On October 11th, the Pharrell Williams Lego documentary Piece by Piece was released. This film follows Pharrell Williams and numerous other artists, producers, and people in his life as they discuss his legacy. The unique aspect? It is all displayed in Lego form.
Piece by Piece was directed by Morgan Neville, a filmmaker who specializes in documentaries. One of his most notable films was Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, a documentary that examined the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, a.k.a. Mister Rogers from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The film was distributed by Focus Features, a production company that is a division of Universal Pictures.
What stood out the most was the amount of artists and managers that were present in Lego form. Some of these include Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliot, Pusha T, Gwen Stafani, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay-Z. Also featured was production partner and best friend to Williams, Chad Hugo, long-time producer and cousin to Pharrell, Timbaland, and former *NSYNC member Justin Timberlake. This lineup doesn’t even cover most of the people in the film.
When it came to promotion, most of these artists mentioned previously also promoted the documentary through their social media. Williams even released a Lego set that coincided with the release of the film. This set features a rocket ship with a collection of Lego heads of all the people/characters that appear in the movie.
Williams has said that the reason he wanted the film in Lego form was because building Lego is similar to how he makes music. He uses bits and pieces of music to make a brand-new creation, similar to Lego. This unique style of documentary provides something fresh and new to theaters.
In the past, most movies that were made in Lego form were mostly narrative. Some of these films include The Lego Movie, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, The Lego Batman Movie, and The
Lego Ninjago Movie. Piece by Piece is the first cinematic Lego documentary. Piece by Piece uses excellent Lego fun and music and combines it with an interesting story about the life of Pharrell Williams, who is a pioneer in the Hip-Hop and music industry. While this is not the first cinematic Lego movie, it will surely be remembered for its entertaining plot and caliber of major artists.
