Cartoon sequel shows creativity, creates interesting but confusing plot

Following its predecessor, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, follows the “creative” storyline of The Lego Movie produced by Warner Bros in 2014. The movie picks up following the adventures of Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt). After defeating Lord Business and his plans to glue the entire universe together, Emmet, his friends, and the city of Bricksburg find themselves under attack from Lego Duplo aliens.

The Lego Movies’ storylines follow the fact that the Legos and the humans take part in the same conflicts. For example, in the first Lego Movie, Finn (Jadon Sand) played with his father’s carefully organized Legos and his father tried to keep them “perfect.” To add to the connection, Will Ferrell plays the father and the voice of Lord Business.

Following the story, Finn now boasts five more years of age then he did in the first movie. His sister, Bianca (Brooklynn Prince), who built the Duplo aliens, now owns more of her own Legos. Being five years older than the toddler she was in the first movie, she built her own creations that coexist with Finn’s. However, from the toys’ point of view, both siblings’ worlds of Legos lie an entire universe away.

After five years fighting the aliens, (five years of Finn and Bianca trying and failing to play with each other), the citizens of Bricksburg create Apocalypseburg, a post-apocalyptic city where nothing cute or positive is on display to attract aliens. Everyone grows into this new fasad; Sharon the cat lady (plus her cats), Batman, Surfer Dave, and Lucy (Wyldstyle), Emmet’s girlfriend and main female protagonist. All of these characters sport armor, spikes, and other apocalyptic gear, except Emmet, who still wears his bright construction uniform and positive attitude.

One day, after trying to teach Emmet how to be dark and brooding, Lucy spots a spacecraft in the distance. The craft attacks with heart and star missiles that happen to be alive and all the citizens take shelter in Batman’s lair. However, the pilot of the spacecraft, a female astronaut named General Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz), enters the lair and takes Emmet’s friends, Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), Benny (Charlie Day), Metalbeard (Nick Offerman), Batman (Will Arnett), and Unikitty (Alison Brie) to the Sis-Tar system.

In the following podcast, Brayden Iest talks to FCS Bible teacher Scott Falk about his experience watching The Lego Movie 2.

After attempting and failing to rally support from other master builders, Emmet sets out for the Sis-Tar system alone. Back in the real world, Bianca takes the figurines of Emmet’s friends and takes them to her room. Transitioning back into Legos, Mayhem brings her captives to Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish), ruler of the Sis-Tar system. The Queen, being built of different shaped blocks, shapeshifts between shapes almost every five seconds.

After she sings a song with her subjects (a talking ice cream cone, a walking banana peel, and more) about how she does not present any suspicious qualities, Mayhem escorts Emmet’s friends to a spa to “change them”. All of the friends except Lucy responds well to the treatments, and she breaks her way out and escapes.

They come in pieces. #TheLEGOMovie2 is NOW PLAYING. Get tickets: https://t.co/UohxGyJsi0 pic.twitter.com/xssBD855G1

— The LEGO Movie 2 (@TheLEGOMovie) February 8, 2019

Meanwhile, Emmet, flying through space, encounters an asteroid field and nearly destroys his ship on the side of a meteor when he is saved by a man named Rex Dangervest (also Chris Pratt). As they introduce each other, Rex seems to be Emmet 2.0. He shows himself to be tough, smart and extremely arrogant. Together, they hatch a plan to destroy Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi’s wedding ceremony. Rex believes that the ceremony brings about “Ourmomagedon” (Our-Mom-Agedon). Together, with the help of Lucy, Rex and Emmet craft a plan to destroy the ceremony and hopefully stop Ourmomagedon.

Having watched the first installment, I find it difficult to decide which one I enjoy the most. I believe that the first better separates the human and Lego realities. It refused to reveal that humans even existed until the end of the movie. The storyline of “The Second Part” confuses me a little because the human and Lego storylines, while related, still messed it up a bit.

The characters present the true creativity of the movie. The director and story writers outdid themselves when they put these characters to life. One of the the main messages that the movie sends to the audience consists of Emmet learning to find his identity and stick with it. This encourages kids to not conform to the worldly standards and to show their own personality.

In the plot, this movie creates an interesting, yet confusing story. I feel in their aspiration to create a great movie, the producers attempted to add too much into the line of events. Overall, the movie combines a meaningful message with humor at every turn and a few twists for those who enjoy surprises.

For more movie reviews, read about “The Kid Who Would be King” and “Glass“.

Brayden Iest can be reached via Twitter and email.