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I'm Complaining About The LEGO Movie Snub Too

Ta-metru_defender

Entry posted by Ta-metru_defender

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Essays, Not Rants! 148: I'm Complaining About The LEGO Movie Snub Too

 

I’ve made it clear that I don’t really care for movie awards. Mostly because there’s a level of snobbery and predictability to them and also because, well, mostly because of the snobbery.

 

So naturally, like many people, I have great opinions on the stuff I don’t care about.

 

Like how this year’s acting nominations are blindingly whitewashed. Which, sure, happens, but is also incredibly indicative of culture as a whole and why movies like Big Hero 6 are important.

 

But something I found incredibly glaring – and also feel more qualified to talk about – is The LEGO Movie’s lack of a nomination in the animation department. It got Best Original Song and that’s it. This is a problem.

 

Now, I like the other nominations that I’ve seen (and have been meaning to find a way to watch Song of the Sea); Big Hero 6 is great, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is important, period, and The Boxtrolls is stop-motion which is always great to see. But The Lego Movie, as I’ll say again and again, is absolutely wonderful.

 

The LEGO Movie is an odd film to be sure. It’s something that could easily be a toy commercial, what with it being all about LEGO. There was a ready made audience for it, all the crew had to do was poop out a half-decent plot and go home to their paychecks. Only they didn’t. But The LEGO Movie isn’t just an animated with a great story, no they made a great story that plays with not only the fact that it’s a movie about LEGOs, but with the genre of adventure movies as a whole.

 

But it’s not snobby about it. There’s no mockery from The LEGO Movie. Rather it, very much like The Princess Bride, wholeheartedly embraces it knowing and even poking at its flaws. And also like The Princess Bride, there’s no cynicism to it. The film doesn’t embrace the idea that a deconstruction must be brooding, nor does it laugh at the genre it plays, ruthlessly mocking it. RatherThe LEGO Movie is filled with an unbridled love and passion for not just the toy but the genre the story plays out in. It starts a deep consciousness of what makes adventure stories tick – the call to adventure, the idea of being a chosen one, the quest into the villain’s fortress, and so on — then the film turns it up to eleven. There’s no subtlety to its narrative structure, it know what it is and runs with it.

 

So there’s a great grasp of storytelling from directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, same could be said about the folks behind The Boxtrolls and How To Train Your Dragon 2. What really setsThe LEGO Movie apart is its balance of a breakneck, almost psychedelic pace with its knowing of when to slow down. The film could be all fluff, all a great adventure with nothing deeper to it – and it seems that way with its bright visuals and hyperactivity – but they lay off the gas pedal at the climax. The movie is able to breathe and we’re held in this twist that has us rethinking the entire movie prior, but also lends a new deal of emotional weight to it.Yet it’s a beat that doesn’t feel out of place, it’s not something simply tacked on for the drama.

 

The LEGO Movie did something different. It’s a movie about originality that, for once, is actually very original. It merges Saturday morning cartoons’ visuals with a mastery of plotting and the ability to throw emotional post-modern curveballs. It’s rare that a movie – animated or not – even tries to do this, let alone pulls it off so spectacularly.

 

It’s all this that means The LEGO Movie should have gotten an Oscar nomination, it didn’t just tell an (animated) story well, it told it with more heart and gusto than a lot of stories do. But again, what makes this movie so great is that it marries its enthusiasm with impeccable craft. One without the other, or with any less of any of its parts, would be a lesser film. Seriously, everything about this movie is awesome. Would have been nice for there to be some recognition.

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Dorek

I think calling it a "snub" and actually caring about what the academy thinks defeats the entire point of not only liking the movie, but the movie itself. The nomination of "Everything Is Awesome" should have been the giveaway; the song is entirely about herd mentality and the consumption of pop culture, which it doesn't even try to ironically leverage into something clever, it's just a catchy pop song that plays like one, and that's what people took it as.

 

The LEGO Movie attempts to teach us that individualism and creativity go hand in hand, and that while support from others is key, it's about knowing who your friends are.

 

The movie has already proven to be a runaway success, and we're getting a sequel in a few years. Oscars be darned, I don't see why anybody has any reason to complain.

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Vorahk1Panrahk2
Now, I like the other nominations that I’ve seen (and have been meaning to find a way to watch Song of the Sea); Big Hero 6 is great, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is important, period, and The Boxtrolls is stop-motion which is always great to see.

 

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is conspicuously absent in that sentence. Were you not planning to see it? Or have you seen it already? And if you did what did you think?

 

Also, what did you think of The Boxtrolls (if you saw it)?

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Ta-metru_defender

 

Now, I like the other nominations that I’ve seen (and have been meaning to find a way to watch Song of the Sea); Big Hero 6 is great, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is important, period, and The Boxtrolls is stop-motion which is always great to see.

 

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is conspicuously absent in that sentence. Were you not planning to see it? Or have you seen it already? And if you did what did you think?

 

Also, what did you think of The Boxtrolls (if you saw it)?

 

I'd heard of Kaguya in passing, but never enough about it to pique my interest. I'm down to see it because, duh.

 

The Boxtrolls was cute; I really enjoyed it and the voice cast was very much on point. And stop-motion, dude, the first movies I made were gifs and stop-motion, so it's always close to my heart. But I think it lacked that extra something that made HTTYD2 and Lego great.

 

One thing, though, it's a shame that voice actors aren't more recognized – especially on a scale like this – since Dee Bradley Baker as Fish was something special.

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Vorahk1Panrahk2

One thing, though, it's a shame that voice actors aren't more recognized – especially on a scale like this – since Dee Bradley Baker as Fish was something special.

 

I've been silently championing for the Oscars to ad a "Best Voice Acting" category for a few years now. They bring just as much to the table as live action actors, and their performances are much more important in filmmaking than, say, original songs are (as much as I love that category). There are a lot of great voice actors and actresses out there and their talents should be recognized.

 

At least we have the Annie Awards for that.

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Ta-metru_defender

My girlfriend recommended me the documentary I Know That Voice. It's on Netflix and is really cool. Talks a lot about the whole process and they interview a big bunch of people.

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