9 Movies That Were Really Just Feature-Length Adverts In Disguise
7. The LEGO Movie
We havent seen The LEGO Movie, which wont hit cinemas for another month or so. But even with the finest purveyors of mainstream weirdness (theyve managed to make both Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street into zany successes) Chris Miller and Phil Lord at the helm, dont kid yourself into thinking this isnt marketing motivated. The film has 17 different building sets available, ranging in price from pocket money kits to $70/£60 playsets, including a range of sixteen individually bagged minifigures set to empty wallets with their collect-them-all mentality. Its an eye-watering amount of merchandise (all available for purchase online already) with so much variety it feels like every genre of toy is represented. Theres pirates, police, cowboys, an awful lot of robots and even a brightly pink Cloud Cuckoo Palace assumedly there to balance out the toys stereotypically male leaning. No doubt the film itself will be a good dose of fun and a refreshing case of non-cynical nostalgia, but be aware that every vehicle and set piece likely has a toy counterpart just waiting for kids to beg for.
