In Piece By Piece, the audience dives into the mind of one of the most colorful and impactful musical figures of the 21st century, as his life’s story is told through Lego animation.
Pharrell Williams has always been known for going against the grain and finding new ways to innovate, so it should come as no surprise that a film covering his life and extensive career would also be a unique and unseen experience.
Animated biographical pictures and documentaries are already rare but Piece by Piece takes things a step further by being the first documentary in Lego animation.
Some may view this stylistic choice as gimmicky and it is to a degree, but there are elements of this film that are enhanced by its visual style.
Xavier Marshall, a sophomore at N.C. A&T, expressed his love for the creative choices made in Piece by Piece.
“I love Pharrell stepping out the box and doing a LEGO biopic instead of a regular live action one, and it’s even cooler to see someone of our color and from Virginia especially, working with a major company like LEGO on a movie,” Marshall said.
In this film, music feels almost like a living entity due to how it is portrayed through the animation. The expressions that we see in people when they are listening to music and the way blocks are used to represent sound is something that could not be conveyed in a live-action documentary.
The first act of this film covers Pharrell’s journey to his first record deal and it feels like the film really takes its time portraying this section of Pharrell’s life. Learning about the bond that formed between him and Chad Hugo leading up to the inception of The Neptunes was so interesting and it really felt like the film was trying to form a narrative with Pharrell’s life.
In the film, there is a point in the story where Pharrell and The Neptunes have become national and international stars and the film shows the audience iconic music videos and moments recreated in this Lego art style, but it felt like that was all the film had left to offer.
What started out as an interesting documentary about this notable figure quickly turned into an uninspired trip down memory lane that lacked substance. In acts two and three we get brief glimpses of the depth that was present in the first act but the film never truly returns those heights again.
Big fans of Pharrell will most likely have a ball with this film because it has everything that they would probably want and that is not a bad thing. Pharrell’s story is inspiring and hearing his peers talk about his impact on them and hip-hop as a whole was engrossing.
While the Lego aspect of this film is refreshing and groundbreaking, it feels like the film expects its visual style to carry the viewer’s engagement.
While Piece by Piece is a one of a kind documentary in terms of visuals, its storytelling is something that viewers have likely experienced before and have probably seen done better.
