Pharrell Williams’ Lego biopic praised by critics

A new film about the life of musician Pharrell Williams, told entirely using Lego, has made most critics happy, judging by early reviews.

Williams, who also produces the film, is known for hits such as Happy and for being one half of production duo the Neptunes, who worked on some of the biggest hits of the last two decades.

The new film, titled Piece by Piece, uses Lego bricks to predict Williams’s early life in Virginia through to his rise to fame.

After its world premiere at the Telluride film festival over the weekend, Deadline said the treatment “brings a freshness and originality to a docu format that makes it feel all new again”.

Telluride, in Colorado, is one of the major autumn festivals, along with Venice and Toronto, for launching potential Oscar contenders.

The film is likely to be considered for the best animated feature and best original song categories in particular – with Williams having recorded five new tracks for the soundtrack.

The film is directed by Morgan Neville, who was also behind the documentaries 20 Feet From Stardom and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Deadline’s Pete Hammond said: “Piece by Piece leaves you with hope and a whole bunch of songs you will not be able to get out of your head.

“Is it a documentary? A biopic? An animated movie? A musical? A character study? You bet – and more. Williams and Neville have taken it apart and put it all back together to perfection.”

The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye wrote: “If there is anyone for whom this wouldn’t be a completely strange and off-kilter idea, it’s Williams, whose career has been defined by a buoyant irreverence.

“But while inventive, Neville’s doc can’t quite avoid the trappings of the celebrity-produced biopic, and is expectedly marked by typical hagiographic evasiveness.”

The film will be released in the US on 11 October, and will receive its European premiere at the London Film Festival shortly after.

“Well-executed gags and fantastical visual flourishes make creative use of the Lego framing, proving it much more than an empty stunt,” said IndieWire’s Caleb Hammond in his review.

But, he added, the film could have benefitted from more insight into Williams’ Neptunes collaborator and fellow N*E*R*D bandmate Chad Hugo.

“One drawback to a strictly Williams’ centered film (one in which he also produces), is that his Neptunes partner Hugo is mostly relegated to the background.”

N*E*R*D were known for hits such as She Wants To Move, Lapdance and Rockstar.

Meanwhile, the Neptunes produced major hits including Drop It Like It’s Hot by Snoop Dogg, Caught Out There by Kelis, Hot In Herre by Nelly, I’m A Slave 4U by Britney Spears, Rock Your Body by Justin Timberlake and Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani.

Although some sequences in Piece By Piece “play out with whimsical fervor”, according to Entertainment Weekly’s Maureen Lee Lenker, “other segments would have been better served with archival footage”.

“I don’t want to see a Lego version of No Doubt or Justin Timberlake recording hit songs with Pharrell – show me the actual footage from the recording sessions!”

She continued: “It feels downright odd to watch something like Pharrell’s interview with Oprah recreated in Lego, rather than just seeing clips of the interview itself.

“The concept becomes completely tonally dissonant in the documentary’s more emotional moments – it’s hard to feel pathos for Williams’s monumental loss of his grandmother when you’re watching a Lego figure fall to its knees in front of a Lego doctor.”

However, J Don Birnam of Next Best Picture said: “With the help of a superb team of animators, Neville creates a wonderfully magical world that feels both real and impossible, subtly messaging that we can all fit into the construction of something greater with enough perseverance.”

The film is an “upbeat, feel-good experience”, according to Mark Johnson of Awards Daily, who said the film “captures Pharrell’s boundless creativity and imagination”.

“It’s a joyous, colorful portrayal of his rise from humble beginnings to musical stardom.”

Piece by Piece is also co-produced by The Lego Group, and comes a decade after The Lego Movie made almost $500m (£380m) at the box office. It was followed by a sequel and Batman and Ninjago spin-offs.