Watch A LEGO Brickumentary For Free

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Expected more

A Masterpiece!

A Lego Brickumentary (2014) *** (out of 4)Jason Bateman narrates this somewhat long-winded by highly informative documentary about the history of LEGOs and why everyone loves them so much. The documentary covers how the company got started, the early troubles with fire and then goes into detail about how the company evolved over the decades to become a global phenomenon. We get interviews with fans, master builders as well as people who have a dream job of creating new models. If you're a fan of LEGOs then you'll certainly love this film as it really does tell you everything you need to know about the company and its fans. The documentary does a very good job with the history but it also gives you a good idea of what they plan on doing in the future including how they got fans involved with what they come up with . We get to see some of the amazing large creations that superfans have come up with as well as some of the fan-made movies.

LEGOs have been the anomaly of the toy industry since their inception in 1949. While Mattel keeps it head above water with successful, universally recognizable toy lines such as Hot Wheels and Barbie, and Hasbro has had strong success with G.I. Joe, LEGO has found a way to solely capitalize on the versatility and incalculable possibilities of their construction toy. Even though LEGO has succeeded in spawning a variety of spinoffs, such as the ever-so popular and beloved "Bionicles" when I was young, LEGO Architecture, and LEGO Customs, LEGO really only sells one product, whereas other toy companies scramble to try and find the next successful thing to franchise.Most childhoods I know were accompanied by a LEGO set or two; sitting right beside me as I write this review is a six-foot-long table, admittedly cluttered and disorganized as all Hell, of a variety of LEGO buildings, some erected from the directions out of the box and some from my imagination. As a child, I loved LEGOs and fondly recall making an event out of sitting beside my mother as we built a barrage of sets together. LEGOs were the quintessential gift for children due to the fact that you had the choice of adhering to the instructions that came with every set or exercise your creative freedom by building whatever you found to be enticing. The potential for a universe was at your fingertips and all you had to do was build it.A LEGO Brickumentary is a film that works to articulate that point and show that LEGO conventions, warehouses, and "master builders," people that work to create record-breaking LEGO sculptures in addition to creating brand new sets, are just as limitless in their scope as the plastic pieces themselves. The creator of the toy was a Danish man by the name of Ole Kirk Christiansen, who created wooden toys in a factory during the 1940's, consistently having to erect new factories following the destruction of one after another in fires. Christiansen purchased a plastic molder upon its invention, marveling at the fact that the machine, while so primitive, could mold and create a wide variety of complex plastic pieces. He found that, when properly manipulated and detailed, plastic blocks could be created and used to construct many different things, which eventually lead to the birth of LEGOs.The major invention to these multicolored blocks was the "clutch power" added in later, otherwise known as the tiny stubs and holes present on nearly every LEGO block, allowing for secure connectivity and easy transitioning between pieces. Fast-forward decades later and current LEGO engineers and master builders work to create stories and depth behind the characters they create in their new LEGO sets, allowing for a certain richness to come packed in with each construction set. Furthermore, licensed products such as The Avengers, Spider-Man, and Star Wars all found themselves converted to the multicolored bricks in a way that booned the company to record profits and notoriety, in addition to allowing children the freedom to take their beloved characters home in a way that wasn't as vapid as just a plain action figure.However, our narrator Jason Bateman - who also voices an ordinary LEGO character in the film - tells us how that wasn't always the case. In the mid-2000's, LEGO almost found itself closing its doors, with record-low profits and middling success with their new lines of toys (IE: "Jack Stone" and "4 Plus"). One employee says, at that time, LEGO had become a very arrogant company, one that was hesitant to listen to customer feedback due to perceived superiority on the ends of the CEOS and the employees themselves. When that changed, however, product lines such as LEGO Architecture, a line of universally known and renowned buildings such as the Taj Mahal, Willis Tower, and Empire State Building condensed into LEGO form, and LEGO Customs, a website allowing you to conceive your own LEGO set and having the ability to vote on others for the potential of making it a real set, came to be.A LEGO Brickumentary's core focus, however, is the fandom and the ostensible impossibilities in size, scope, and popularity LEGOs have achieved on a global level. We are taken into many different conventions, where LEGO fans hold their own competitions (IE: building a LEGO set without being able to see the set of the piece, building LEGOs while the pieces are inside of a bag, and so forth. In addition, we are shown the elaborate codenames that have been given to different pieces and fans of LEGOs, with "AFOL" ("adult fan of LEGOs") being the most common and "MOC" (my own creation) perhaps being the second most. Arguably the most humorous is the nickname for an attractive woman at a LEGO convention, known as a "one-by-five" because LEGO does not make a one-by-five piece.Finally, directors Kief Davidson and Daniel Junge show us how LEGO is working to break records every day. We see the creation of a life-size ex-wing fighter, using over five million LEGO bricks, equating to more than eight tons of material. With that, numerous "master builders," engineers, and interior designers work to create and perfect the steel frame and structure behind the fighter.A LEGO Brickumentary is, admittedly, fan service; similar to Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys, anyone already acquainted and thoroughly in love with the product in hand will find themselves delighted by the film solely because of its existence. While corny when it focuses on Bateman's LEGO character, this is a fairly solid look into a company that continues to expand and shows no sign of slowing down, creatively or financially.Directed by: Kief Davidson and Daniel Junge.

Parade of the Virgins! That's what I thought when I saw that "A Lego Brickumentary" (G, 1:33) focused mainly on adult Lego enthusiasts. Then I saw married couples and families in this documentary… so I couldn't use that particular line. Next I thought that I could just mock the adults whose main hobby was building with Legos as being simply uncool. That's when I saw award-winning singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker and Houston Rockets star Dwight Howard all extol the virtues of the plastic bricks. At that point… well, I was kinda led to take this documentary a little more seriously. And that was only the beginning.The movie does begin at the beginning, explaining how Lego bricks were invented and became one of Denmark's most famous exports, but who knew that so many adults took those colorful little bricks so seriously? Jason Bateman narrates the documentary which spends most of its time introducing us to adults who have made Lego a way of life, and showing us many, many different uses for this construction "toy".After we meet Lego "master builders" who are full-time employees of the company, the film introduces us to ordinary people in different countries who became self-made Lego innovators, some of whom have been welcomed into the Lego corporate family. There are also clubs and conventions for those who refer to themselves by the unfortunate-sounding acronym AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego).Then things get serious. The documentary shows us how Legos have been used in modern art and to build a full-sized replica of a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter. Legos have even been used in city planning and in therapy for autistic children. Throughout the movie, an animated Lego minifigure ("min-fig" for short) pops up to provide moviegoers with explanations of the movie's main points, but mostly, this film is about the people, the surprising variety of people all over the world using Lego bricks in a surprising variety of ways."A Lego Brickumentary" follows several of these Lego-centered stories and brings some of them to interesting and satisfying conclusions. The movie was more interesting and wide-ranging than I thought it would be, but it was still not much more than a Lego commercial on steroids. The documentary is fun, but it plays out as a long visitor's center video at the Lego factory or one of the Lego theme parks. "B"

Greetings again from the darkness. Toys can be fun, educational, relaxing, challenging, and yes, even profitable. No toy exemplifies all of these characteristics better than LEGO. Co-directors Kief Davidson and Daniel Junge go "Beyond the Brick" (the film's original title) as they explore the history and community of these fascinating plastic pieces. Founder Ole Kirk Christiansen (of Denmark) began as a maker of wooden toys, but in 1947 he discovered a plastic molding machine which, within a couple of years, revolutionized his company and the toy industry. The company is still family-owned and is now a $4 billion company and the second largest in the industry despite competing in only one category of toys. It's a remarkable business case study, and an equally remarkable study in social impact. If you own LEGO pieces from 1955, they will still work with the bricks and pieces being produced today … planned obsolescence is not part of the LEGO business strategy. The film introduces us to the designers, the master builders, and the community of LEGO aficionados known as AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO). We also learn of a LEGO language filled with acronyms that permeate the competitions, fairs, and conferences. In the early 2000's, the company posted its first ever loss, but quickly rebounded by listening to their loyal customer base and making the necessary product changes. Last year's award-winning animated THE LEGO MOVIE has stimulated even more interest in the tubes and studs … as well as permanently stamping our brains with the "Everything is Awesome" song. Jason Bateman narrates the film – as a minifig – and adds a splash of color and visual acumen to the story telling process. It's important to note that visuals are a key factor in some of the breathtaking creations of the brand's most committed devotees. This includes the work of one who re-creates classical artwork for a gallery in NYC, and a stunning life-sized model of the Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter in Manhattan. We also see how LEGO plays a role as Autism therapy for kids, and even for mock-ups at NASA.The LEGO community is most impressive. They actually participate in suggesting and designing new products, and the online network of LEGO stop-action short films act as a combined marketing strategy and challenge to other users. LEGOLAND doesn't draw much attention here, but the loyalty and creativity of the customers is quite something to behold. It's a reminder that the smartest companies collaborate with (rather than dictate to) their customer base … but most can only dream of this deep LEGO relationship with AFOL.