

In the recent years, we've been seeing more big budget films based on popular toys. We got Michael Bay's Transformers series, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and its upcoming sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and the forthcoming Battleship. What's next? Lego! Unlike the movies I mentioned, this will be an animated film. (According to some reports, about 20% of it will be in live action) Today, it was scheduled for release on February 28, 2014.

The project was green lit by Warner Bros. last autumn, and Animal Logic (Happy Feet) will handle the animation. All I can say is, this could be a fun project. I just hope they don't go the route that most summer blockbusters go: Poorly written plots, poor writing and just action scenes. Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street) will direct the film, which already shows that the project might work. A Lego movie is perfect for animation.

Animal Logic found a surprise success in 2006 with Happy Feet, but their second film, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, couldn't recapture the critical and commercial success of that musical penguin film. With this and an adaptation of Jeff Smith's Bone in the works, Animal Logic might match the success of Happy Feet and have at least one hit film on their hands. This film is obviously going to be huge, and personally, I am somewhat interested. There are a lot of possibilities with a Lego movie, so hopefully all that potential isn't wasted on a weak story and terrible writing.

On the other hand, I am somewhat annoyed. The film is yet again another toy adaptation that's sure to be a hit with kids, continuously saying to audiences that animation is a kids' thing. I will try not to be too negative, but I am somewhat on the fence here. If the folks at Warner Bros., The Lego Group and Animal Logic can deliver a fun film that anyone can enjoy, I'll be happy. If they just make it another Transformers-type film, I won't be happy.

What are your thoughts on this upcoming Lego movie? Do you think it's unnecessary? Or do you think it could work? Are you sick of films based on popular toys? Or not? Sound off!