With The Lego Movie breaking records for Warner Bros. across the Atlantic over the weekend, marking the biggest animated opening for the studio of all time, the studio’s UK arm is gearing up for its release on our shores at the end of the week.
Last night, Warner Bros. took a great new approach to their marketing campaign, doing something I can’t recall any studio ever doing before, giving an entire ad break during ITV’s Dancing on Ice the LEGO treatment.
Impressive stuff. Particularly the opening ad, giving us a look at Vinnie Jones in LEGO form. ‘Not made of Lego?’ Genius.
The Lego Movie follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.
Chris Pratt of course lends his voice as the LEGO lead, Emmet, and he’s joined by a great voice cast, alongside Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Alison Brie, and Nick Offerman.
Co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (21 Jump Street, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) are directing from their own script, based on a story they wrote with Kevin and Dan Hageman (Hotel Transylvania).
Warner Bros. have already confirmed that they’re hiring Jared Stern (The Internship) to pen the sequel, and the film’s three-day opening in the US certainly proves that the studio have a healthy new franchise on their hands.
The animated blockbuster opened to an estimated $69.1m. in the States, making it the highest-grossing opening of the year so far, as well as the studio’s biggest animated opening, breaking Happy Feet’s previous record of $41.5m. a few years back.
The Lego Movie is now playing in 2D and 3D in the US, and will be released here in the UK this Friday, 14th February. In the meantime, here’s Vinnie Jones to give you a helping hand on hands-only CPR. Enjoy.
[yframe url=’www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSbYBzUEQlc’]
