Pharrell praises Lego for film collaboration: “I'm not Batman”

Get our free weekly email with the latest cinema news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey

Get our The Life Cinematic email for free

Get our The Life Cinematic email for free

Pharrell Williams has praised Lego for agreeing to collaborate with him on his animated documentary piece by pieceHe said, “I’m not Batman.”

The 51-year-old musician announced earlier this year that he would make the unconventional film about his journey to becoming one of the world's most successful record producers after producing major international hits such as “Happy,” Robin Thicke's “Blurred Lines” and “Blurred Lines.” wrote Kelis' “Milkshake”.

Since the success of The Lego Movie In 2014, the toy company also released spin-offs The Lego Batman Movie in 2017 and The Lego Ninjago Movie in the same year.

Speaking in Hollywood before a preview screening of piece by pieceWilliams thanked Lego's head of global entertainment, Jill Wilfert, for agreeing to his idea to animate a documentary about his life in the bricks' distinctive style.

“I don’t want to make it too hard, but she said yes to the story of a black man from a marginalized community,” Williams said. “When I was young, this is my origin story.”

After the demonstration, Williams explained: “Lego could have said no. I'm Black, in case you haven't figured that out yet. But they said yes. I'm not Batman. This is not the intellectual property of Harry Potter. It's just me from Virginia. But they said yes.”

Open image in gallery

In the film, Williams is joined by a number of artists he has worked with over the years, including Snoog Dogg, Gwen Stefani and Busta Rhymes.

piece by piece The film is directed by Morgan Neville, best known for his 2013 film about background singers 20 feet from fame which won the Oscar for Best Documentary and the Grammy for Best Music Film.

A press release announcing the film said: “Pharrell was not interested in making a traditional film about his life, but rather set out to tell his story in a way that would allow the audience's imagination to run wild.”

“Developed from his unique vision, piece by piece defies genres and expectations and takes the audience into a Lego world where anything is possible.”

In a statement, Williams added: “When I had this crazy vision to tell this story with Lego bricks, I couldn't have imagined a better partner than Morgan. “He's a legend. I'm grateful that Focus wanted to work with us and it's an honor to share this with the world and bring people into my universe.

“Building with Lego bricks encourages us to follow our imagination. Who would have thought that playing with these toys as a child would turn into a movie about my life? It’s proof that anyone else can do it too.”

Neville said: “Five years ago, Pharrell Williams approached me with the idea of ​​helping him tell his story through Lego animation. It was one of those rare moments where I knew immediately that this was a journey I wanted to continue.”

piece by piece is due to be released on October 11th in the US and November 8th in the UK.

Williams isn't the only artist to find inspiration from Lego. In 2021, Ai Weiwei told The Independent: “I think Lego is no different from Rembrandt's color or Van Gogh's color. If they were alive today, they would love to play Legos.”