When imagination and humor interlock

“The Lego Movie” does justice to the seminal and popular series of toys, and then some! It's an animated flick that's inspired and inspiring—it’s so unrelentingly imaginative, the laughs just keep coming!

Whether you played with the interlocking toy bricks or not, or just have some familiarity with Lego or its related products, the movie is accessible, not to mention visually attractive. Written and directed by “21 Jump Street’s” Chris Miller and Phil Lord, it has colorful and busy cityscapes and connecting realms, and looks like a combination of countless existing toy sets. The characters’ movements are “limited” by their size and lack of articulation, which adds to their charm. Their drawn faces—the squiggly lines and dots—are animated and expressive. And the story? It’s trippy and insane.

A regular guy, Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt) is destined for greatness, according to a mysterious prophecy. He finds himself joining the resourceful Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), her wizard ally Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) and her boyfriend Batman (Will Arnett)—yes, Batman and a few other DC characters are in it—to fight the merciless Lord Business (Will Ferell).

Several characters from different universes also appear; there are brief appearances by Han Solo, Gandalf, the Ninja Turtle Michaelangelo—you get the picture. There are Lego people versions of some historical figures alongside those fantasy characters too. It’s a strange and welcome mix of realities, coalescing into this one place where they fight the main villain's subjugating forces. And there are intriguing twists along the way, making the adventure doubly fun.

Parodying the darkness of the Batman mythos; rib-ticklingly joking about Green Lantern’s odd turn as an outcast; introducing cute and crazy characters—“The Lego Movie” has everything covered, and as its permeating song goes, “everything is awesome.” You’ll love it to pieces.