We’ve already seen a couple of musicians' life stories portrayed on the 2024 movie calendar, including Back to Black and One Love, but we’ve never seen anything like what’s coming with Piece by Piece. The upcoming music biopic tells the story of Pharrell Williams’ life and career through LEGO animation. Critics had the chance to see the movie ahead of its theatrical release, and it sounds like some are more “Happy” than others about what Pharrell and writer/director Morgan Neville have built.
In addition to the record producer and Morgan Neville adding their voices to their Lego characters, Piece by Piece will feature some of music’s biggest names, including Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliott, as well as artists who, like Pharrell, have been a coach on The Voice, like Snoop Dogg and Gwen Stefani. In CinemaBlend’s review of Piece by Piece, Sarah El-Mahmoud rates it 3 out of 5 stars, calling the movie playful but a little too plastic. She says:
Piece By Piece is definitely trying to do two things at once: be an exciting LEGO movie and intriguing documentary about the music industry through Pharrell’s eyes; but because those two things have a tendency to be disjointed from one another, both aspects never totally reach the astronomical heights it hopes to. Unfortunately, that leads Piece By Piece to lean further into gimmick territory than it probably intends to, especially as Pharrell attempts to bring the narrative together by saying something to the effect that 'life is like a LEGO set' early on.
Mark Kennedy of the AP gives the upcoming family friendly film 3 out of 4 stars, warning audiences not to get caught up on the “why” of it all, but to just submit to the story about the artist’s meteoric rise in the worlds of music and fashion. Colorful bricks paint these worlds, depicting Pharrell’s synesthesia, and it’s the filmmakers' use of Lego as water and music that are their crowning achievements. Kennedy continues:
Piece by Piece is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it’s a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it’s a bit of both.
William Bibbiani of The Wrap calls the biopic a “breath of fresh air” in the oversaturated genre. Designed with children in mind, Piece by Piece is an inspirational storybook, rather than your typical rags-to-riches tale that's often full of substance abuse and shouting matches. Bibbiani writes:
Piece by Piece doesn’t hit you like a ton of bricks. It’s mild-mannered with good intentions and amusing sight gags. But it’s that fact — its very existence as a musical biography that just wants the audience to be comforted and inspired — which makes it special. Morgan Neville may have made the latest in a long line of giant LEGO commercials, but he’s made one with real human decency and soul.
Siddhant Adlakha of IGN says realistically, a LEGO music documentary shouldn't work, but Morgan Neville’s transformative approach to the medium and its subject earn this movie a “Great” 8 out of 10. The critic says:
A strange idea comes to dazzling fruition in Piece by Piece, Morgan Neville's LEGO documentary about ‘Happy’ singer-songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams. While its flaws are rooted in what it avoids, its marriage of topic and form yields a blast of positivity in a way that perfectly suits its withholding subject, granting his interviews the kind of depth and creativity embodied by his music. While it avoids all thorny entanglements, it looks good and feels great, like any LEGO movie should.
Jesse Hassenger of AV Club gives it a C, writing that while there are clever touches, this LEGO project may not be mining the depths of creativity it thinks it is. Hassenger continues:
There are plenty of momentary visual distractions in Piece By Piece, and even some clever formal touches, like seeing computer-animated Lego scenes imitate the presence of handheld cameras. Williams himself never fails to seem like a nice, smart, creative guy. But the movie’s impressive roster of talent amounts to a few minutes apiece from various talking-head minifigs, and there’s just as much branding (are those characters rendered as Lego BrickHeadz?!) as invention. Shouldn’t a movie made of virtual Legos about an obsessive music producer have some touch of madness, however benign? Rather than blazing a new trail for Lego cartoons, this may be the first one to feel like it’s adhering too closely to its instruction booklet.
It remains to be seen if Piece by PIece will be considered one of the year’s best biopics, but so far it’s gotten a favorable 85% on Rotten Tomatoes’ tomatometer. If this LEGO extravaganza sounds like one you want to check out, you can find it in theaters starting Friday, October 11.
