A LEGO Brickumentary Parent Guide

Believe it or not, the LEGO Company was headed for trouble in 2003. The annual report shows net sales fell by 26 percent and play material sales declined by 29 percent. In the U.S., sales dropped by approximately 35 percent. Describing the year as “unsatisfactory” in the annual report may have been overly generous.

Fortunately for LEGO fans, the company has rebounded after refocusing their vision and addressing what one employee called an “arrogant” attitude. The financially successful release of the 2014 animated film The LEGO Movie likely didn’t hurt either. (The film helped raise sales of LEGO by 13 percent to $4.3 billion worldwide.) Now the fictional film some critics lambasted as an extended commercial is being followed up with more of an infomercial.

A LEGO Brickumentary begins with a short animated history of the building blocks designed by Danish toy maker Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1932. Ole suffered not one, but several fires in his wooden toy factory that forced him to rebuild and refine the direction of his company. Eventually he decided to forgo wooden toys and focus solely on his plastic bricks. Over the years the company improved the material it used as well as the “clutch” factor of the pieces. (Anyone who has ever bought a Lego knock-off knows how important that “clutch” factor is in building.)

Initially designed to be a child’s toy, LEGO has developed a huge adult following. And AFOLs (Adult Fan of LEGO) are the main focus of this film. Singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran, NBA player Dwight Howard and New York-based artist Nathan Sawaya are just three of the “tall kids” highlighted in this documentary. It also explores how LEGO bricks have moved beyond their role as toys to become tools in the hands of NASA scientists, city planners, university professors and doctors treating Autism.

However the most interesting aspect of this production may be the culture that has mushroomed around these simple, plastic blocks. From conventions and contests to online groups and stop motion animation, LEGO fans are finding ways to come together and share their ideas. And it is these innovators that have helped spark a healthy resurgence in the company’s sales.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.