Pharrell Williams is known to some as a musical genius. He has produced the beats of classic songs such as “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar and “Pink + White” by Frank Ocean. Williams also has a classic catalog of his own consisting of songs like “Happy,” “Double Life,” and “Frontin.” So, director Morgan Neville saw this as a perfect opportunity to make a biopic on the juggernaut of hip-hop, releasing “Piece by Piece” on Oct. 11.

“Piece by Piece” follows Williams from his childhood in Virginia to his success as a hit producer and singer, while also changing the fashion industry. The movie guest stars many of Williams’ collaborators such as Snoop Dogg, JAY-Z, and Pusha T. The twist that makes this movie interesting is that it is animated completely in the style of Lego.

Plot

From people who have never heard of Williams, to even casual fans of his music, this biopic is a story that can not be prepared for going into it. The story of Williams is an interesting one. Many different eras of Williams’s life are depicted in this film. From his era with The Neptunes to producing for JAY-Z, to making hits for the “Despicable Me” franchise, “Piece by Piece” has it all.

The way that this story is told is through interviews. It is not like other biopics where actors are cast to play the main character, Williams and others all played themselves. But, all of the audio in this film was recorded interviews, and the animators told the story of the interview, whether it was a flashback in Williams’s life or in the interviewing room. Sometimes there were voiceovers on scenes in the past where the animation showed the story, while the interviewee told the story how they remembered it. This was interesting because it was almost as though this film was a bunch of animated interviews compiled together to tell one big story.

The least interesting part of this story is the conflict that Williams faces. There is a time in his life when he does not feel as though he is still nearly as successful as in his early career and the way the movie portrayed it was boring. The conflict only happens for about three minutes and is resolved through a glorified pep talk. This was the only conflict that stands out in the film, which makes the conflict as a whole feel not super strong when it comes to talking about “Piece by Piece”. 

Style

Williams’s choice to have his biopic made with Lego was certainly an interesting choice. How many movies are out there animated with Lego? A very select few. So, having a biopic, a completely true story, made by Lego is new territory.

Williams very wisely chose the style used to make “Piece by Piece.” Lego was the medium chosen to tell this story, not the theme. It did not stay completely light-hearted like “The Lego Movie” starring Chris Pratt. There were Black Lives Matter protests in this film. It showed struggle. But it was all crucial to telling Williams’s story.

Telling the story of Williams with Lego was one of the best ideas that nobody has ever done before. Using Lego allowed the studio to use thematic elements much better than a live-action biopic could have done. In the film, Williams’ beats for music that he produces are shown as Lego blocks that light up colorfully. This could not have been possible if done in live-action, and it added to the quality of the film because it showed how exciting and creative Williams is, and how much his collaborators valued that. Just being able to use simple things like color to express emotion amped up the quality of this film and made it engaging.

Some scenes in this film felt as though they were crucial to the overall character of Williams, but were very symbolic scenes. One scene depicted Williams in space, and another showed a bunch of fish singing. All done through Lego, which gave the film a flowy feeling. Nothing felt out of place because it was done through animation and Lego, so having silly scenes like fish singing did not feel out of place. It allowed the director to show the audience how Williams envisions his feelings rather than telling and verbally symbolizing, which was nice.

Guest Stars

Many friends and family of Williams were featured in this film. Hip-hop legends such as Snoop Dogg and JAY Z were interviewed, as well as newer artists like Kendrick Lamar and family such as Williams’ father, Pharoah. There was even a cameo by a well-known artist who briefly played the role of a teacher.

Friends such as Lamar did not even know that they would be turned into Legos for the film, as reported by Variety. This added authenticity to the interviews because when asked questions, everyone interviewed felt like they were doing it to add to the story of Williams, not just to be featured in the movie. Everyone gave their story on Williams, whether they were a friend or a collaborator, and the answers that they gave all felt truthful. Nobody’s answer felt twisted to be catered towards a movie.

Music

This is where the film adds another step up in quality. Not only did Williams release a biopic about his life with “Piece by Piece,” but he also released new music along with it. Five new songs were released to go along with this film. 

The lead single for the soundtrack, a song which is also called “Piece by Piece” was a strong start. It had those classic vibes from Williams where the production is electronic and positive. It was nothing special but it sounded like effort was put into it. The rest of the new songs were alright. Three of the five songs had bad production and repetitive lyrics, making them not nearly as listenable.

The clear standout was “VIRGINIA Boy [Remix]” which featured Tyler, The Creator. It had more of a hip-hop feeling to it than a song from a movie soundtrack. The production of the song was also more laid back and less hype than the rest, which was nice because it allowed for a song that could be listened to casually.

“Piece by Piece” is a creative and refreshingly new way to tell the story of Pharrell Williams, scoring 3/5 stars from me.