Piece By Piece: The Story of Pharrell, in LEGO Form

Piece By Piece is a multi-hyphenate film (comedy-biography-documentary-animation-LEGO wonderland…) masterminded by the multi-hyphenate artist Pharrell Williams (musician-producer-record label founder-singer-fashion designer…). 

Produced in collaboration with LEGO, the creators used the distinctive form of the beloved toy blocks to explore Pharrell's life and artistic ventures. What I feel sets this film apart as a piece of biographical story-telling however is how the use of LEGO animations allows the viewer to see the world as Pharrell experienced it. 

For example, one of the most intriguing scenes in the film sees Pharrell recall early experiences of synaesthesia. Playing his parents' records and hearing music isn't just an exciting listening experience for him, but something he experiences visually too - Pharrell describes experiencing music as waves of complementary colours that wash over him. This is deftly depicted within Piece By Piece by animated waves and patterns of colourful LEGO bricks, their undulations matching the beat of the tracks. Communicating this personal experience would have been far more challenging for Pharrell in a standard biographical film format, as the playful designs of the LEGO allow the film to reflect a more personal, internal ‘reality’. 

This film was a reminder that the very best brand collaborations take the distinctive elements of designs, creative works, or even artists themselves, and create  something better than the sum of their parts (or bricks).