Pharrell Williams has been in the entertainment industry for decades. Being the hidden genius behind songs such as “Hot in Herre” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot” while finding his own fame through singles like “Happy,” Williams has made a name for himself that will last generations. What is his next step in building his legacy? The answer isn’t what you’d expect.
“Piece by Piece,” directed by Morgan Neville, stars Pharrell Williams as he tells his journey of becoming a record producer and hit singer, while showing how other musicians inspired his craft. Unlike most documentaries, the film takes a different approach to storytelling. Rather than the camera acting like a fly-on-the-wall, the film uses Lego animation to convey the visuals.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first documentary to utilize the animation medium. 2021’s “Flee” tells the story of an Afghan refugee escaping his country through 2D, hand-drawn animation. The film received three Oscar nominations at the 2022 Academy Awards, and it was the first film to be nominated for Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary and Best International Feature simultaneously. The success of the film inspired other aspiring filmmakers to use the medium to innovate a story, and Neville capitalized on this with outstanding results.
The standout of “Piece by Piece” is easily the animation. Not only is the film beautifully animated, but it plays a significant role in delving into the mind of Williams. Williams’ depiction of life and music is incredibly colorful with limitless creativity, which is exactly what the Lego brand represents. Legos are meant to bring out the creativity in everyone, and Neville pushes that idea to its fullest potential.
The Lego style not only contributes to the ideas of the movie, but adds an excellent number of humorous moments. Whether that is Snoop Dogg being portrayed by an actual dog, or the “PG spray” used in substitution of smoke, the film carries an intelligent sense of humor from start to finish, which made the runtime fly by.
Movies like “Deadpool and Wolverine” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” have received backlash for using cameos to carry a story. “Piece by Piece” runs into this same potential territory due to the vast number of famous musicians who make cameos, but the film’s usage of celebrities holds a strong relation to the film’s purpose. Rather than serving for appearance sake, the celebrities add depth in elaborating on Williams’ growth as a person and how he boosted the careers of many iconic musicians.
Animated films always go unappreciated for their editing, and “Piece by Piece” may be the next film to fall under this category. The quick-cut editing makes for a breezy experience and quick pace for the film, somehow covering a lifetime of information in a 93-minute runtime. With Legos being the centerpiece for the storytelling, it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of the passage of time. Luckily, the film uses a linear narrative structure, making the passage of time much more easily digestible.
While I loved what the editing brought to the tone and pace, there are moments where it deteriorated the emotional moments of the film. Because the film is covering so much of Williams’ background, it doesn’t spend a lot of time on specific moments in his life, which made it hard to get emotionally invested in what was going on. The film was entertaining throughout, but I wish I found myself empathizing with Williams past the point of simply understanding his love for music.
Though I loved seeing Williams’ journey to becoming the person he is, I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed by the story progression. The film makes it abundantly clear how music makes him feel, but the film lacked compelling conflicts. Most of Williams’ obstacles are aspects that most musicians suffer through (artistic control, “making it in the industry”), which gave the film less originality. If the film focused on the singular obstacles that Williams faced instead of the common issues of the music industry, I feel the narrative would have been much stronger.
The idea of a Lego documentary centered on a global superstar left me perplexed, but I am happy to report that it is actually a relentlessly entertaining experience that explores Williams’ life through color and passion. Like the concept, the film shows Williams’ consistent efforts in trying to change the game and bring something new to the world. Even though I found issues in the script, the filmmaking makes it worth a watch.
Trevor Stucker (he/him) is a junior majoring in Applied Film and Journalism. This is his third year writing for The Campus Citizen.
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