The Lego Movie (Lego theme)

The Lego Movie
Company type	Licensed product line
Industry	Toys and games
Founded	26 December 2013
Founder	The Lego Group, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Animation Group
Defunct	2019
Headquarters	United Kingdom, United States
Products	Construction sets, collectible minifigures, video games, Duplo sets, BrickHeadz sets
Parent	The Lego Group (licensed)

The Lego Movie represents a Lego-themed product collection inspired by the 2014 motion picture sharing the same title, developed under license from The Lego Group, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Warner Animation Group. This theme was introduced on 26 December 2013 in the United Kingdom and on 30 December in the United States, aligning with the film’s debut, and was accompanied by The Lego Movie Videogame. Following the sequel The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, additional sets were released. The entire product range was phased out by the end of 2019.

Overview

The Lego Movie premiered on 7 February 2014 through Warner Bros. Pictures, featuring Emmett Brickowski, a typical construction worker voiced by Chris Pratt, who joins forces with other Lego figures to protect their universe. To complement the film's launch, The Lego Group introduced a series of building sets and collectible minifigures representing its characters and settings. The promotional efforts extended to related merchandise including video games and literature published by Penguin and Scholastic.

In early 2019, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part was released in North America and the UK on 8 February. To support this sequel, The Lego Group rolled out new construction sets showcasing characters and environments from the movie. Additionally, The Lego Movie 2 Videogame was made available on 26 March 2019.

Development

After the achievements of The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, and The Lego Ninjago Movie, The Lego Group sought to continue this momentum with The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. The theme’s creation involved close cooperation between filmmakers and Lego designers, aiming to appeal to a wider demographic than the original film, which resulted in a distinct narrative direction. While the storywriters and directors primarily shaped the project’s vision, the Lego design team maintained character authenticity. Matthew Ashton, Vice President of Design, noted that toy development occurred simultaneously with script and storyboard evaluations to produce toys that were exciting both on-screen and as interactive building sets.

Characters

Emmet Brickowski – an ordinary construction worker and novice Master Builder hailing from Bricksburg.
President Business – ex-leader of the Octan corporation.
Lucy / Wyldstyle – a Master Builder who is also Emmet’s romantic partner.
Batman – iconic DC superhero and Master Builder.
MetalBeard – a massive bionic pirate Master Builder whose head is detached after losing his original body.
Princess Uni-Kitty – a Master Builder characterized as a cat with a unicorn horn from Cloud Cuckoo Land.
Benny – an enthusiastic 1980s spaceman Master Builder passionate about spaceships.
Bad Cop / Good Cop – law enforcement officer featuring a dual-faced head, serving Lord Business as commander of the Super Secret Police.
Vitruvius – an elderly blind wizard who is also a Master Builder.
Rex Dangervest – self-proclaimed "galaxy-defender, archaeologist, cowboy and raptor trainer."
Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi – alien queen capable of shape-shifting from the Systar System.
General Sweet Mayhem – interstellar mini-doll acting as commander under Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi.
Ice Cream Cone – talking ice cream cone assistant to Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi.
Susan – mini-doll attendant serving Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi.
Balthazar – teenage vampire with a sparkling face, spa specialist, and DJ originating from planet Sparkle in the Systar System.
Banarnar – sentient banana peel inhabitant of the Systar System.

Construction sets

The Lego Group introduced a total of 30 sets and promotional polybags inspired by The Lego Movie, followed by 38 sets related to The Lego Movie 2, all of which were discontinued by the close of 2019.

The Lego Movie sets

In November 2013, The Lego Group collaborated with Warner Bros. Animation to debut the initial collection of The Lego Movie sets on 7 February 2014, coinciding with the release of The Lego Movie Video Game. This first series comprised 14 sets, including Getaway Glider, Melting Room, Bad Cop's Pursuit, Cloud Cuckoo Palace, Ice Cream Machine, Trash Chomper, Castle Cavalry, MetalBeard's Duel, Super Cycle Chase, Lord Business' Evil Lair, MetalBeard's Sea Cow, The Flying Flusher, Creative Ambush, and Rescue Reinforcements. Additionally, three promotional polybags—The Piece of Resistance, Micro Manager Battle, and Super Secret Police Enforcer—were made available. Prominent characters featured throughout these sets included Emmet, Lucy, Batman, MetalBeard, Unikitty, Benny, and Vitruvius.

A second series was released in June 2014 featuring Emmet's Construct-o-Mech, Super Secret Police Dropship, and Benny's Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP!, along with three promotional polybags: Pyjamas Emmet, Radio DJ Robot, and Western Emmet.

January 2015 saw the launch of a third wave that introduced Batman & Super Angry Kitty Attack, Double-Decker Couch, and Bad Cop Car Chase.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part sets

In November 2018, The Lego Group revealed the first wave of 17 sets based on The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, which were released the following month. Notable sets included Lego Movie Maker; Emmet and Benny's 'Build and Fix' Workshop!; Unikitty's Sweetest Friends EVER!; Emmet's Thricycle!; Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi; Queen Watevra's Build Whatever Box!; Rex's Rex-treme Offroader!; Ultrakatty & Warrior Lucy!; Pop-Up Party Bus; Emmet and Lucy's Escape Buggy!; Sweet Mayhem's Systar Starship!; Emmet's Dream House/Rescue Rocket!; Emmet's Builder Box!; Lucy's Builder Box!; MetalBeard's Heavy Metal Motor Trike!; Rex's Rexplorer!; and Battle-Ready Batman and MetalBeard. Alongside these were six promotional polybag sets featuring characters such as Emmet, Rex, Lucy, and MetalBeard. This collection introduced new characters including Rex, Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi, and General Sweet Mayhem.

On 27 November 2018, the release of The Lego Movie 2 Videogame was announced for 26 February 2019. A Star-Stuck Emmet minifigure was offered as a complimentary item with the game.

The second wave arrived in May 2019 with six new sets: Shimmer & Shine Sparkle Spa!, Queen Watevra's 'So-Not-Evil' Space Palace, The Rexcelsior! spaceship, Welcome to Apocalypseburg!—which was the largest set inspired by post-apocalyptic themes—Benny's Space Squad, and Emmet's Triple-Decker Couch Mech. This wave also included keychains featuring minifigures of Emmet, Lucy, and Crayon Girl.

August 2019 brought the third wave consisting of three sets: Good Morning Sparkle Babies!, Systar Party Crew, and Wyld-Mayhem Star Fighter. These releases aligned with The Lego Group’s approach to leverage the movie franchise by offering a variety of playsets designed to attract different customer groups.

Collectible minifigures

In February 2014, the Lego Movie Series was introduced as a segment of the Lego Minifigures collection, showcasing 16 distinct characters from The Lego Movie.

Following this, on 1 February 2019, the Lego Movie 2: The Second Part Series was released, featuring 20 figures from The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. This series served as a subcategory within the Lego Minifigures theme.

Duplo sets

December 2018 saw the launch of Emmet and Lucy's Visitors from the Duplos Planet under the Duplo brand. This set contains 53 pieces, including two Duplo figures alongside four buildable alien invaders inspired by The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Designed specifically for younger audiences, Duplo bricks are twice as large as standard Lego bricks but maintain compatibility with them.

Lego BrickHeadz sets

In 2019, several characters from The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part were added to the Lego BrickHeadz line. This collection includes buildable figures of Emmet, Wyldstyle, Benny, and Sweet Mayhem.

Short films

A number of short films related to the franchise were produced, primarily distributed through home media releases accompanying the movies. Additional promotional shorts were also made available via YouTube.

Batman's A True Artist (2014)

Included on the home media release of The Lego Movie, Batman's A True Artist is a stop-motion animated short presented as a music video for Batman’s song featured in the film. This piece was created by Markus Jolly, who was six years old at the time.

Michelangelo and Lincoln: History Cops (2014)

This stop-motion short is part of The Lego Movie home media content and showcases Michelangelo alongside Abraham Lincoln as crime-fighting master builders within a fictional action movie trailer.

Enter the Ninjago (2014)

As part of The Lego Movie home media extras, this short film shifts focus to ninja characters for promotional purposes tied to Lego Ninjago. It humorously depicts the ninja-themed movie as a significant box-office bomb.

Emmet's Holiday Party (2018)

Originally released online on December 10, 2018, and later included on The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part home media, this festive short portrays Emmet and residents of Apocalypseburg hosting a holiday celebration while bracing for a potential assault from the Systar System.

The Lego Movie Videogame (2014)

Developed by TT Fusion and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, The Lego Movie Videogame debuted in 2014 alongside the film across platforms such as Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS. A Mac OS X version became available in October that year. Todd Hansen returned to voice Gandalf; other cast members’ voices were incorporated using archived recordings. The game features more than 100 playable characters.

The Lego Movie 2 Videogame (2019)

Announced in November 2018 and released in February 2019 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows systems, this game by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment corresponds with The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. A macOS edition followed in March 2019.

Lego Dimensions (2015)

Created by Traveller's Tales, Lego Dimensions is a toys-to-life crossover game incorporating elements from both The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie. The Starter Pack features a level that recreates the original movie, with Wyldstyle as a playable character. Additional expansion packs introduce figures such as Emmet, Benny, Bad Cop, Unikitty, Robin, Batgirl, and Excalibur Batman.

Theme park attractions

The 4D film experience The Lego Movie: 4D – A New Adventure premiered at Legoland Florida Resort in January 2016 and was subsequently rolled out to various Legoland parks and Discovery Centres worldwide.

On May 27, 2021, Legoland California Resort unveiled The Lego Movie World, which includes six rides inspired by both films. Attractions feature Emmet's Flying Adventure and Queen Watevra's Carousel among others.

Publications

Media Lab Books released The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part magazine in the United States in January 2019 to complement the toy line. Alongside the film’s launch, several DK-published books were made available, including Keeping It Awesomer With Emmet, which came with an exclusive Emmet minifigure. Additional publications consist of detailed movie guides and sticker collections aimed at children aged four to six years and older.

Reception

In November 2014, Benny's Spaceship (set 70816) was recognized by the Toy Retailers Association as one of the Dream Toys for that year. The following year, the Toy Industry Association nominated The Lego Movie theme as a finalist for its Toy of the Year Awards.

By June 2018, fan site BricksFanz ranked several sets—such as MetalBeard's Sea Cow (70810), Cloud Cuckoo Palace (70803), and Super Secret Police Dropship (70815)—among the "Top 10 Best Lego Movie Sets." In October 2018, the same site featured Getaway Glider (70800) as a leading Western-themed Lego set.

Awards and nominations

In 2014, Benny's Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP! (set 70816) earned the "DreamToys" accolade in the Build The World category from the Toy Retailers Association.

External links

Official website