The Lego Movie 2014

Christy Lemire, ChristyLemire.com: The Lego Movie: Merely a great film, or the greatest film ever in the history of cinema? Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Take the kids to The LEGO Movie - the funniest, cleverest, most exhaustingly exhilarating animated feature in ages - then leave them to play with their toys and see it again for your own wicked amusement. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: I stopped laughing because after 20 minutes, I'd had enough. The conceit gets stale fast. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: As cute and energetic as it is, "The Lego Movie" is more exhausting than fun, too unsure of itself to stick with any story thread for too long. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The best part is what the movie has to say about conformity -- following the instructions on the box -- versus creativity, i.e. life as a jumble, an inspired improvisation, a joyous hodgepodge. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Though it falls apart a bit near the end, "The Lego Movie" is easily the best movie ever made about plastic interlocking blocks, and good fun by any measure. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller irreverently deconstruct the state of the modern blockbuster and deliver a smarter, more satisfying experience in its place, emerging with a fresh franchise for others to build upon. Read more

Kevin McFarland, AV Club: Miller and Lord have gone far beyond the call of duty. Their Lego Movie is effervescent in style, conveying a substantive message without ever devolving into saccharine preachiness. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The slightly glitchy movement of the characters is funny, the animation is awesome, the deconstruction of superheroes is brilliant and the jokes are knowing and slightly edgy. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: My fingers rebel, but type it I must: "The LEGO Movie" is the first great cinematic experience of 2014. Read more

Drew Hunt, Chicago Reader: Writer-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who displayed a knack for slapstick with 21 Jump Street, fill the script with delightfully absurd one-liners and sharp pop culture references. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: This isn't just the funniest PG-rated animation in too long; it's the funniest film, period, in months ... Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: It's fast and original, it's conceptually audacious, it's visually astonishing, and it's 10 times more clever and smart and funny than it needed to be. Here, at last, is an animated comedy that never stops surprising you. Read more

Kate Erbland, Film.com: Lord and Miller's sensibilities are continually clever, and The Lego Movie works hard to gradually deliver surprising payoffs to what seem to be throwaway bits. Read more

Jessica Herndon, Associated Press: The filmmakers could have easily made one long, monotonous ad for the beloved brand that's been around for more than 55 years. Instead they've created a delightful tale championing self-reliance and distinctiveness. Read more

Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: A full-throttle, giddily inventive, all-ages joyride that buoyantly boosts the bar for 3D computer-animated movies. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: "The Lego Movie" is a massive collision of subversive humor, hyper-kinetic energy, mind-jangling design, spinning colors and about 15 million Legos, no exaggeration. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: A goofy cartoon that will sell enough tickets and toys to keep the bosses happy while facing head-on the fact that these bricks are kinda, well, fascist. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: A manic and surprising comedy inspired by toys that has more imagination and creativity than all the Transformers pictures combined. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: It's the smartest, funniest and most dazzlingly inventive children's movie to come along in years. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: As a rule, movies about toys need to be approached with extreme caution; some of them have been bad enough to count as health hazards. This one is the exception. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Like the toy it's based on, it's goofy and colorful and something adults and children can enjoy together. Read more

Joel Arnold, NPR: The Lego Movie maybe be one giant advertisement, but all the way to its plastic-mat foundation, it's an earnest piece of work - a cash grab with a heart. Made for, with and about Legos, the movie is also made for, with and about imagination ... Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Lord and Miller don't sink into cynicism. Their computer animation embraces the retro look and feel of the toys to both ingenious and adorable effect. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Pop-culture jokes ricochet off the heads of younger viewers to tickle the world-weary adults in the audience, with just enough sentimental goo applied at the end to unite the generations. Parents will dab their eyes while the kids roll theirs. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: Much of the time it makes other movies based on toys look like child's play. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: This is truly a movie that children and their parents can both enjoy for different reasons. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The brightly-imagined Lego Movie is a wickedly smart and funny free-for-all, and sassy enough to shoot well-aimed darts at corporate branding. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: What could easily have been test-marketed, corporate-processed crap ... instead becomes a surprisingly enjoyable and satisfyingly dense family entertainment that pays tribute to the spirit of free play and individuality. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: The movie is a wonderful surprise, cleverly written and executed brick by brick with a visual panache. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: A clever, vividly imagined, consistently funny, eye-poppingly pretty and oddly profound movie ... about Legos. Read more

Maricar Estrella, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: The Lego Movie has enough wit and wisdom to send a recession-age message to families on the importance of thinking through problems with creativity. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Warning: Choking hazard - laughter. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "The Lego Movie" is a marvelous piece of work. Read more

Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun-Times: The visuals are spectacular, the 3D technology is artfully used and the story is jam-packed with so many funny lines, it's hard to catch all the jokes that are delivered in rapid-fire succession -- constantly tweaking many popular culture icons. Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: A total gas--even if its message is that we should do as Lego says, not as Lego does. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: A movie that's fast-paced and silly with enough throwaway clever in-jokes for their accompanying adults to justify a second viewing. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: For the most part, it's a hoot. There's more ingenuity packed into one minute of this film than there is in the entire running time of most animated amusements. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Bright, colorful, fast and noisy, The Lego Movie will doubtless tickle young fans of the toys. It's just too bad that a movie that encourages you to think for yourself doesn't follow its own advice. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: The script is witty, the satire surprisingly pointed, and the animation tactile and imaginative. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A spirited romp through a world that looks distinctively familiar, and yet freshly inventive. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: I'm probably overselling it, but at one point during The LEGO Movie, I found myself thinking, "This is it. This is the one. This is the film that our entire shared experience of pop culture has been building towards." Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: While clearly filled with affection for - and marketing tie-ins to - the titular product that's front and center, it's also something of a sharp plastic brick flung in the eye of its corporate sponsor. Read more