Piece by Piece

The idea of having a Lego movie that documents the life of Pharrell Williams is so unique and creative and it is the type of thing I would love to see more of in Hollywood. The film has some really nice animation and when the animation moves to the music it looks really cool. The movie basically serves as a documentary about Pharrell Williams which is nice and it's really funny seeing all of these legends from the entertainment industry in Lego form, especially Snoop Dogg. In classic Lego movie form this movie has heart and humor, and can be enjoyed by the whole family. I also like how even though this is a Lego movie the film didn't really hold back on some of the more adult elements of Pharrell's story. Morgan Neville did a good job directing and I think this is a pretty solid and entertaining watch.

6.6/10 (Recommend, but not in theatres)

This is a mostly family friendly because it's a LEGO-esque style movie, but in reality it's definitely not geared towards families. Nothing really drew me to this film other than LEGO. I like Pharrell Williams' music, but he's not someone I'm dying to listen to or see.

I like the style he decided to take in telling his life story. As a LEGO movie you're able to create anything you want with whatever your imagination can come up with, but despite the flashy pieces and the catchy tunes that some of us would recognize, it still falls flat. I don't feel this biopic is a "woah is me" story despite the rags to riches perspective, but the way things are told you don't get to truly feel the hardships that Pharrell went through to make it big.

The film isn't a total waste of time. I never realized how big of an impact on music that Pharrell had. Creating music for artists such as Snoop Dogg, Jay Z, Gwen Stefani, and Justin Timberlake to name a few. So I did learn something. I would definitely watch this movie once, but I wouldn't see it in theatres if I could go back.

Overall, it's a 90 minute surface story that gives only a fractional bit of info on the road Pharrell to make it big. It definitely has a "go after what you want" subplot, but you also need to work hard. It's a flashy film that uses LEGO, but it never truly hits the emotional chord. I wouldn't recommend seeing in theatres, or as a family (unless you like the genre of music). There's only one swear word in the film, but it's mostly bleeped out except for maybe three times. In the end though you can't deny the impact of Pharrell. He's had his hand in some of the biggest songs that I've heard, but would never have pegged him to.

That's it for now. Thanks for taking time to read my review. Happy watching and enjoy the show!

Rating: 7.5 Overall, a pretty good movie that opens the possibilities of what stories we can tell through Lego Animation; but, it is basically a biased documentary on Pharrell Williams' life.

Direction: Pretty Good The direction on a macroscale is unique and interesting as they basically had a narratively driven documentary about Pharrell's life but told it through Legos, and used the Lego animation well to help paint the world and show Pharrell's imagination; the direction on a microscale feels like an interview-style documentary, though Pharrell is given space to work with and share his emotions; the storytelling is very similar to other documentaries, though told in a very meta, creative style

Story: Pretty Good The concept is really interesting as it is an interview-style documentary on Pharrell's life, but told through the lens of Lego animation; this movie opens the possibilities of what stories we can tell through Lego Animation; the plot structure follows many interview-style documentaries on a subject's life, but it puts a little too much weight in the wrong places that it feels like it runs out of steam towards the end; it is pretty unclear what is actually factual and what is made up for the movie; the present-day conflict between Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams makes the movie have somewhat of an awkward tension between the two characters; the character writing does not really do a great job at showing the ego of Pharrell because they mention it but kind of brush over it, but it does a good job painting how creative he was; the story feels a little biased because it was clear Pharrell had a big say in what was in this movie, and how his side was presented

Screenplay: Decent The dialogue is very meta and kinda pretentious at times, but besides that, it feels like any other documentary; the humor is pretty good, with them making a lot of jokes that push the rating limit; the symbolism is decent as the movie is a metaphor on how pieces come together to make bigger concepts and aspects of life, why they decided to make this movie with Legos; they try to have this political message towards the end of the movie, but there is barely any time left and they kinda just brush over it, so it felt like they had it just to have it without presenting any nuance; the foreshadowing is alright, but kinda predictable if you know Pharrell's life

Acting: Pretty Good Pharrell Williams: Pretty Good (He just plays himself as this is more of a documentary than a narrative; but it definitely shows his personality) Rest of the cast: Pretty Good (Really just interviews from people in Pharrell's life and people he worked with)

Score: Good Helped show Pharrell's personality, and incorporated many of his iconic themes and beats

Soundtrack: Very Good Basically, a Pharrell Williams Greatest Hits album, and it had different songs that influenced his childhood

Editing: Good

Sound: Good Incorporated both the music and Lego sound effects well

Animation: Great Loved the animation, as it opens up the doors for what stories we can tell with Legos

Pacing Pacing is not the best, as it feels like it places too much weight on his childhood and early days, that the movie runs out of steam towards the end

Climax The climax is not that well executed as the movie feels like it kind of runs out of steam towards the last 20 minutes; but there is some closure

Tone The tone is very documentary in style, with Lego animation flavors.

Piece by Piece is a stunning exploration of creativity through the medium of LEGO animation. The film captivates with its vibrant visuals, particularly the breathtaking sea, speed boat and sunset.

What sets this film apart is its narrative style, utilizing interview voices to weave Pharrell's story within the fabric of the animation. The rhythm of the beat is palpable throughout, making it not just a visual treat but an auditory one as well, creating a deeply immersive experience.

Don't miss it in a cinema. It's made for the big screen with its vivid colours and super sound track played loud!

So this movie is just a documentary of Pharrell Williams life. But it is done amazingly well. The idea to make a documentary about a music guy in Lego is genius, cause it can visually show what someone is feeling.

The movie was executed well. The pacing is really solid and keeps you intrigued while keeping the story slow enough to process.

Acting is pretty great, Pharrell Williams did a good job but his mom is who stood out the most to me, said lines and made it feel like they were said in that time. Same with the director, his acting was so good and added a lot to the story.

Emotional impact is meh, it's an inspiring story and emotionally ig you can get mad at the bad buisness men.

The cinematography is beautiful. Gorgeous for a documentary. There is more than one great shot in this movie but one of my favorites is a shot from behind Pharrell Williams when he is watching the speakers as they play music and there is like lights coming out of them.

The music is incredible, sound design is pretty good but one of my favorite things about this movie is that it is integrating music constantly and using that to keep flow. It's so dope.

There is a theme of working hard and not quitting which is always good. But there is also some really unbiblical themes which makes me really mad and frustrated (easily one of the reasons I dropped it a rank)

I have watched this movie twice and it's enough, watching it 2 times is good but after that now I'm not super excited to see it.

Really great movie, just a disagreement with themes, seeing cursing in an animated movie isn't fun. But yeah great movie for the family is the kids are over the ago of 12.