Have you ever wondered where and how the little LEGO bricks are created? Has the toy powerhouse always been on top? Well look no further, the LEGO BRICKUMENTARY will answer all of your burning questions and more. Jason Bateman narrates the documentary and he tells the company’s story in a way that keeps it light but incredibly informative.
The film is co-directed by Oscar-nominated Kief Davidson and Oscar-winning director Daniel Junge. They were able to explore practically every single facet of the company and community to make this movie. It is interesting, insightful, and just fun to watch. There is so much that I learned about LEGOs but there were two things that peaked my interest the most: the extent of the community and how the brick got their start. I know that LEGO has a following but I had no idea that there are entire conventions that are solely dedicated to the brick.
I also wanted to mention the animation that is used throughout the film. There are many stop motion filmmakers in the movie that can easily go toe-to-toe with professionals in hollywood. It takes patience and talent to do that kind of work with the quality.
The film’s transfer is a crisp 1080p AVC and it looks excellent. Some of the best shots are taken during the interview portions and what was filmed inside the walls of the company. Lines are sharp and the contrasting in these scenes is spot-on. Also, the skin tones look natural and never over processed. The animations are also brilliantly colored and detailed to show all of the little LEGO words on each block. Some of the footage shot during the construction of the X-Wing has a little less light and this is where there are some blocking/contrasting issues. These issues aren’t enough to take anything away from the film but I did want to mention them.
The film has a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless mix that is mostly dialogue-centric. The voices are clear and reproduced very well. This documentary does dabble in sound effects but nothing like you might hear in your average Hollywood-made movie. The film’s score is also done well and works perfectly in the movie. The music sounds excellent with clean highs and solid LFEs.
The extras on the disc are a little light in quantity but it makes up for it in quality. The deleted scenes are segments that could be seamlessly worked back into the film if the filmmakers chose to do so because they look like polished segments.
Bonus Features:
-Deleted scenes
-An ad for both the LEGOLAND Resorts and Discovery Centers
Disc Details
1 Blu-ray Disc
Running Time
93 mins
Edition Ratings
Rated G
Region Coding
Region A
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles
English
English SDH
Spanish
LEGO is a unique toy and in a unique position that it is appealing to a wide variety of ages. You can build what is in the kit or take a pile of pieces and create whatever inspires you. This film, BEYOND THE BRICK: A LEGO BRICKUMENTARY, is made in a way to entertain and educate the people. The Blu-ray is very clean and so is the audio. The extras are also high quality to make an overall solid release. My recommendation that if you have kids, you’re a fan of LEGOs or even the LEGO MOVIE, or you love the brick, then I highly recommend picking this up.
