Piece by Piece Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Piece by Piece Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker December 12, 2024

Part biopic, part LEGO® movie, and all Pharrell Williams, 'Piece by Piece' makes its Blu-ray debut courtesy of Universal. In this first-of-its-kind feature film from Director Morgan Neville, viewers can trace the life and career of musician and cultural icon Pharrell Williams through the freeing and imaginative perspective of LEGO® animation all the way from his childhood through his rise to fame and leading up to the present day. A host of well-known musicians appear throughout the feature to share their thoughts and remembrances including Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Busta Rhymes, and more, all of whom are likewise rendered in LEGO® form. The release boasts solid technical merits, though the supplemental material is very light. Both a slipcover and a digital code redeemable through Movies Anywhere are included. Subtitles are available.

Whether or not you knew who was singing, writing, or producing, it would be extremely difficult to navigate through the modern world without having heard at least one song that 13-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams had a hand in. Originally from Virginia Beach, Williams has worked with a veritable who's who of the top pop and rap acts including Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Gwen Stefani, and Kendrick Lamar, just to name a few. Songs like Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" for which Willaims supplied the vocals was inescapable in 2014 and it persists as an instantly recognizable earworm a decade later. But it's perhaps his own song, "Happy", from the following year that blasted him into the global consciousness, with fans from all over the world expressing what the song meant to them and going so far as to craft their own videos for the track. As one would expect, his overnight success took years, from his humble beginnings playing music with friends from school, to getting fired from hourly jobs in youth, and his attempts to break into the industry, before finally achieving success in music and other ventures. This is the fairly traditional tale that Piece by Piece tells.

But in the instance of Piece by Piece, it's not the story but rather how it's told that holds the most interest with its title being about as on- the-nose as it could be without going just an inch farther and substituting the word "brick" for "piece". Though the video games with their short but entertaining cut scenes have been around for far longer, it wasn't until 2014 that The LEGO Movie arrived on the scene with its unique and playful animation style. In the animated world of LEGO®, anything is possible, with every element of the world being able to assemble and/or disassemble one brick at time before the viewers' eyes. Hostile environments like outer space or the deepest depths of the ocean are instantly and easily explorable and the laws of physics are repealed, supplanted by anything and everything that can be imagined.

And for Piece by Piece it works perfectly, as is made evident from the picture's opening minutes. Williams, it seems, has a neurological condition known as synesthesia which causes him to see colors when listening to music. This sensation is effectively and brilliantly brought to life with the cascades of colorful bricks that reshape Williams' world as he listens to Stevie Wonder's albums in his youth. The use of LEGO® makes the experience as innocent, wondrous, and transformative as it no doubt was for him. As the film progresses through the years, the LEGO® format also benefits the film in other ways. Primarily, LEGO® allows for the recreation of events that are no doubt lost to time. But through the use of LEGO®, it is possible, for instance, to travel back and witness Williams performing with his friends at a high school talent show, he can be seen fighting literal waves of negativism, criticism, and doubt when his career reaches an impasse, and he can acknowledge the spirit of a loved one as the film draws to a close and he revisits his childhood home. While the same could be accomplished with more traditional animation styles, none seem quite as fitting for an artist who has never quite fit a specific mold.

The whimsicality and dazzling riot of color that are part and parcel of LEGO® movies are also a saving grace for Piece by Piece. While it at times can feel like a substantial disconnect from the colorful and flamboyant characters that typically inhabit LEGO® films, most of those who lend their voices to the picture are rather relaxed and casually conversational in their recollections, opinions, and retelling of events. Even those who rank among some of the most engaging and energetic performers of our time can be almost too relaxed during their segments. Interestingly, Williams' wife Helen Lasichanh is one who breaks the mold and is an animated and commanding "voice actor" in the film, and her moments are far too brief. The rapper N.O.R.E. and Sony Music Publishing CEO Jon Platt also inject a fair amount of energy and punch into their scenes. But it's in what would normally be these "talking head" moments that the LEGO® animation style grabs and maintains the viewer's attention in a way that those speaking cannot: scenes are built and disintegrate; beats take on a color, personality, and life of their own; and snippets of history, no matter how brief, unfold. The connective tissue of each scene is typical LEGO® magic. Eye candy of the highest order, instantly endearing, and fully capable of being singularly captivating without the need for dialogue. It's an beautiful and entrancing tale that is likely best appreciated by those that live at the intersection of LEGO® fan and Pharrell Williams fan in the Venn diagram of life.

Piece by Piece Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As is the case with the LEGO® shorts and films that have come before it, Piece by Piece provides neverending opportunities for primaries to pop, and they do so ceaselessly. Yellows, blues, and reds leap off the screen whether part of a character's wardrobe or the environment. The animated lines that denote characters' eyes and mouths as they speak, squint, or blink are universally clean and sharp. Image depth is solid, aided by very satisfying blacks which are deep and inky without crushing. Shading on the LEGO® avatars of the people in Williams' story and in the world they populate is done excellently, without banding. Even though the bulk of the people and objects on display in Piece by Piece are smooth, as is the case with most LEGO® pieces, there are moments when texture is added to walls on building exteriors, clothing, hair, floors (such as in Chad's attic studio, and various props. Pieces can even sometimes display nicks and wear along their edges simulating the notion that they have been assembled and disassembled numerous times. High gloss surfaces like bottles and elevator doors are suitably and realistically reflective. It's a very strong 1080p transfer.

Piece by Piece Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio track is tasked with two primary chores: handling dialogue and reproducing music. It accomplishes both very well. Dialogue is almost exclusively located front and center as is appropriate for a film of this type. It's properly prioritized and is clear, clean, and understandable. Even when the music is the dominant presence, as is often the case, never a word is missed. The real star here, however, is the music, and the surrounds are leveraged to support it frequently and often. The first opportunity to appreciate the precision and fidelity of how music is rendered comes early, as a Stevie Wonder track fills the sound field when Williams recounts his love of listening to the artist over and over in his youth and experiencing synesthesia for the first time. Later, Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" provides a few moments to appreciate sharp horn flourishes, and later her group's (No Doubt) "Hella Good" allows percussion to take the forefront, coupled with crisp guitar work and throbbing synths. As is necessary for most of the songs that he produced, performed, or that influenced him, bass is of critical importance. Here the track once again does not disappoint, and the thumping bass adds depth and power when it is called upon to do so. Sound effects are also accurate and include delicately clicking LEGO® pieces as scenery and objects magically assemble themselves, car wheels, closing doors, and the fantastic and room-rumbling moment when Future Records lands in Virginia Beach. Directionality is precise, and objects including jets, birds, and flying LEGO® pieces move realistically from front to back and side to side. The track is frequently immersive, and one of the track's most playfully enveloping moments recounts the iterative process of crafting Snoop Dogg's "Drop it Like it's Hot" in the studio and then following it to the stage at the Staples Center in its finished form. It's a great track.

Piece by Piece Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only extra included is a very brief piece entitled "Building the Story" which allows Pharrell Williams and Director Morgan Neville a few minutes to share some quick comments on the origin and intent of the project (3.13) without having the time to go into meaningful detail. In the overall scheme of things, this seems to be a missed opportunity. An audio commentary from Williams and Neville would have been most welcome to allow the pair to comment on the included moments, decisions about what to cut, and so on. Full-length LEGO® music videos for some select songs included would also have been an excellent addition. Likewise, including a Pharrell Williams LEGO® Minifigure would have been an excellent add and is in keeping with LEGO® movie releases of the past. Instead, the one short promo spot is all that there is.

Piece by Piece Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While not the first LEGO® movie, Piece by Piece does have the unique distinction of being the first LEGO® biography/documentary/rockumentary. Director Morgan Neville makes great use of the medium leveraging the ubiquitous bricks to bring viewers into the past and view Williams' origins, his successes and failures, while bringing music, the creative process, and abstract thoughts to life. Like Williams, it's a project that doesn't fit well into any one mold. While it's unfortunate that the film wasn't granted a 4K UHD release resplendent with a Dolby Atmos track, what is here from a 1080p video and audio perspective is quite pleasing. Despite the aesthetic, fans of the host of LEGO® video games, features, and shorts that have come before should approach Piece by Piece with caution as it is not exactly in line with those projects. But for those who love the LEGO® style of animation and also happen to be die-hard Pharrell Williams fans, Piece by Piece comes recommended.