We’ve got LEGO movies, LEGO Batman movies, LEGO Ninjago movies. But what about a LEGO biopic?
In what would seem to be a first, none other than Pharrell produced and starred in a biography of his own life made with LEGO animation. It’s called Piece By Piece. Pharrell plays himself and narrates his life story, while animation recounts the various events of his rise to fame and success. Celebrity voices in the movie playing themselves include Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg — all as LEGO people, obviously. (This is clearly LEGO-style animation, a la The LEGO Movie or The LEGO Batman Movie, not actual stop-motion animation done with LEGOs.)
The film was directed not by an animator but by documentarian Morgan Neville, whose previous films include Won’t You Be My Neighbor? about Fred Rogers, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, and his Oscar-winning 20 Feet From Stardom. Neville also appears as himself (or his LEGO self) in the Piece By Piece trailer, which you can watch below.
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Well, we get a lot of inspirational music biopics; at least one or two every single year. At leaset this one doesn’t look like the rest of them! And instead of having to hire actors to impersonate familiar musicians, because this was done with LEGOs they were able to convince Snoop and Gwen Stefani and the rest of these folks to voice themselves. That’s novel as well.
Here is the film’s official synopsis:
PIECE BY PIECE is a unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO® animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music’s most innovative minds.
Piece By Piece is scheduled to open in theaters on October 11.
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