In 2014, the LEGO Movie took the world by storm. Seeing a film made using one of the world’s biggest toys was mind blowing.

On Friday, October 11, 2024 Pharrell Williams released a biopic/comedy depicting his life in… wait for it… LEGOs! Directed by Morgan Neville and produced by Morgan and Pharrell Williams himself the film shows Pharrell’s whole life and love for music with a fun and unexpected twist. As Gen Z we saw Pharrell gain celebrity status growing up, with his hit song “Happy” and all of his other work for the Minions/Despicable Me franchise. Seeing this film reminded me of when I really learned his name, but what I didn’t know was how much more there was to his story. Since Pharrell has such unique music it seemed fitting to have a unique movie to go along with his music. 

When interviewed by MovieFone, Morgan Neville said, “Apparently, everybody he (Pharrell) told this to said, “That’s a terrible idea,” or “It’s a crazy idea. It’s an unattainable idea.” Fortunately, he was a big fan of my films, and he said, “I want Morgan to do it.” I met him, and the way he pitched me was, “It would be interesting if you made a documentary about my life, and when you were done with it, you threw out all the images and just replaced it with LEGO.” When he said that, I got excited.”

Ironically, such a successful idea being easily overlooked goes along with the film very well. 

The story was truly intriguing and even more so with the vibrant colors and LEGO animation. The movie also featured huge celebrities in their own LEGO form such as Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, and Justin Timberlake. (not to mention a cameo from Tyler The Creator!) 

Piece By Piece portrayed such relatable yet sad problems all of us face, but the film shows the audience that life does get better, and you do get happier. Something that Pharrell is very well known for being. I found it so refreshing to see that even someone as big as Pharrel went through struggles, and isn’t as picture-perfect as he seems.

Overall I think this is one of my favorite movies of 2024. The movie had enticing aspects and gave me such a refreshing feeling when walking out of the theater. It made me more interested in Pharrell’s music and I honestly wanted a sequel, even though I know that won’t happen. I highly recommend going to theaters and watching it yourself!