The Justice League has assembled a little earlier than expected.
Warner Bros. has made full use of its rights to the DC Comics superhero universe in the very first trailer for “The LEGO Movie,” which sees tiny plastic versions of Batman, Superman and Wonderwoman all popping up to steal the thunder away from the film’s less-recognizable characters. Nevertheless, the trailer does serve to adequately set up the main thrust of the film’s story, in which “ordinary guy” Emmet (voiced by future “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Chris Pratt) goes on a mission to save the “world” after being mistaken as the savior of the LEGO universe, soon to be glued together by the villainous President Business (Will Ferrell).
Written and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“21 Jump Street,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”) and co-directed by Chris McKay, the film also features the voice talents of Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett (as Batman!), Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman and Charlie Day.
All in all it’s a cute enough setup for the forthcoming animated effort, and the animation itself is pretty stunning in its evocation of a fully-realized LEGO World. Of course, as animated toy movies go the bar’s already been set pretty high by Pixar’s “Toy Story” trilogy, so it may be in for a load of unflattering comparisons if it fails to impress.
My grade for the trailer: B. After watching it, rate it for yourself at top left.
“The LEGO Movie” is slated for release on February 7, 2014.