History WesternAnimation / TheLEGOMovie

* CapitalismIsBad: This trope is played with. [[CorruptCorporateExecutive President/Lord Business]], whose name by itself invokes this trope, has several posters/screens emphasizing obeying President Business (particularly buying products made by his company), as well as the surprising suppression of creativity, or then at least [[ThePerfectionist his standards of perfection]]. The city of which Emmet is a resident of are portrayed as [[WorkingClassPeopleAreMorons sheeple]] [[BreadAndCircuses who blindly accept such a plutocratic society]], which would be consistent with Socialist and other anti-capitalist propaganda. However, it is actually {{invoked}} [[spoiler: in-universe by Finn, of which Mr. Business is an {{Expy}} of his father (AKA The Man Upstairs) and is a criticism of the latter stifling the former's creativity due to conflicting with Finn's father's perfectionist ideals]].

** A more obvious example is perhaps [[spoiler:The Man Upstairs, AKA Finn's dad, realizing [[GoneHorriblyRight how well his "KEEP OUT" parenting has worked]].]]

* SeriousBusiness: Deconstructed big time. [[spoiler:The father, AKA "The Man Upstairs", is like many [[TruthInTelevision adult collectors of toys and other like items]]. LEGO are meant to be played with and enjoyed, but The Man Upstairs treats them like museum pieces. It's only after his HeelRealization and seeing his son's unique creations that he realizes how he's been sucking the fun out of the hobby.]]

** A more obvious example is perhaps [[spoiler:The Man Upstairs, AKA Finn's dad, realizing [[GoneHorriblyRight how well his "KEEP OUT" parenting has worked].]]

* NotHowImDyingDeclaration: As the submarine used to escape Bad Cop's assault on Cloud Cuckoo Land begins to fall apart and fill up with water, Batman declares "This is not how Batman dies.".

** Additionally, [[FreezeFrameBonus one of [=MetalBeard=]'s rules of the sea is "Never release a kraken."]]

** Bad Cop can be heard humming "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ra," referencing Neeson's Irish heritage; at one point he sings "O Danny Boy".

** TheProphecy, originally describing [[TheChosenOne The Special]] as "the most important, most talented, most interesting, and most extraordinary person in the universe," [[spoiler:is used by Emmet and presumably Finn to describe Lord Business, a.k.a. "The Man Upstairs", and is instrumental in his HeelFaceTurn.]]

* LovecraftLite: [[spoiler:No matter what, the heroes are always controlled by Finn and "The Man Upstairs," and even the final exchange between Emmet and Lord Business is meant to mirror Finn talking with his father. Luckily, "The Man Upstairs" is an ObliviouslyEvil [[HumansAreCthulhu ordinary human]], and Finn manages to reason with him.]]

*** Emmet also sounds like the Hebrew word "''emet''," which means "truth," and was the word written on the Golem of Prague's forehead to bring it to life. [[spoiler:Like the golem, Emmet is an inanimate humanoid who comes to life.]]

* PostModernism: By the WordOfGod, [[http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-sneaks-lego-movie-20140112,0,3498521.story#axzz2qFdH85jA "My dream is to have terrible undergraduate term papers written about the movie."]]

* TakeOurWordForIt: After hearing Emmet's protests that he's not the Special, Bad Cop states sarcastically: "Yeah, I believe you," with his fingers making air quotes. Except he has to say he's making air quotes with his fingers because, like all mini-figures, he has no fingers.

!This page contains unmarked spoilers. [[{{Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned}} You Have Been Warned!]]

* ObliviouslyEvil: Finn's father.

* OffWithHisHead: This proves to be an effective means of killing LEGO figurines when Lord Business chops Vitruvius' head with a coin.

** When Finn is told that -- since his dad is more permissive about him playing with the LEGO sets -- his sister will also get free rein. Subsequently, this also occurs when his sister's Duplo creations land in the LEGO world.
--->'''Duplo:''' ''[toddler girl voice]'' We are from the planet Duplo, and we are here to destroy you.\\
'''Emmet:''' Oh, man. ''[cut to credits]''

** Ominous chanting also occurs during a MundaneMadeAwesome moment: Finn's father tearing apart his son's creations and destroying the people's rebellion.

* OneJokeFakeShow: Emmet's (and all of Bricksburg's) favorite show is ''Where are my pants?'' which consists entirely of a husband in his underwear walking into the show and asking the title in an overwrought way.

* OrderVersusChaos: Lord Business is all order ("Use the Instructions"), the Master Builders are all chaos ("Just be Creative"), and Emmet ends up somewhere in between. In the broader sense, Lord Business wanting to glue everything together (representing Finn's Dad) is "Total Order" and Emmet and the Master Builders being Creative (representing Finn) are more in the middle, and going by the Stinger, the aliens that just want to destroy everything (representing Finn's younger sister) are "Total Chaos".

* PlummetPerspective: The Piece of Resistance is seen falling in this way, into the Infinite Abyss of Nothingness.
* PlotTwist: Quite a bigger one than you would expect from this movie, so much so that the post-premiere commercials stress that you should not reveal the ending: The entire movie was quite possibly, the construct of a young boy's imagination as he played with his father's ridiculously large LEGO set that he built exactly according to the instructions. The conflict between Emmet and Lord Business is a metaphor for the boy's troubled relationship with his father; he just wants to be creative, while his dad wants to build everything precisely.

* ThePollyanna: [=UniKitty=]. Even after her homeland is destroyed and her friends are captured, she still tries to remain positive. [[BreakTheCutie Until she finally cracks]] at the climax and unleashes her rage.
-->'''[=UniKitty=]:''' I must. Stay. Positive! ''[heavy breathing]'' Bubblegum! ''[more breathing]'' Butterflies!... cotton candy?
* PopStarComposer: Mark Mothersbaugh, although he's a bit of a borderline example; most famous as a lead member of Music/{{Devo}}, he's worked on everything from TV shows and video games before as well as movies.

* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: President Business can throw a penny as if it were Captain America's shield, as Vitruvius learns the hard way.

%%* RapidFireComedy

* RealityWarper: Very downplayed, but Master Builders like Wyldstyle can build a functioning motorcycle out of building parts and random junk found in an alleyway. Justified, since after all, everything is ''literally'' BuiltWithLego.

* RecruitTheMuggles: Near the climax, Wyldstyle takes over the TV station to broadcast to the whole world, motivating them to start building their own creations to fight back against Lord Business' plan to freeze everybody.

* TheReveal: "Finn, what are you doing down here in my study?" Doubles as a WhamShot.
* RhymesOnADime: Vitruvius made up the prophecy, which means he made up all those rhymes on the fly. He even claimed it's true "because it rhymes".

** The Duplo aliens at the end also qualify.
* RidiculouslyFastConstruction: Master Builders build things ''really fast.'' Batman defeats Bad Cop's flyer by rearranging it mid-air to a baby carriage. Wyldstyle builds so fast she can build a car in the middle of a chase sequence while she's running through a barn, or rebuild a motorcycle into a jet while it's still rolling. Even newbie builder Emmet gains this ability by the end of the film. Benny, when he ''finally'' gets to build his beloved ''SPACESHIP!'', rips the TV studio apart so fast he's a barely visible, insanely giggling blur as the pieces flurry together almost of their own accord.
* RisingWaterRisingTension: The heroes escape from the overrun Cloud Cuckoo Land in a hastily built submarine. As they ponder their options, the wizard Vitruvius wonders why his feet feel wet. It turns out the submarine is leaking badly, and LEGO-water is pouring in. Batman, immersed to his chin, snarls "This is not how Batman dies". Wyldstyle is heard ordering "Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" moments before the doomed craft explodes.

* RousseauWasRight: Emmet convinces Lord Business (alternatively, Finn convinces his father) that he doesn't have to be the bad guy, triggering Lord Business/The Man Upstairs' HeelFaceTurn.

** The destruction of Cloud Cuckoo Land, originated by an unintended mistake of Emmet.
** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in regards to The Man Upstairs ripping apart Finn's creations; we don't actually see it happen on screen. ''And thank God for that.''

** The new villains that show up at the end are made of LEGO Duplo Bricks, a brand of toddler-based LEGO that many LEGO fans openly despise.

* SelfFulfillingProphecy: Vitruvius even states at the beginning "All this is true ''because'' it rhymes". Bonus points for it having been made up on the spot.
* SequelHook: The movie ends with Emmett's sister's creations invading the world. The [[WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart sequel]] starts where this movie leaves off, showing the SugarApocalypse happen.
* SeriousBusiness: Deconstructed big time. The father, AKA "The Man Upstairs", is like many [[TruthInTelevision adult collectors of toys and other like items]]. LEGO are meant to be played with and enjoyed, but The Man Upstairs treats them like museum pieces. It's only after his HeelRealization and seeing his son's unique creations that he realizes how he's been sucking the fun out of the hobby.

** You can see mold lines, casting imperfections, stress marks and other "real-world" characteristics on the CGI minifigs. And when the lighting allows it, you can even see fingerprint residue on the minifigs' torsos that Finn would have left from playing with them IRL.

* StepfordSmiler: [=UniKitty=]. In fact, the explosive backlash of her absolute repression of anything negative with a creepily cheery disposition ends up turning into a something of a ChekhovsSkill.

** There are a few instances, most notably Vitruvius as a ghost, which is literally a figurine with a ghost blanket piece on a string, and the separation of Lord Business's fortress, which goes from a dramatic event to a crude stop-motion-esque animation with one-man sound effects. TheReveal means that this was probably intentional. Interestingly enough, Ghost Vitruvius was entirely CG; not a live-action minifigure pasted into the movie. That's some impressive work right there.

** Cloud Cuckoo Land is burned down and crashes into the ocean.
** Implied by the Duplo invasion.

* TechnicianVersusPerformer: The central conflict, Lord Business, The Man Upstairs and initially Emmet are technicians who seek to build according to the instructions, whereas the master builders and Finn are performers who want to build their own things.

** The Bad Cop/Good Cop [[Toys/LegoMinifigures blind bag minifigure]] has Good Cop's hand-drawn face, instead of his original face.

** One of the promotional photos that Creator/WarnerBros released prominently shows Ghost Vitruvius.
** The Special Edition DVD box shows the group shot at the very end of the film... with Ghost Vitruvius in it.
** Early press releases mentioned a lead character named Lucy. Those who watched the film having read those articles were not one bit surprised that the mystery name belonged to Wyldstyle, as her pseudonym was not used in early news for the film.

** "I Am a Master Builder", the track that plays during Emmet's return to the LEGO world, is this for Emmet's leitmotif -- showing how TheChosenZero has become TheChosenOne.
* {{Troperiffic}}: "SaveTheWorld", "TheChosenZero", "ActionGirl", "CrapsaccharineWorld"; this movie has ''a lot'' of tropes that have been done before in previous classic stories. Justified because it's all the daydream of a kid playing with his toys, and he's basing it off of stories that he's seen before.

* UnstoppableRage: In the climax, [=UniKitty=] tries to stay positive, but eventually decides to let her rage loose. It's equal parts terrifying and awesome to see her go berserk and eat up an entire legion of EliteMooks.
* UntitledTitle: The name of Batman's song is "Untitled Self-Portrait".

* WalkingSpoiler: Talking about the significance of "The Man Upstairs" or the person that Emmet thought of in his mind (Finn) is a sure-fire way to reveal the movie's big plot twist.
* {{Wangst}}: [[invoked]]PlayedForLaughs in regards to the song that Batman wrote for Wyldstyle -- it features lyrics almost entirely composed of variants of the word "darkness", but the song loses steam when he notes being really rich actually helps.

* WeirdnessCensor: Both ways. Finn's dad doesn't notice Emmet's minifigure struggling to move under his own power, though he comes close a few times. Inversely, when Finn's dad personally starts taking apart his son's creations, the minifigures just see it as being swarmed by Micromanager robots.
* WhamShot: Basically ''everything that happens'' once Emmet as a normal ''non-talking'' minfig wakes up in a '''real-world basement''' in the third act will have this effect. Some of the prominent ones:

** All of the LEGO lands we see are perfectly made on tables with signs saying not to touch... except Cloud Cuckoo Land, which is on a small round table off in the corner.

* TheWholeWorldIsWatching: Near the conclusion, Wyldstyle is able to broadcast her RousingSpeech to the entire world by hijacking the recording of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Where Are My Pants?]]''

* WorldOfHam: [[EvilIsHammy The villains especially]], but the heroes are either exaggerated by default (Batman, [=MetalBeard=]) or have manic moments of ChewingTheScenery ("SPACESHIP!"). Given it's all a child's fantasy, perfectly justifiable.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Vitruvius' advice to Emmet, who doesn't believe he's really The Special. Also, Wyldstyle does this to the entire LEGO universe once Lord Business starts using the Kragle, encouraging them to use their own talents to make weapons to fight back against Lord Business.

* YouCantThwartStageOne: The heroes' infiltration of Lord Business' tower to destroy the Kragle once and for all ends in disaster, and Lord Business escapes to unleash his weapon on Emmet's city.

* MagicRealism: [[spoiler:It's never really explained why Emmet's still semi-sentient in the real world, despite the whole film being Finn playing with a LEGO set. One interpretation is it's a Calvin and Hobbes-like merging of different viewpoints of reality--so Emmet's not totally imaginary, he just is as far as The Man Upstairs is concerned. Alternatively, one could think of it as a Toy Story-type situation: even though the toys aren't moving, [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory2 they feel alive]] [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory3 because that's how the child sees them]]. Or, there are literally two separate worlds that run parallel to each other, with whatever happens in one world affecting what happens in the other.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Wyldstyle, to an extent, though it can be argued that Emmet is a Stable Regular Dream Guy for ''her''...]]

* MadeOfExplodium: Anything that either crashes or falls will tend to explode (into LEGO flames, of course). At one point, even ''horses'' explode. Justified when it turns out to be a child's imaginary playtime, and he is using the RuleOfCool.

* MagicRealism: It's never really explained why Emmet's still semi-sentient in the real world, despite the whole film being Finn playing with a LEGO set. One interpretation is it's a Calvin and Hobbes-like merging of different viewpoints of reality--so Emmet's not totally imaginary, he just is as far as The Man Upstairs is concerned. Alternatively, one could think of it as a Toy Story-type situation: even though the toys aren't moving, [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory2 they feel alive]] [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory3 because that's how the child sees them]]. Or, there are literally two separate worlds that run parallel to each other, with whatever happens in one world affecting what happens in the other.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Wyldstyle, to an extent, though it can be argued that Emmet is a Stable Regular Dream Guy for ''her''...

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: See {{AlLEGOry Adventure}} above. In particular, there is the scene where Emmet moves himself after entering the Real World.

* MeaningfulEcho: Emmet putting two 1x3 pieces together was played as a joke considering the context. A child is seen doing this again near the climax... but it's inspiring instead because it's a result of Wyldstyle inspiring the citizens to rise up.

*** Emmet also sounds like the Hebrew word "''emet''," which means "truth," and was the word written on the Golem of Prague's forehead to bring it to life. Like the golem, Emmet is an inanimate humanoid who comes to life.

* MediumBlending: A mixture of CGI and StopMotion animation (used for the elaborate end titles) to achieve the feel of internet Brick films. Followed by some live-action by the third act, as well as some fanmade stop-motion.

--->'''Wyldstyle:''' Today will not be known as Taco Tuesday. Today will be known as Freedom Friday! ''[{{beat}}]'' But still on a Tuesday!

* MickeyMousing: On close-ups of Emmet in the cockpit of his HumongousMecha during the climactic last act, the rocking from the mecha's footsteps is in time with the beat of his {{leitmotif}}'s triumphant reprise.

* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Bad Cop, after President Business [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness has no more need of him]].

* MovingAngst: {{Implied}}. Pieces of Cloud Cuckoo Land can be seen in a box labeled Cloud Bros. Movers, indicating that Finn's family had to move at one point. Given that the events of the movie are a metaphor for Finn's life, [=UniKitty=]'s sadness over watching Cloud Cuckoo Land getting destroyed may represent how Finn felt moving away from his old home.

* MusicalSpoiler: A song on the soundtrack is titled "Requiem for Cuckooland."

** It's easy to miss. Emmet's look from the submarine window during Cloud Cuckoo Land's destruction suggests this being that it was the tracking device that doomed it. He comforts [=UniKitty=] because he doesn't know what else to do.
** A more obvious example is perhaps The Man Upstairs, AKA Finn's dad, realizing [[GoneHorriblyRight how well his "KEEP OUT" parenting has worked]].
-->'''The Man Upstairs:''' So... [[HeelRealization President Business is the bad guy]]?

** Toward the end, when Wyldstyle chooses Emmet over Batman, Batman says, "[[Film/TheDarkKnight He's the hero you deserve.]]"

* NestedStoryReveal: After Emmet falls down from Lord Businesses' headquarters, he finds himself in [[RealLife the real world]], and we learn the whole story is made up by a kid playing with his dad's LEGO. Though it's still [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane implied]] that it might not all be just the kid's imagination, as Emmet manages to move himself in the real world too.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Lord Business and Emmet both reveal that nobody had even called them special or made them feel important. And it's actually the hero that invokes this on the villain here, when Emmet tells Lord Business that he can also be creative and special.

* AnAesop:
** Creativity shouldn't be stifled.
** Everybody has the potential to be really awesome and special, but when we are special as a ''team,'' that's when the truly amazing things happen.
** Being anti-mainstream doesn't make you superior.
** It's great to be creative and unique, but you still need to be able to follow instructions and work with others when necessary.
** All creativity must come from a source. Therefore, ''pure'' creativity is metaphysically impossible; it's always based off something someone else has done. So there's no shame in taking inspiration.
** And from the ending [[spoiler: just because you're a super powerful corporate production entity that owns everything people like, "you don't have to be the bad guy." Companies don't need to be so defensive of their IP that they become bitter and aggressive towards fans which try to build upon them and twist them in new ways. The fandom brings additional value to the table and all of it is in celebration of what the original creators have made, we can all be on the same team when it comes to media appreciation even under capitalism.]]

* EarlyInstalmentCharacterDesignDifference: In this movie, Batman’s utility belt is printed onto his torso, like the Batman minifigures from Lego’s releases. In later instalments, the belt is its own piece that slots between his torso and legs.

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Emmet at the start of the film. It turns out that his entire body is standard LEGO yellow.
** Also true in-universe, as ''Where Are My Pants?'' is an extremely popular sitcom.

* HeroicBSOD: Twice in the film -- when Emmet first realizes how the rest of the world views him as just an NPC without any identifying characteristics thus initiating the plot of the film, [[and at the end when he thinks he's not TheChosenOne.]]

* LastSecondJokeProblem: [[spoiler:The film ends with [[spoiler:Lord Business doing a HeelFaceTurn while The Man Upstairs learns to be a better father]]. Everything is great in the world of LEGO... and then suddenly Duplo blocks show up and declare war. Roll credits. This retroactively became a SequelHook in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart'', where the Duplo invasion is what causes the conflict of the film.]]

** Wyldstyle also tells the ordinary LEGO citizens to rebuild the world around them to stop the mass Kragle invasion, for "freedom Friday, but still on a Tuesday". This buys the citizens enough time for Finn to return Emmet to the LEGO world.
* HeelFaceTurn: Let's just say pretty much every "villain" in the film from Lord/President/Dad Business to Bad Cop/Good Cop gets a turn around by the end. Bad Cop/Good Cop's is ''literal'' in a bizarre way.
* HeelRealization: Lord/President Business has one upon Emmet's speech -- and more importantly, Dad has one when he sees that Finn modeled Lord/President Business after him and realizes that he's seriously losing his son's respect.

** The evil Lord Business notably has an enormous one which he loses in the lead up to his HeelFaceTurn.

* HereWeGoAgain: At the end, as Emmet celebrates with his friends, alien Duplo beings beam down and announce their plans to destroy the universe, thanks to Finn's father allowing the boy's younger sister to join them in playing with his LEGO sets.
* HeroicBSOD: Twice in the film -- when Emmet first realizes how the rest of the world views him as just an NPC without any identifying characteristics thus initiating the plot of the film and at the end when he thinks he's not TheChosenOne.
* HeroicSacrifice: After recovering from his second HeroicBSOD, Emmet throws himself out of Lord Business' tower, taking the 9-volt battery that powers the Think Tank and its zapping termination feature with him.
* HeroicWillpower: Emmet wills himself to move while trapped in the real world as an inanimate LEGO figure.
* TheHerosJourney: What Emmet's story is. Particularly, his final confrontation with Lord Business, which itself mirrors Finn's confrontation with his dad, has some heavy "Atonement with the Father" vibes.

* {{Hipster}}: Vitruvius says that he liked Emmet before it was cool.

* HolyBacklight: The Man Upstairs makes his appearance this way, as he comes down the stairs.

** The only glimpse we get of humans are various artifacts kept by Lord Business such as the Kragle (Krazy Glue) and the Cloak of Ban'Daeed (a Band-Aid). Vitruvius earlier makes reference to "The Man Upstairs", who is seemingly the god of the LEGO universe. Then Emmet himself personally encounters his builders after falling out of the LEGO world, which turn out to be a human kid named Finn and his father.

* HumongousMecha: Emmet builds one of these for himself during the finale.

* IFellForHours: When Emmet [[HeroicSacrifice throws himself out of the window in Lord Business' office]], we see him falling initially, then the action cuts away to the rest of the characters. It is a very long time before we rejoin Emmet, who is ''still'' falling. He eventually lands in the real world.
* IHaveManyNames: Wyldstyle has been through several names. Her real one's Lucy.

** TheProphecy, originally describing [[TheChosenOne The Special]] as "the most important, most talented, most interesting, and most extraordinary person in the universe," is used by Emmet and presumably Finn to describe Lord Business, a.k.a. "The Man Upstairs", and is instrumental in his HeelFaceTurn.

* ItsUpToYou: Finn tells Emmet this before sending him back to the LEGO world.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Batman steps down so that Wyldstyle can be with Emmet.

* KeystoneArmy: Capping the Kragle not only blows open Lord Business' SupervillainLair, but causes the Micromanagers to shut down. Then again, it's possible that what shut the Micromanagers down was the destruction of the lair.
* KillerRabbit: [=UniKitty=] has a dark side buried underneath her cute demeanor (as revealed in her introduction to Cloud Cuckoo Land)... which becomes a ChekhovsGun in the film's climax when she turns it loose on Lord Business's Micromanagers.

* LastSecondJokeProblem: The film ends with [[spoiler:Lord Business doing a HeelFaceTurn while The Man Upstairs learns to be a better father]]. Everything is great in the world of LEGO... and then suddenly Duplo blocks show up and declare war. Roll credits. This retroactively became a SequelHook in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart'', where the Duplo invasion is what causes the conflict of the film.

* LeitmotifUponDeath: Vitruvius'/the Prophecy's leitmotif plays when Vitruvius gets decapitated by Lord Business.

* LivingToys: A strange combination of [[SlidingScaleOfLivingToys Level 4]] (fully alive toy), Level 2 (masquerade), Level 0 (immobile) and Level 5 (so lifelike viewers forget) depending on how you interpret the film.

* LosingYourHead: [=MetalBeard=] survived the first assault on Lord Business's tower with just his head. Sadly, it was different for Vitruvius, who could only speak a few words before dying after being beheaded by a penny.
* LovecraftLite: No matter what, the heroes are always controlled by Finn and "The Man Upstairs," and even the final exchange between Emmet and Lord Business is meant to mirror Finn talking with his father. Luckily, "The Man Upstairs" is an ObliviouslyEvil [[HumansAreCthulhu ordinary human]], and Finn manages to reason with him.

* EarthAllAlong: Sort of. The "Kragle", Lord Business's unstoppable weapon, is "Krazyglue" with letters missing. The thing is, the entire LEGO world is a literal construct of Finn, a young boy, who is caught playing with his father's LEGO buildings. Thus the entire film is a metaphor for the clash between their play styles (Unless of course the LEGO world is an alternate reality, though the underlying message still applies). Or alternately, Earth influences the LEGO World to the Real World but the LEGO World can do the same to Earth. Since while the protagonists seem to be heavily influenced by Finn's actions at his father's LEGO set, Emmet still possesses a consciousness and is even able to move independently of Finn or his father.

* EasilyForgiven: President/Lord Business, who is turned with a single speech from Emmet. Possibly justified, since he's based on Finn's father.

* EliteMooks: The Micromanagers are ''much'' more competent than Skeletrons and actually get the heroes in tight spots many times. Even post-Master Builder Emmet can't handle them, requiring a rescue by [=UniKitty=].

* FlatWhat: The last word on the live-action side:

'''Finn:''' Wut.

** Lord Business, once he's captured the heroes, forces Emmet to watch as Bricksburg is Kragled at least until the countdown finishes and they're all killed by the battery.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Both Emmet and Lord Business started off completely un-special. Lord Business handled it by becoming a tyrant, while Emmet went the hero's route. Later, all the citizens of Bricksburg put their long-dormant creativity to use and built incredible machines to defend their town.

* GenreShift: In the last half hour or so, the movie shifts from a dramatization of a child's playtime with his dad's LEGO to a parental bonding story.

* GoodCopBadCop: One of the villains is named Bad Cop/Good Cop; his personality is based on this routine.

* CelebrityParadox: Some minifigs featured in the movie, such as Wyldstyle and Good Cop/Bad Cop, didn't exist prior to this movie being made, as the tie-in toys were made based on this movie. Which means The Man Upstairs bought LEGO sets based on the movie he's in.

* ChariotPulledByCats: In the final battle, Emmet's Crazy Cat Lady neighbor Mrs. Scratchen-Post can be seen driving a chariot pulled by her herd of cats.

** ''[[ShowWithinAShow Where Are My Pants?]]'' is an extremely popular television show. Wyldstyle later hijacks a broadcast to show all of Emmet's deeds to get everyone to rally up and to unlock their imagination.

* ChekhovsSkill: Emmet's talent for convincing motivational speeches, displayed first with the Master Builders and then on [=MetalBeard=]'s ship, not only inspires Wyldstyle to make one of her own but also serves as Lord/President Business's motivation for his HeelFaceTurn.
* ChildProdigy: Finn, to a great extent. He not only has complete control over the LEGO world -- albeit unknowingly -- but has managed to turn an ordinary cardboard tube into a fully functioning portal between the two worlds. Plus, the many LEGO creations he's made are on the level of ''professional'' LEGO builders. And he's only eight and a half. Kid's got talent.
* TheChosenMany: Emmet ultimately tells Lord Business that he's ''also'' the Special because he has the creative potential to change the world for the better. This also happens to all the regular minifigs throughout all the realms after Wyldstyle has her epiphany and mobilizes them against Lord Business. The skies are filled to the brim with their off-the-wall constructions too weird even for Master Builders to have made, all putting up a spirited fight against the Micromanagers.
* TheChosenOne: Emmet is mistaken as this, known as "The Special". The reality is that he ''is'' this -- not because of the prophecy (which was made up to begin with), but because he found the PlotDevice that could stop the Kragle.

* ControlFreak: President Business. Not only has he separated everything to be exactly perfectly organized, he plans to superglue everything together. Finn's dad is also this by extension, since President Business is Finn's representation of him.

* CosmicHorrorStory: No seriously, you read that right. ''The LEGO Movie'' [[TheEndingChangesEverything turned out to be this all along after]] TheReveal which is that all of the events of the story until this point had been a human boy named Finn's imagination as he played with his father's LEGO collection without permission. Said father, known to the LEGO characters as The Man Upstairs, and whom the BigBad is just a loose Expy of, wasn't letting his son play with the LEGO the way they were intended and wanted to [[AndIMustScream glue his creations together so they couldn't be disturbed.]]

* CrazyCatLady: Mrs. Scratchen-Post, who owns over a dozen cats, all with different names. At the climax of the film, she builds a giant sled pulled by them.

* CumbersomeClaws: Since nearly all the LEGO mini figures have pincer-like hands, Bad Cop when making sarcastic AirQuotes has to verbally explain that's what he's doing since otherwise it just looks like he's waving his hands in the air.

* DareToBeBadass: In the climax, Wyldstyle encourages all the citizens to embrace their creativity and fight back.
* DarkestHour: All the Master Builders are captured and are put in the Think Tanks, Vitruvius is dead, and Lord Business escapes and unleashes Kragle everywhere with no-one able to stop him.

** Of the concept of TheChosenOne. The movie pokes fun at the lack of sense within the overall concept, and what damage this responsibility would have on a normal person, as well as the people around them. [[TheLancer Wyldstyle]] and [[BigBad Lord Business]] both express wounded hearts due to not being "special" like the chosen one, and Vitruvius evidently reveals there ''ISN'T'' a chosen one, he just said so to give people hope. [[{{Reconstruction}} But]] being put in the role of TheChosenOne makes Emmet [[BecomingTheMask actually become]] a hero, in the end, and teach that everyone is TheChosenMany. Of course, he technically ''is'' TheChosenOne in the sense that Finn considers him to be the hero, so it goes both ways.

** After TheReveal, the movie can be seen as a satire on the current state of Hollywood. "The Man Upstairs" is so convinced that he's built the perfect LEGO world that he refuses to let his son express his creativity by building new things and letting new characters flourish. Finn ultimately wins him over by showing him how fun it really is to experiment and try new things.

** The real world segment seems awfully similar to an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', in which the main character whose name is also Finn, obtains magical toys of all his friends, unknownst to him he was actually manipulating an alternate reality where these toys lived as real people and he was pretty much an invisible deity.
* DoNotSpoilThisEnding: A TV spot for the movie says "Don't miss [the movie], and don't give away the ending." Especially the part where it's revealed that the LEGO universe is actually the creation of the real world and the story is just part of a kid's imagination as he plays.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: PlayedForLaughs when the ''Millennium Falcon'' is unceremoniously eaten by the giant slug monster from ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and then never seen again.

* EleventhHourSuperpower: After his brush with Finn and The Man Upstairs, Emmet becomes a Master Builder, acquires the AwesomenessByAnalysis on the identity of every brick he lays eyes on (like with [=WyldStyle=] and the super-motorcycle), and throws together a HumongousMecha out of construction machines in seconds flat, and begins smashing up Micromanagers.

* ActionGirl: Wyldstyle and Princess [=UniKitty=] at the very end.

*** And he's no stranger to [[Film/{{Elf}} building elaborate cityscapes out of LEGO]] either.

** Just like in ''Film/WeddingCrashers'', Will Ferrell is mentioned as an unseen special character (here, as The Man Upstairs) who is finally revealed at the end, emerging from a shadowy stairway.

* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: Emmet talking to Lord Business in the finale and convincing him to do a HeelFaceTurn is kept in the Junior Novel and Video Game, but the context for why (The Man Upstairs making amends with his son after realizing Lord Business is modeled after him) isn't. Interestingly, the video game keeps the PlotTwist from the film, but still removes almost everything about The Man Upstairs, instead just having Finn find Emmet, and then abruptly send him back.

* AerithAndBob: Wyldstyle and Emmet. Subverted, when we find out Wyldstyle's real name is Lucy.

* AffectionateParody: The movie frequently (though not completely) parodies summer blockbuster movies. The fact that everything's BuiltWithLego helps, as even the most spectacular explosions and overloaded action sequences end up becoming sillier as a result. Especially the scene with the real-life kid, which Emmet views as an AttackOfThe50FootWhatever.

* AllegoryAdventure: The movie notably toys with this trope. The entire plot of the film is presented InUniverse as a metaphor for Finn's playtime in his dad's study, which explains why the ancient "relics" of human artifacts can appear alongside LEGO bricks. However, Emmet, complete with mental voiceover, is able to consciously move himself in this world, albeit with great difficulty. It's left to the viewer's interpretation whether or not the whole movie took place in Finn's head, or if the world of LEGO is its own universe that Finn and Dad can just manipulate.

* AlternateUniverse: The LEGO World to the Real World. While the events of the film and actions of the protagonists seem to be heavily influenced by Finn's actions at his father's LEGO set, Emmet still possesses his own thoughts when he falls into the Real World, and even wills himself to move at one point, independent of Finn or his father. The two worlds are separate, but apparently run parallel to each other, with whatever happens in the Real World affecting what happens in the LEGO world. The inverse also appears to be true, as Finn's father realizes his son's work when Emmet points it out to President Business.

** Emmet gets hit with this when he's transformed into an inanimate LEGO minifig in the real world.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: "We are fwom the pwanet Duplo, and we awe hewe to... destwoy you!" Cue OhCrap and credits.

* ArchnemesisDad: "The Man Upstairs" is this to Finn, who scolds him for playing with his figures and universe, as well as puts up "Do Not Touch" signs in his basement.

** Lord Business's obsession with keeping everything "how it is supposed to be." His words are then mimicked exactly by The Man Upstairs as he begins to glue the sets together.
** "Now it's your turn to be the hero." Finn says that to Emmet during his vision, and Emmet says it to Wyldstyle before his HeroicSacrifice.

* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: The mineral spirits The Man Upstairs uses to un-Kragle the LEGO universe at the end would almost certainly remove the paint used to give minifigs their faces and clothing details, in the same way Lord Business uses nail polish remover to remove Bad Cop's "Good" face. We can safely assume that, being a LEGO connoisseur, he was probably careful with the stuff.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Emmet did, and gets to see the big picture before being sent back.

* AuthorFilibuster: Directly invoked in the story itself. When discovering his kid's creations and the climactic confrontation between Emmet and Lord Business, Finn's dad asks him to tell him what Emmet would say to the villain. Cut back to the LEGO world, where Emmet gives his speech asking Business to change his mind.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Tying into OrderVersusChaos, it directly opposes BoringButPractical in this world. The things made by the Master Builders are very creative but often unstable as each MB does their own thing while building; by contrast, the things made by President Business are dull and drab but work perfectly. It represents the difference between Finn's creativity and his dad's perfectionism. When Emmet unlocks his Master Builder powers, the HumongousMecha he makes out of construction vehicles is awesome, looking like something off-the-wall that a Master Builder would make but hardy and powerful enough literally to smash through a swarm of Micromanagers like a wrecking ball.

** While Finn is pleased his father will finally allow him to play with the giant LEGO sets, for the sake of being fair, he will also allow Finn's younger sister to play, too. Cue the MASSIVE OhCrap from both Finn ''and'' Emmet and company, especially when his sister's creatures appear as aliens invading Bricksburg, in some form of SugarApocalypse.

* BecomingTheMask: Emmet, even after he realizes that the Prophecy was completely made up, he ends up becoming the hero.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: [=UniKitty=] becomes pretty badass in the film's climax, destroying a series of Micromanagers by eating them and ramming into them with her horn.

* BigNo: From Wyldstyle, first when Lord Business throws the Piece into the abyss, and then when Emmet rolls himself and plunges out the window into the abyss. Even funnier is that they recycled the first audio clip for the second instance.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[MentorOccupationalHazard Vitruvius]]. In fact, he's the ''only'' character that dies in the whole movie, not counting the robots (and one pig that explodes into hotdogs). He does come back as a ghost, though.

* TheBlank: President Business rubs off Good Cop's face so Bad Cop won't be hindered by his morality. Luckily, Bad Cop later crudely restores it with a marker upon his HeelFaceTurn.
* BloodlessCarnage: They're LEGO minifigs, so things that would gore a human just result in G-rated AmusingInjuries. Most notable of these is Vitruvius, who is ''decapitated'' and ''dies'', but it's [[MoodWhiplash quite funny]]. And it [[DeathIsCheap doesn't last long, either]].

* BoringButPractical: Tying into OrderVersusChaos, it directly opposes AwesomeButImpractical in this world. The things made by the Master Builders are very creative but often unstable as each MB does their own thing while building; by contrast, the things made by President Business are dull and drab but work perfectly. It represents the difference between Finn's creativity and his dad's perfectionism. When Emmet unlocks his Master Builder powers, the HumongousMecha he makes out of construction vehicles is awesome, looking like something off-the-wall that a Master Builder would make but hardy and powerful enough literally to smash through a swarm of Micromanagers like a wrecking ball.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: After we see Emmet fall into the great big Hole of Nothingness, the next place he shows is on the concrete floor of someone's basement, in the real world. From there, frozen, Emmet watches as a little kid plays with him and his friends in a rather fantastic style, and we see the entire movie has been the product of this kid's imagination (supplying logic to the weirder plot points of the movie preceding this moment). The movie uses this continuing exchange between animation and live action to give the audience the experience of playing with LEGO.

** When outlining his plan to defeat the Kragle, Emmet notices that Vitruvius has added an extra slide showing the Kragle and Emmet exploding. When Emmet protests, Vitruvius responds that there's a ''small'' chance that the Kragle might explode upon connecting to the Piece of Resistance. Later, when Lord Business takes the Piece, Emmet jokingly warns that it and the Kragle might explode. Sure enough, it ''does'' explode a few seconds after being united... because Lord Business put it back into the machine, which promptly malfunctioned with the capped Kragle.
** A more subtle (and literal) one: when Wyldstyle first tells Emmet to try building something, his first instinct is to combine two useless bricks and throw it at the cop cars. Later, during Wyldstyle's rousing speech, a Bricksburg citizen combines two similar pieces with the same enthusiasm as Emmet had earlier.

** Lord Business says there will be a celebration for Taco Tuesday. The city is later attacked by robot TAKOS. At the end of the film, The Man Upstairs tells Finn that it's Taco Tuesday for dinner.

* BuiltWithLego: Not only are the characters LEGO minifigures and everything around them is built out of LEGO blocks, but things like liquids, smoke, fire, lasers, ''[[ExaggeratedTrope explosions]]'', and even the motion blur are all made of LEGO pieces. The only things that aren't are the occasional [[HumansAreCthulhu "relics"]]. And the humans in the live-action sequence, of course.

* BrokenAesop: Finn may have convinced his father to have fun with LEGO, but he's none too happy his little sister -- who uses Duplo sets -- is going to be invited to play with them.

* CheekCopy: A pair of RobotMooks try to photocopy their butts. Unfortunately for them, the copier is actually [=MetalBeard=] in disguise.

A [[TheChosenOne special one]], with face of yellow\\
Will make the [[ClingyMacGuffin Piece of Resistance]] found\\

This Master Builder will thwart [[ArtifactOfDoom the Kragle]] and save the realm\\

All of this is true... [[PropheciesRhymeAllTheTime because it rhymes]].''
-->-- '''[[EccentricMentor Vitruvius]]'''

[[BuiltWithLego In a universe made entirely out of LEGO bricks]], Emmet Brickowski (Creator/ChrisPratt) is a perfectly normal, regular old construction worker who lives every day of his life happy and upbeat, [[TheEveryman always making sure to follow the instructions]]. One day, he crosses paths with a strange figure by the name of [[ActionGirl Wyldstyle]] (Creator/ElizabethBanks), and awakens with a mysterious red object attached to his back. It turns out he's in possession of the legendary Piece of Resistance, which [[TheChosenOne an individual known as "the Special" was foretold to find and save the universe with]].

Unfortunately, this makes Emmet the target of [[BigBad Lord Business]] (Creator/WillFerrell), the CEO of the monopolistic [[MegaCorp Octan Corporation]] who plans to destroy the universe using an immensely powerful weapon that can only be stopped by the Piece of Resistance. Our hero realizes he's in way over his head, and thus seeks help from the old, wise scatterbrain known as Vitruvius (Creator/MorganFreeman), as well as many other Master Builders, people with the power to disassemble and reassemble their surroundings to create anything they imagine.

Unfortunately, this makes Emmet the target of Lord Business (Creator/WillFerrell), the CEO of the monopolistic [[MegaCorp Octan Corporation]] who plans to destroy the universe using an immensely powerful weapon that can only be stopped by the Piece of Resistance. Our hero realizes he's in way over his head, and thus seeks help from the old, wise scatterbrain known as Vitruvius (Creator/MorganFreeman), as well as many other Master Builders, people with the power to disassemble and reassemble their surroundings to create anything they imagine.