I’ve got a Marie Kondo-esque bone to pick with movies that make kids afraid to throw away old toys, turning them into little hoarders. But it’s almost impossible to resist “The Lego Movie 2” for its continued everything-is-awesomeness, even if it does fall back on the trope of playthings terrified of being relegated to the storage bin.
Also, adding Tiffany Haddish to anything makes it better.
This chapter concerns a rivalry between Finn (Jadon Sand) of the original movie, and his little sister, Bianca (Brooklynn Prince of “The Florida Project,” yay!). Sis has gotten in on the Lego game in a big way — or rather, the Duplo game: The Lego brand’s bigger blocks, built for small, chubby hands, stomp around Finn’s carefully constructed universe, wreaking glittery havoc wherever they go.
It’s especially funny because the now slightly older Finn is trying hard to make his Lego town mature and edgy: It’s now called “Apocalypseburg,” and it’s a pitch-perfect satire of “Mad Max: Fury Road,” complete with a steely nerved heroine (Elizabeth Banks returning as Wyldstyle/Lucy) and spiky customized cars. But Chris Pratt’s endlessly cheerful Emmet just can’t get into the brooding atmosphere — until he meets a guy named Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Pratt), an Emmet look-alike who’s more chiseled, talks like an action-movie star and happens to have “Jurassic Park”-evocative raptors piloting his ship.
Like much of the dialogue in “TLM2,” the sendup of Pratt’s transformation is aimed at grown-ups, as are all the running Batman jokes (Will Arnett returns as the hilariously narcissistic noir superhero) and a host of other rapid-fire pop culture banter. Meanwhile, the candy-colored film’s first-rate animation and plentiful physical humor — there’s a Lego banana that can’t stop slipping on itself — should keep kids drawn in.
The music bar is raised here, too. In addition to an amusing song about end credits that plays (duh) over the end credits, Haddish gets a couple of great numbers as the shape-shifting Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi. There’s also a weaponized pop anthem “Catchy Song,” the chorus of which taunts you with “This song’s gonna get stuck inside your head.” Yes, indeed.
Alison Brie, Nick Offerman and Charlie Day return as other character voices, while Will Ferrell again plays the work-obsessed dad. Maya Rudolph steps in as Mom, and immediately steps on a Lego brick, comparing the incident to the pain of childbirth.
On a less savory note, there’s an inherent sexism in theming most of Bianca’s toys in the purple-and-pink family, and the fact that she wants to have a “matrimonial ceremony” that includes some of Finn’s reluctant characters as guests. Still, writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller pay at least a little lip service to inequities, questioning why Emmet is the hero of this franchise when Wyldstyle’s the one who’s done “all the warrior stuff.”
Parents, be warned: One little girl left the theater chanting “This song’s gonna get stuck… this song’s gonna get stuck…”
Accept the inevitability that this will be your life for the near future, and just… let it go.