DVD Review: ‘The Lego Movie’ deserves its acclaim

The team of Phil Miller and Chris Lord have pulled off the coup of making two of year’s most entertaining films so far — “22 Jump Street” (released last month) and “The Lego Movie” (from February). The latter is out now in various home entertainment packages, and in many ways the film is better suited to home watching: The material is so packed with rapidfire jokes and references, some of which seem to fly by in under a second, that it takes multiple viewings to catch all of them. Did you notice the wall poster in the background in one scene for “Macho and the Nerd” (which, we are informed on the commentary track, is a translation of one of the foreign release titles)? No, I thought not.

The movie is not just one of the year’s two biggest blockbusters to date — more or less tied with “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” — it’s also one of its biggest critical hits, currently running at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Deservedly so.

We expect Will Arnett, playing Batman, to be funny; but less expected is how hilarious Liam Neeson (as Bad Cop, Good Cop, and Pa Cop) can be, given the chance. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum (as Green Lantern and Superman) amusingly reprise their relationship from the “Jump Street” movies. While these creative elements are what’s important, a shoutout is also due the legal geniuses who managed to get all the character and product clearances.

As with most computer-generated animation, the Blu-ray looks gorgeous. Aside from the funny and informative commentary — with the directors and cast members Arnett, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie, and Charlie Day — there’s about an hour’s worth of extras. None are bad; and a few — like Batman’s self-directed music video and a trailer for “Michelangelo and Lincoln: History Cops” — are wonderful.

The Lego Movie (Warner Brothers Home Entertainment, 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, $59.98; Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, $35.99; DVD 2-disc edition, $28.98)

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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).