THE LEGO® MOVIE™
“Everything is awesome!!!”
If you’re anything like us, you probably immediately thought of the catchy theme song to THE LEGO® MOVIE™. The film is a celebration of all things LEGO® and reminds us of the enduring power of creative play. The sets from this are now retired, but we invite you to join us as we look back at some of our favorite sets based on the films.
A Brief History of THE LEGO® MOVIE™
Released in 2014, THE LEGO® MOVIE™ tells the story of Emmet Brickowski, an average construction worker living in Bricksburg. In that city, everyone must follow the instructions laid out by President Business (aka the evil Lord Business).
When Emmet finds the long-lost Piece of Resistance, he suddenly finds himself in a remarkable adventure. He travels to new worlds and meets new friends: Master Builders Wyldstyle, Vitruvius, Batman™, Unikitty, MetalBeard, and Benny. Together, they embark on a quest to defeat Lord Business, stop the Kragle, and help Emmet fulfill his destiny as The Special.
We caught up with Matthew James Ashton, Vice President of Design, Core at The LEGO® Group. Matt served as an executive producer on THE LEGO® MOVIE™, THE LEGO® BATMAN MOVIE™, and THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™. He worked alongside the teams at Warner Brothers and Animal Logic to co-develop the look and feel of the movie, making sure that the style stayed true to the LEGO aesthetic.
That attention to detail really shines through on screen. You can see it in the wide variety of bricks, elements, and characters featured in the films, including everything from DUPLO® bricks to nostalgic sets. Even the animation style was inspired by the stop-motion videos made by LEGO fans. Matt also noted the intentional wear and tear that can be seen on some of the bricks in the film. (Remember Benny the Spaceman’s cracked helmet?)
Matthew James Ashton poses with a brick-built version of Unikitty from THE LEGO® MOVIE™
Bringing the Film to Life With LEGO® Sets
Matt oversaw the creation of many of the sets based on the films. The LEGO® Group released 30 sets based on THE LEGO® MOVIE™ from 2014 to 2015, and another 42 sets between 2018 and 2019 based on the sequel, THE LEGO® MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART™. Aimed primarily towards kids ages 6 and up, these sets could be enjoyed by fans of all ages and allowed them to recreate scenes from the film.
When creating sets, Matt shared that the designers would think about which parts of the film were the most toyetic: the items, scenes, and characters that would translate well into real-world sets. Examples of these are Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, Spaceship! (70816) or Metalbeard’s Sea Cow (70810).
Of course, not every set makes it through the design process and there are inevitably some that end up on the building room floor, as it were. “We had a sketch designs of Queen Watevra Wa’nabi’s wedding ceremony on top of a giant cake that I would have love to see released,” he says. Another never-released set: Lord Business’ evil swivel chair. Powered by an electric fan and featuring weaponized staplers and other office supplies, the chair was in a scene cut from the film.
Queen Watevra Wa’nabi and Batman’s wedding cake tower from THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™. (Warner Brothers 2019)
The team’s submarine from first film also never made it into a real-world set. “This was the first time the characters ever had to build anything together,” says Matt. As they were only focusing on what they wanted to build, they didn't work well as a team...which of course leads to the vehicle falling apart.” Many fans have made their own versions of the submarine, with some even submitting their builds to LEGO Ideas.
The team’s submarine from THE LEGO® MOVIE™. (Warner Brothers 2014)
Top Sets from THE LEGO® MOVIE™ and THE LEGO® MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART™
The sets from both films are now retired, but it’s always fun to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the fantastic creations from this theme. We asked Matt to share a bit about some of the stand-out toys from the range of LEGO® MOVIE™ sets.
MetalBeard’s Sea Cow (70810)
MetalBeard’s Sea Cow (70810), the pirate’s wild and whimsical ship, was replicated in detail with this fun set. Fans could recreate the exciting escape from the Micro Managers. The ship featured powerful shooting cannons and a mast where the minifigures could keep a lookout for Lord Business’ Micro Managers. This set also included minifigures of Emmet, Benny, Vitruvius, and Wyldstyle, as well as figures of MetalBeard and a queasy Unikitty.
“This was biggest model that we did for THE LEGO® MOVIE™, and it was colossal. Even so, it was a scaled down replica of what we did in the movie, which must have been at least 10 times the size of the model the scale that we did it in the movie,” says Matt. He also noted the enduring popularity of LEGO® pirate ships in general and their mass appeal among kids and adults of all ages.
Lord Business’ Evil Lair (70809)
Another “toyetic” location from the film, Lord Business’ Evil Lair (70809) brings together some of the key elements from Lord Business’ tower. While the tower itself would have been too large for a single LEGO® set, Matt says the designers took some of the best bits (notice the Kragle, Think Tank, and “Where Are My Pants” sign) to create this fun scene.
Fans could visit the studio where he records his broadcasts, the Think Tank where he extracts creativity from Master Builders, and even the hiding place of the Kragle. This set included 6 minifigures of Emmet, Vitruvius, Ma Cop, Pa Cop, Lord Business and El Macho Wrestler, as well as a figure of Biznis Kitty. It was also packed with fun accessories like the Piece of Resistance and a wig for Lord Business to transform into his alter-ego, President Business.
Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, Spaceship! (70816)
A nod to classic 497 LEGO® Galaxy Explorer from the 1970s, Benny gets to build the spaceship of his dreams in this fun set from THE LEGO® MOVIE™. “Benny and his spaceship were really nice ways to bring a level of nostalgia to the film and reintroduce a classic spaceman,” says Matt. We were able to revisit things like classic space and bring that to life in the updated way that we build the sets.”
Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, Spaceship! (70816) set had an opening roof, extendable wings, satellite dish, spring-loaded cannons, and stud blasters. Fans could recreate the scene where the heroes evade the Robot Police interceptors with the minifigures of Benny, Robot Emmet, Space Wyldstyle, and Robo Pilot, as well as an Astro Kitty figure.
A fun addition to the world from THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ was the Benny’s Space Squad (70841) set. Matt says “It was super cute, super small, and the first time we were able to bring a whole range of the classic space characters back along with the very first pink spaceman.”
Welcome to Apocalypseburg! (70840)
The biggest set from THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ product line, Welcome to Apocalypseburg (70840) included an astounding 3,178 pieces. The set featured locations from the movie, including a section of the Statue of Liberty with the head café, Scribble Cop’s office, Lucy’s hideout, and more. Fans could use the 12 included minifigures to recreate their favorite scenes or imagine new adventures for Emmet, Lucy, Batman™, and all the other characters.
Unikitty’s Sweetest Friends EVER! (70822)
We couldn’t have an article about THE LEGO® MOVIE™ and not mention Unikitty, everyone’s favorite ruler of Cloud Cuckoo Land! The Unikitty’s Sweetest Friends EVER! (70822) set featured Unikitty and her friends Ice Cream Cone and Chocolate Bar from THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™. The set included a tea trolly with teapot, coffee cup, and cake elements to plan the perfect party, as well as two bricks interchangeable facial expression so Unikitty could fully express herself.
Fans of Unikitty have Matt to thank for her adorable look. When developing her character, Matt worked with film directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller to create someone cute, cuddly, and very outwardly emotional—the perfect contrast to Wyldstyle’s more stoic persona. They brainstormed a list of the cutest possible creatures and decided that a unicorn and kitty was the perfect combination.
But what would a unicorn-kitty combo look like? Some early versions had her large enough to ride on or featured articulated limbs. Both designs took away from her cute, cuddly persona.
“I said, ‘Can you just give Unikitty to me for two weeks?’” recalls Matt. “I had a go at it and stripped the design down to the simplest form, to the fewest bricks we could possibly use to get the size and the scale right.” Inspired by the ways he had seen children build and play with their own LEGO® animal creations, Matt decided to give her a blocky, brick-built look without individual limbs, creating the charming Unikitty we know and love today.
Queen Watevra’s Build Whatever Box (70825)
The Queen Watevra’s Build Whatever Box (70825) set allowed kids to build the queen in to whatever she wants to be! The set included instructions of build 15 versions of the shape-shifting queen, including a butterfly, cello, dragon, toaster, and many more. Or they could create their own version of the charismatic character from THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™.
“I really loved this set,” says Matt. “It was so creative, and you were really able to build and rebuild her into so many of her different forms from this heap of bricks.”
Her ability to transform into infinite shapes is seen quite clearly in the character’s name: Queen Watevra Wa’nabi (or “whatever I want to be”). “She had so many other names before that, but we landed on this name because she could be whatever she wanted to be – she really epitomized that,” says Matt.
Emmet’s Triple-Decker Couch Mech (70842)
For many LEGO® MOVIE™ fans, Emmett’s Double-Decker Couch is an iconic part of the film. But it turns out that it was a bit of a surprise fan favorite. The designers had no idea how much people would love the seemingly useless piece of furniture. “We thought ‘How many people are going to want to play with the couch?’” Matt recalls.
As it turns out, quite a few. After the film’s release, it became clear that the double-decker couch was incredibly popular. This inspired the team to create the Double-Decker Couch (70818) set, and to build on the original in THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ with Emmet’s Triple-Decker Couch Mech (70842) set.
This set could be built into a triple-decker couch or Emmet’s couch mech. The mech was highly posable, featuring quirky details like adjustable ladder wings, gripping claw, and mug elements as the driving controls. The set included an Emmet minifigure as well as a mini-doll figure of Sweet Mayhem and a figure of Unikitty in her Rampage Kitty mode, complete with a bushy tail.
Emmet and Lucy’s Visitors from the DUPLO® Planet (10895)
With THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™, the team worked with an eye towards inclusivity, particularly in terms of gender and age representation. Making sure that preschool-aged fans could join in on the fun, Emmet and Lucy’s Visitors from the DUPLO® Planet (10895) was the first DUPLO® product in the line, featuring characters from THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™. The set featured Emmett, Lucy, and four buildable DUPLO® Alien Invaders.
Explore the LEGO® Universe
While the sets from THE LEGO® MOVIE™ and THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ are retired and no longer available to purchase on LEGO.com, we invite you to explore our extensive range of current sets. Fans of Benny may want to explore our space sets, or you can dive deep into the world of LEGO® Batman™. Discover sets from other box office hit movies, or create your very own Bricksburg with sets from LEGO® City or our Modular Building collection.