With the Dark Knight taking center stage in The Lego Batman Movie in 2017, now's the perfect
time to look back at Phil Lord and Chris Miller's kid-friendly masterpiece that started it all.
2014’s The Lego Movie starred a boatload of random characters from pretty much every
major pop culture property, but it almost featured a few more.
Oh, and did you know it almost didn't happen at all?
Here's the untold truth of The Lego Movie.
Tough sell
Producer Dan Lin came up with the idea for a shared universe Lego film, and travelled
all the way to the toy company’s headquarters in Denmark to pitch the idea in 2008.
But, the Lego execs weren’t all that excited to license their brand.
Long before the film, Lego was already one of the biggest players in the toy industry,
and executives were worried about potentially risking that position with a lackluster movie.
Lucky for everyone, Lin went ahead and had an incredibly detailed treatment put together
— and the Lego folks were sold.
It almost starred R2-D2
From Batman to Lando Calrissian, The Lego Movie jammed in fictional characters by the
truckload.
But it almost featured a much bigger Star Wars connection.
Lord and Miller originally planned to have R2-D2 be a main character in the film, joining
up with Emmet's group for pretty much the entire adventure.
Miller described his role as on par with the one that eventually went to Batman.
But Lucasfilm was reluctant to offer up a Star Wars character for such a major role
in the story.
The fact that all these deals were coming together against the clock of Lucasfilm's
2012 sale to Disney probably didn't make it easier.
Fortunately, the movie losing R2 meant it gained Batman — and everything's better
with Batman.
"Batman we love you!"
"Thank you, I'm blushing super-hard under the mask."
"Thanks Batman!"
First Flash
The Flash has been on the big screen a few times now thanks to Batman v Superman: Dawn
of Justice and Suicide Squad.
But The Lego Movie actually beat both of those movies to the punch with its own take on the
Scarlet Speedster.
Sure, he's only on screen for a little less than five seconds, but considering how much
Warner Bros. and DC are banking on the big-screen Justice League universe, it's kind of funny
to think something as wacky as The Lego Movie actually got there first.
Deep Cuts
Though the film packed in a bunch of Easter eggs about pop culture in general, it also
included some subtle deep cuts for hardcore Lego nerds.
One of the best?
The little break at the center of Benny the spaceman's helmet.
Back in the day, that was a common defect in those types of Lego mini-fig helmets, so
the filmmakers included it as a nod for longtime Lego fans.
Lego Kiss
Sure, The Lego Movie was wild and weird, but there was apparently one line they couldn't
cross: A mini-fig make-out session.
Kind of like this, probably:
(hardcore smooching)
"Ugh, that's very disturbing."
In the original cut, the Scuba Cops blew off their patrols to go make out with some mermaids,
but it apparently made parents uncomfortable during test screenings, so they cut the scene.
Wyldstyle also laid a smooch on Batman at one point, but that too was axed.
The cameos
The Lego Movie had almost as many cameos as it does lego bricks.
The Star Wars franchise was well-represented with some great cameos, and a few even reprised
their roles from the original trilogy.
Billy Dee Williams voiced Lando Calrissian, while Anthony Daniels once again voiced C-3PO.
Lord and Miller also included some nods to their previous flicks, most notably 21 Jump
Street stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.
Tatum voiced Superman and Hill brought Green Lantern to life.
If Henry Cavill doesn't pan out as Superguy, at least Tatum has some experience as the
Man of Steel.
And hey, they're making a new Green Lantern movie, right?
Real Business
The film's big bad Lord Business runs the company Octan in the film, which at first
seems to be just another made-up company.
As it turns out, it is a fictional company — but a real fake one actually created by
Lego back in 1992.
The company was a fictional brand of gasoline that was used in some early 1990s play sets,
and the creative team resurrected it for throwback kicks.
Slow Motion
The film has one of the most original looks in modern CGI, with visual effects designed
to emulate the look of stop-motion.
From the built-in scuffs, to the click and clack when the blocks come together, they
work really hard to make this movie look tactile and real.
But had they actually gone the stop-motion route, it would've reportedly taken about
a decade to make — and it would have required a mind-boggling 15 million Lego bricks.
At that point, you could literally build your own full-fledged Lego Land.
The cool factor
When all was said and done, there's no denying that Will Arnett's Lego Batman was the breakout
character from The Lego Movie, and the fact that he got his own movie in 2017 is proof.
But it turns out the producers only used him because they needed someone with infinite
cool factor.
The creative team originally wanted to use someone else for WyldStyle’s boyfriend,
but went with Batman to ensure he was extra awesome to intimidate Emmet.
Because, seriously, no one's cooler than Batman.
(beatboxing)
"Oh, hey I'm sorry.
Just laying down some dope tracks here and didn't see ya there."
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