The Lego Movie has garnered positive reviews from people all over the ideological spectrum, which is unusual in an era when "everything is politicized." Why the widespread approval? "What really makes the film work is that it represents the highest form of capitalist expression," writes Noah Kristula-Green in the American Conservative. "It is a commercial" for Legos. And it's a good one, because its makers know how to target audiences' core beliefs. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
Near the end of the movie, we learn that a real-world 8-year-old boy is using Legos to play out disagreements with his father. While the dad wants to build sets according to strict rules, the boy wants to get more creative. Ultimately, the kid wins. Thus the movie appeals to kids' desire to play with toys while giving parents "a compelling value-proposition" for buying them. Its message: "Because your child will have fun and you can bond and avoid estrangement!" Kristula-Green writes. But "there is nothing in the final 20 minutes of the film that could not have been presented in one minute and 30 seconds." Click for the full column. (More Lego stories.)
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