I’m sorry, but live-action Lego movies seem like a terrible idea

THE LEGO the franchise will start making live-action films, and I think that idea is a terrible mistake. LEGO is best known for its plastic brick toys and miniature figures, but the company began making appropriately named high-budget animated films and shows in 2014. The LEGO Movie. Since the success of The LEGO Moviewhich grossed $468 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), the franchise made several other LEGO films, including a sequel, a couple of LEGO Batman films, a film about Ninjagoand much more. Even though the LEGO franchise expanded its subject matter, one thing remained the same: its animation.

Now, however, there are three live-action LEGO films in progress. There are currently few details about the films, and not even their titles are public knowledge yet. However, three directors were hired for the film: Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) and Joe Cornish (Attack the block). All three directors have scripts at varying levels of completion, but what’s still unclear is how each of the films will be created in live-action. For me, live action LEGO It sounds like an oxymoron and makes no sense at all.

Live-action Lego movies don’t make sense

There’s no easy way to put LEGO into live action

Actually I thought LEGO could have played a prank when I first heard about live-action films, because the idea of ​​seeing plastic toys in anything other than animation seemed completely ridiculous. I don’t know what live action is like LEGO the film would even work; all LEGO the minifigure is extremely stylized and distinctly non-human, and even the environments and settings have a look that cannot be replicated in the real world. The only way I could see LEGO moving away from animation would be if the franchise started using stop-motion, but even that is a long way from being “live-action”.

What it does LEGOThe even stranger live-action decision is one of the franchise’s most recent films: Piece by piecea biopic about Pharrell Williams animated in the classic LEGO style. Pharrell himself specifically requested that the film be animated in LEGO style because he saw the world in a more colorful and imaginative way than live action would be able to represent. I’m inclined to agree with Pharrell: LEGO it’s supposed to be so much more magical than the real world, and I think live action would completely undermine that. Not only would live action undermine the magic of LEGO films, it would also undermine everything there is to love about the franchise.

Live Action Would Ruin Everything I Love About The Lego Movies

The LEGO Movies benefit from quirky animation and unique jokes

There are many things that I really love LEGO films. I think they are exceptionally creative, incredibly funny, and a great option for family movie night. I particularly love the way each one LEGO The film truly feels like it couldn’t be told in any format other than animation. From the characters building vehicles and weapons or the jokes about the anatomy of the minifigures, like Bad Cop/Good Cop in the original film, LEGO needs to be excited. No animation, LEGO I would lose all the things that make the franchise unique and all the things I love about it.

Why Focusing on Live Action Could Ruin the Lego Movie Franchise

LEGO bets big on live-action films at the expense of its regular animation

Doing a live action LEGO the movie is bad enough on its own, but the plan to make three live-action movies LEGO movies at the same time seems like a monumental mistake. This is almost as confusing to me as the decision to make the films live-action. LEGO I must have known that making a live-action film would be a huge risk, so I’m perplexed as to why they would greenlight three live-action films at the same time instead of trying one to see how it works.. It seems like an incredibly short-sighted decision that is bound to blow up in their faces.

If the first of LEGOIf the live-action films don’t turn a profit, the franchise will still have two more films to make. Even if the remaining two films are not finished, when the first one is finished, LEGO will have invested a considerable amount of time, money and effort into a doomed experiment. LEGO is also clearly giving most, if not all, of its attention to live-action films, meaning the classic, safer style of animation is taking a backseat. This means that LEGO films in the animated style that I love won’t be a priority for a while, which is a shame.

There is a possibility that I am wrong and I would like nothing more than to eat crow. I was initially skeptical about The LEGO Movieas I thought it was a childish way of making money and I was very glad to be wrong about it. Since then, I have come to love LEGO films, and I, unfortunately, don’t think I’m wrong about the decision to make live-action entries in the franchise. Again, I’d love to be wrong, but for now, I’m convinced LEGO is making a catastrophic mistake with live-action films.