‘Piece By Piece’ Review: Pharrell Williams Nails It in Legoland Biopic

2024 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for music biopics. Sure, it had a rocky start with the standard One Love and the frustrating Back to Black. But then summer brought us the rebellious Kneecap, feeling like a Guy Ritchie crime flick. And the Toronto International Film Festival wowed us with Better Man, where Robbie Williams is a dancing monkey, and Piece by Piece, a Lego movie about Pharrell Williams.

Better Man goes all in with the warts-and-all approach, while Piece by Piece is an inspirational animated biopic suitable for all ages. Initially met with mixed reviews, this movie won me over with its playful and glossy style.

Piece by Piece turns hip-hop stars into minifigs, with a visual flair that includes turning Snoop Dog into a Lego Doberman. Using metaphors like bakeries and mind-blowing music, the film brings a sense of fun that fans of The Lego Movie will appreciate.

Pharrell Williams opens up about his childhood and his journey in Piece by Piece, giving us a whimsical tale that kids will love. It’s a story about staying true to yourself and building your dreams, one brick at a time.

While the film indulges in nostalgia by recreating music videos with minifigs, it can feel a bit repetitive with all the name-dropping. And when it comes to the low points in Williams’ career, Piece by Piece doesn’t delve deep enough.

Overall, Piece by Piece is a fun and imaginative take on a music biopic, even if it can’t fully commit to exploring the challenges in Williams’ career.

Pharrell Williams Gets Animated in “Piece By Piece”

Here the film suffers. Even with the mask of the minifig, Williams can’t let his audience into the dark moments. (On the other hand, this is where Better Man positively thrives.) Swiftly, Williams has reconnected with his pure inspiration, and the third act becomes a rousing celebration of song, dance, and Lego bits humorous and heartfelt. But this fumbled beat undercuts the movie’s message. Being true to yourself isn’t a one-time battle; it’s ongoing. But with a community — like the minifig friends and family in Piece By Piece — one might get their block knocked off and still rebuild.

A Colorful Concept with Pharrell Williams

Even with help from an on-screen avatar, can Williams not admit the ugly truths of his own story? Or did he and Neville fear self-doubt in anything but the briefest mention might bring down the joy of their movie? To that, I’d point to the other Lego movies, where the Lego universe and Lego Gotham are brought to the brink of utter destruction without us losing faith in their minifig heroes. Heck, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part even made the dark side of its happy hero the minifig villain!

This wobble aside, Piece By Piece is a winsome reinvention of the music biopic. Animation is enthusiastically employed to bring the audience into the experience of being Pharrell Williams. The colorful blocks not only allow the construction of musical beats to become a physical act rather than an abstract idea, but also give a Ratatouille- like understanding of how this art form affects its hero. His synesthesia is showcased in waves of color as the beat bounces.

While this colorful concept means Piece By Piece can be a hit with kids, it’s easy to wish the movie dared to delve a bit more into the problems of being a grown-up. But all in all, Piece By Piece is a delight that could well have audiences dancing in the aisles.