“ every thing is AWesoMe.” spreAdibilit y And THE LEGO MOVIE
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models that subtend it, I need first, briefly, to synopsize the plot. The LEGO
Movie recounts, in 3D animation, the story of Emmet Brickowski (Chris
Pratt), a completely ordinary LEGO minifigure who celebrates his mundane
life as a cog in the wheels of industry by singing about the awesomeness
of performing repetitive tasks in a faceless workforce. Emmet is, however,
unaware of a nasty plan being hatched by the evil, obsessive-compulsive
President (aka Lord) Business (Will Ferrell), Tyrant of Bricksburg and the
LEGO Universe, as well as Company President of the Octan Corporation.
Along with his Micro-Managers, President Business plans to freeze the
LEGO universe permanently on a deceptively celebratory day, which he has
declared “Taco Tuesday.” At that time, all of the figures in Bricksburg will
be forever cemented in place with “Kragle,” a superweapon that is actually
a tube of Krazy Glue on which the “z,” the “y,” and the “u” have worn off.
So, although President Business tells his employees that on Taco Tuesday
everyone will get a free snack and his love, the viewer is made privy to the
knowledge that Taco is really spelled T.A.K.O.S.; wherein “the ‘s’ is silent”;
and wherein the letters stand for “Tentacle Arm Kragle Outside Sprayer,”
hence what actually awaits the minifigures is being set permanently in
place, rather than a Mexican treat.
As the story unfolds, Emmet discovers Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), an
appropriately named female minifigure, nosing around on his construction
site. Having been instructed by his employer to report “anything weird”
immediately, Emmet goes to investigate and falls into a hole where the
missing cap to the Kragle is located. This cap, known to freedom fighters
as the “Piece of Resistance” and the only thing that can prevent President
Business’s plan to “end the world on Taco Tuesday,” becomes stuck to Emmet’s
back. 2 His contact with the glue cap causes Emmet to hallucinate and, when
he regains consciousness, Emmet finds himself in the custody of President
Business’ bipolar henchman, Lieutenant Bad Cop/Good Cop (Liam Neeson).
Emmet is then rescued by Wyldstyle, who takes him on a journey through
various LEGO playsets on the way to meeting Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman),
a wizard who has prophesized that a person to be known as “the Special”
will find the Piece of Resistance and put an end to President Business’
dastardly plot. Therefore, with Vitruvius’ recognition of the über-ordinary
2 While the notion of a “Piece of Resistance” might conjure up thoughts of Foucault in the
minds of many, it is also one of the clever plays on words and languages in the film. Hence, “Piece
of Resistance” is a play on “pièce de résistance,” just as “nail pol-EESH” and “Q-TYYPE” – two
more of President Business’ secret weapons – are Gallicized versions of “nail polish” and “Q-Tip.”
I read this wordplay in the film as part and parcel of the kind of recombinatory, trans-everything
dynamic that informs The LEGO Movie, in this case at the level of the signifier.
177
models that subtend it, I need first, briefly, to synopsize the plot. The LEGO
Movie recounts, in 3D animation, the story of Emmet Brickowski (Chris
Pratt), a completely ordinary LEGO minifigure who celebrates his mundane
life as a cog in the wheels of industry by singing about the awesomeness
of performing repetitive tasks in a faceless workforce. Emmet is, however,
unaware of a nasty plan being hatched by the evil, obsessive-compulsive
President (aka Lord) Business (Will Ferrell), Tyrant of Bricksburg and the
LEGO Universe, as well as Company President of the Octan Corporation.
Along with his Micro-Managers, President Business plans to freeze the
LEGO universe permanently on a deceptively celebratory day, which he has
declared “Taco Tuesday.” At that time, all of the figures in Bricksburg will
be forever cemented in place with “Kragle,” a superweapon that is actually
a tube of Krazy Glue on which the “z,” the “y,” and the “u” have worn off.
So, although President Business tells his employees that on Taco Tuesday
everyone will get a free snack and his love, the viewer is made privy to the
knowledge that Taco is really spelled T.A.K.O.S.; wherein “the ‘s’ is silent”;
and wherein the letters stand for “Tentacle Arm Kragle Outside Sprayer,”
hence what actually awaits the minifigures is being set permanently in
place, rather than a Mexican treat.
As the story unfolds, Emmet discovers Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), an
appropriately named female minifigure, nosing around on his construction
site. Having been instructed by his employer to report “anything weird”
immediately, Emmet goes to investigate and falls into a hole where the
missing cap to the Kragle is located. This cap, known to freedom fighters
as the “Piece of Resistance” and the only thing that can prevent President
Business’s plan to “end the world on Taco Tuesday,” becomes stuck to Emmet’s
back. 2 His contact with the glue cap causes Emmet to hallucinate and, when
he regains consciousness, Emmet finds himself in the custody of President
Business’ bipolar henchman, Lieutenant Bad Cop/Good Cop (Liam Neeson).
Emmet is then rescued by Wyldstyle, who takes him on a journey through
various LEGO playsets on the way to meeting Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman),
a wizard who has prophesized that a person to be known as “the Special”
will find the Piece of Resistance and put an end to President Business’
dastardly plot. Therefore, with Vitruvius’ recognition of the über-ordinary
2 While the notion of a “Piece of Resistance” might conjure up thoughts of Foucault in the
minds of many, it is also one of the clever plays on words and languages in the film. Hence, “Piece
of Resistance” is a play on “pièce de résistance,” just as “nail pol-EESH” and “Q-TYYPE” – two
more of President Business’ secret weapons – are Gallicized versions of “nail polish” and “Q-Tip.”
I read this wordplay in the film as part and parcel of the kind of recombinatory, trans-everything
dynamic that informs The LEGO Movie, in this case at the level of the signifier.