Most film critics agree–The Lego Movie is the best children’s film of the still new year. It also happens to peddle an anti-consumerism message despite being the most obvious product placement extravaganza in recent memory.
The film, starring the voices of Will Ferrell, Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks, currently boasts a 97 percent “fresh” rating at Rottentomatoes.com.
The story follows a Lego Everyman (Pratt) as he shakes off his nonconformist trappings to defeat President Business (Ferrell).
More than a few critics hailed the film’s spirit as “subversive.” Meanwhile, Kyle Smith of The New York Post cutting to the heart of said subversive material:
Here is a movie in which a $15 billion toy merchant and a $57 billion entertainment conglomerate join forces to lecture us on the evils of buying. Despite lots of gags about how dull and conformist Emmet’s world is, the anti-consumerist drum isn’t beaten to shreds the way it was in “The Lorax.” But none of the other ideas work very well, either.