The Lego Movie is a hugely enjoyable ride, which is filled with promises of dazzling colour, friendly humour, a relatable lead character and an insane amount of fun. Unsurprisingly Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have managed keep their promises and far exceed them with this hilarious, often kooky and immensely super active film, which concludes that every single person is important and to remember that at the end of the day, we should all just enjoy ourselves. From the team that brought us Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street comes one of the best ensemble films of the year.

Featuring a cast including Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Will Ferrell, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Jonah Hill, Liam Neeson and Chris Pratt; The Lego Movie has no shortage whatsoever on talent and utilises each and everyone in the very best way. But what really shines through here is the animation; from the delicately chosen movements that these Lego pieces make to the larger action packed sequences, the filmmakers and animators have a done an outstanding job of taking bricks that practically anyone watching the film, the world over would have played with and creating them into moving, talking characters whilst at the same never letting the audience forget they are just pieces of Lego.

The film concentrates on Emmet (Pratt), who follows the rules, does his job, tries to make friends and enjoy life as much as he can within the boundaries set upon him by the rest of the world. His world is controlled by President Business (Ferrell), who decides to set in motion a devastating plan to destroy everyone after he captures the “Kragle”, a super weapon with more power than anyone should have. Yet years before, a prophecy was seen by a wizard, Vitruvius (a standout Freeman), who said that a normal Lego man, the “Special” would one day come upon the Piece of Resistance, which would be the only way to bring down the “Kragle”. The “Special” would be one of the best Master Builders in the universe, someone capable of building anything without the need for instructions.

Of course, as this is a kids film, Emmett is soon discovered to be the “Special”, and is rescued by Wyldstyle (a very feisty Banks) who along with Emmett escapes their world as they fall into the Wild West. It is here that Wyldstyle explains to Emmett what has been going on, what President Business is trying to do and how important he is in this whole mess. Here The Lego Movie becomes more and more like The Matrix (alternate worlds where it is debated that one is more real over the other, a normal person who is fully immersed in their own believed reality soon learns they are living a lie etc etc) and for the older end of the audience, it really is somewhat hilarious.

The brilliant script is filled with ironies and parodies of the Lego world; highlighting the geeky knowledge of this world by Lord and Miller. Alongside the different ‘universes’, Emmett and Wyldstyle are joined by the rest of their team, which includes Batman and Vitruvius (Morpheus if this was The Matrix) himself. There are brilliant and much anticipated cameos from Superman, Wonder Woman, Gandalf, C-3PO, Han Solo and Green Lantern, which simply illuminate this world and illustrate a further nod to the sheer history of the Lego name. In particular, a special mention has to go to Liam Neeson who plays Good Cop/Bad Cop with such enjoyment and fervour, he plays on the characters he has recently become known for in films like Taken and he eats up every scene he is in.

The point at which the origin of the “Kragle” is explained to the audience, really has to make The Lego Movie one of the most imaginative films of the year, with a great surprise twist that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats until the end.

Each and every actor in The Lego Movie does a really great job and somehow Lord and Miller managed to illustrate this on screen – everyone has wonderful chemistry and every if none of the actors were together when they did the voices, what the audience see on screen makes them all seem very close. Postmodern; certainly not shying away from the collection of cultural phenomenon that it finds itself holding dear, The Lego Movie is a lot of fun for all ages. It’s mad and trippy but leaves you looking forward to the next one.