The highly anticipated sequel to the animated film arrives in theaters The Lego Movie (2014), success with audiences and critics inspired by the most famous assemblable bricks in the world. The Lego Movie 2: A New Adventure begins where the first film ended; Bricksburgers, led by Emmet "The Special" (Chris Pratt), after overthrowing the empire of the evil control freak Lord Business (Will Ferrell), must face a new threat: the Aliens of Planet DUPLO (version for smaller children than Danish toys), who have come to devour and destroy everything that the yellow inhabitants have built with so much effort.
Five years pass and the cheery town has become a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-style fortress now called Apocalypseburg, where all the citizens led by Lucy “Wyldestyle” (Elizabeth Banks) have become very tough and violent warriors. All except, of course, Emmett, who maintains his cheerful gait and purposeful attitude.
But when Lucy and her friends, including Batman (Will Arnett, in the European version voiced by Claudio Santamaria), are captured by the mysterious alien and shape-shifting queen Wello Ke Wuoglio (Watevra Wa Nabi in the original, whose voice is the comedian Tiffany Haddish) , the clumsy little yellow man will have to show all his courage aided by the unexpected encounter with the enigmatic and tough space cowboy, Rex Rischianto (once again Chris Pratt, here in an amalgamation of all the roles that have made him a pop icon).
The Lego Movie 2 continues exactly where the first movie left off, in which an interesting twist had elevated The Lego Movie from an enjoyable, commercial-tinged stop-motion adventure to an animated film about the power of imagination, the difficulties of growing up, and communication between father and son. Deprived of this twist-ending, the sequel is not as powerful as the original, however it retains what made the first film exceptional: an excellent soundtrack, an animation between stop-motion and digital extremely fluid and in perfect balance with live-action scenes, adorable characters, pop culture references and a grown-up nostalgia for the toys that have so marked our childhood and continue to be more popular than ever.
The script works carefully on its audience, balancing humor and dialogue more easily appreciated by smaller viewers with references, easter-eggs and jokes designed for adults, making the film enjoyable by both adults and children, even if children will surely find it difficult to appreciate all aspects of the story and references meta-cinematic.
