From Julie Estrada of LEGOLAND California:
CARLSBAD, Calif. (Feb. 20, 2014) - Everything is awesome at LEGOLAND® California Resort as the family theme park opened the doors to its newest attraction featuring a behind-the-scenes look at “The LEGO® Movie” with THE LEGO® MOVIE EXPERIENCE. This off-spring from the hit movie gives guests a chance to step onto a LEGO® soundstage, see actual movie footage along with interviews with the cast and explore some of the awesome LEGO models which helped inspire the new and completely original 3D animated adventure that grossed more than $200 million in its first two weeks in the worldwide box office.
Actor Jadon Sand, who plays “Finn” and worked alongside Will Ferrell in “The LEGO Movie,” was the special guest at the grand opening ceremony where a giant curtain dropped to reveal THE LEGO MOVIE EXPERIENCE to Park guests for the first time. Sand and his family spent an entire day exploring LEGOLAND California then stayed over at LEGOLAND Hotel prior to the event. “I’m a big fan
of LEGOLAND California so having the opportunity to come here and be the one to officially open THE LEGO MOVIE EXPERIENCE to you all is a big honor. I actually feel like I’m back on the set of the movie…this is awesome!” Sand continued, “It was really an incredible experience to work on such a cool movie, side-by-side with Will Ferrell and even more so, don’t tell Will, but side-by-side with these awesome LEGO models!” After answering some questions from the press, Sand sang a perfect rendition of the movie’s hit song, “Everything is awesome!”
THE LEGO MOVIE EXPERIENCE features more than 1200 LEGO models made out of more than three million LEGO bricks. It took a team of ten Model Builders more than 2000 hours to assemble and a team of four Model Builders six weeks to reassemble in Carlsbad. The new attraction offers guests an up-close look at the famous worlds featured in the film such as Bricksburg, Middle Zealand, Old West, Cloud Cuckooland and Octane Tower. Movie fans can stand in the same place as Finn and his father, “Lord Business,” played by Ferrell, and imagine themselves in the scene that has become famous in just weeks. THE LEGO MOVIE EXPERIENCE offers a unique thrill that can be enjoyed by LEGO fans of all ages.
“The LEGO Movie” tells an original 3D computer animated story about Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously unprepared, and turns out to be a lot more special than he ever imagined.
Fun Facts about the LEGO Movie and THE LEGO MOVIE EXPERIENCE®
• More than 3 Million LEGO® elements are used to create THE LEGO MOVIE EXPERIENCE®
• It took 10 Model Builders 2,000 hours (roughly 5 weeks) to build at Warner Bros. Studios
• It took 4 Model Builders 6 weeks to reassemble at LEGOLAND® California
• The “worlds” seen at THE LEGO MOVIE EXPERIENCE include: Cloud Cuckooland, Old West, Bricksburg, Middle Zealand and Octane Tower
There are 1200 LEGO models on the set including:
• 116 Buildings
• 165 Vehicles
• 61 Micro Managers
• 15 Spaceships
• 3 Dragons
• THE LEGO MOVIE EXPERIENCE uses 91 LEGO retail sets which include rare, discontinued, new and current sets
• There are 1423 minifigures on the set
• If you were to build the entire film with LEGO bricks, it would take 15,080,330 bricks!
LEGOLAND® California Resort includes LEGOLAND® California, SEA LIFE® Aquarium, LEGOLAND® Water Park and LEGOLAND® Hotel. All are geared for families with children between the ages of 2 and 12. At LEGOLAND California, you’ll find more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including LEGO Star Wars™ Miniland Model Display, Pirate Reef and LEGO® Legends of Chima Water Park opening summer 2014. SEA LIFE Aquarium is home to more than 5,000 living creatures and incorporates LEGO® models into a child’s voyage to the depths of the ocean featuring play zones, fun facts and quiz trails. LEGOLAND Water Park features more than 7 slides, sandy beaches and the unique Build-A-Raft River. The nation’s first LEGOLAND Hotel features 250 rooms, all themed either as pirate, adventure, or kingdom plus more than 3,500 LEGO models throughout the three-story hotel. LEGOLAND California Resort is part of Merlin Entertainments Group, the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator with more than 99 attractions, nine hotels/three holiday villages in 22 countries across four continents. For more information, visit: www.LEGOLAND.com or call (760) 918-LEGO (5346).
MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS plc is a leading name in location-based, family entertainment. Europe’s number one and the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin now operates 99 attractions, nine hotels/three holiday villages in 22 countries and across four continents. The company aims to deliver memorable and rewarding experiences to its 54 million visitors worldwide, through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion of its managers and more than 22,000 employees.
Among Merlin’s attractions are - SEA LIFE, Madame Tussauds, LEGOLAND, The EDF Energy London Eye, Dungeons, Gardaland, LEGOLAND Discovery Centres, Alton Towers Resort, Warwick Castle, THORPE PARK, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Blackpool Tower, Heide Park Resort, WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo, Sydney Tower Eye and SKYWALK, Siam Ocean World and Busan Aquarium. All brands which are distinctive, challenging and innovative – and which have great potential for growth in the future. Visit www.merlinentertainments.biz for more information.
“The LEGO Movie,” the first-ever, full-length theatrical LEGO® adventure, stars Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie and Charlie Day, with Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman. The film is directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, who also wrote the screenplay, from a story by Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman and Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, based on LEGO construction toys. It is produced by Dan Lin and Roy Lee, with executive producers Jill Wilfert, Matthew Ashton, Kathleen Fleming, Allison Abbate, Zareh Nalbandian, Jon Burton, Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Seanne Winslow, Matt Skiena and Bruce Berman, and co-producer John Powers Middleton. Pablo Plaisted is the cinematographer; Grant Freckelton, the production designer; David Burrows and Chris McKay, the editors; and Mark Mothersbaugh, the composer. Chris McKay also serves as animation co-director.
“The LEGO Movie” is a Warner Bros Pictures Presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, in association with LEGO Sysems A/S, a Vertigo Entertainment/Lin Pictures Production. It is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures. Rated PG for “mild action and rude humor.” For downloadable general press information please visit: https://mediapass.warnerbros.com/
LEGO, the LEGO logo, the minifigure and the brick and knob configuration are trademarks of The LEGO Group. ©2014 The LEGO Group. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Posted On: 2014-02-21 1:02am