Released theatrically on October 11, 2024, Piece by Piece is a stylish animated biographical drama about the life and career of musician Pharrell Williams. Written and directed by Morgan Neville and produced by The Lego Group, the wholesome family film utilizes the Lego animation style popularized by The Lego Movie to paint Williams’ vivid life story.
With vocal performances from Williams’ closest professional collaborators, including Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Gwen Stefani, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dog, Jay-Z, and more, Piece by Piece is an uplifting, feel-good celebration of a life and career in movies and the music business. However, despite the fun party vibes and dazzling animation, Piece by Piece feels too aimless when all is said and done. Although sure to appeal to Williams fans, Piece by Piece doesn’t have enough substance to persuade the unconverted.
- Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- Runtime
- 94 Minutes
3 What Is Piece by Piece About?
Written and directed by Morgan Neville, Piece by Piece is a Lego-animated movie biography about the life of Pharrell Williams, a musician from Virginia who rose to prominence with The Neptunes and the alternative band N.E.R.D. in the early 2000s. The movie charts Williams’ personal and professional exploits over the past two decades, as he became a successful industry titan who worked with some of the biggest musical artists in the world. The movie also shows how much religion played a role in Williams’ life, giving him faith in uncertain times that he attributes to his success.
The wholesome, PG-rated family film is amusing to see Williams and his musical collaborators interact in Lego form, especially with Tyler, the Creator playing his school teacher. The eye-popping animation is a great way for parents to introduce their children to Pharrell’s music, which includes the Oscar-nominated pop hit “Happy” from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack. Williams’ journey from his modest childhood in Virginia Beach to performing at the Academy Awards is inspirational and aspirational for those following in his footsteps.
2 Biography vs. Hagiography
While it’s impossible to deny the feel-good vibes and celebratory tone that Piece by Piece has in great abundance, it’s harder to decipher the movie’s meaning beyond serving as a factual documentary. The adorable and attractive animation captures viewers’ attention for only so long, leaving many wondering where the story is headed. By the second half, the movie becomes more of a hagiographic display of Williams’ professional accomplishments and industry accolades. It feels less like a genuine biography that exposes warts and all, especially when failing to exhaust the infamous “Blurred Lines” lawsuit that marked a brief black eye in Williams’ career.
Hagiographies tend to paint their subject in a saintly light rather than painting the full picture of their personality, something that becomes more apparent in Piece by Piece. Williams planned to make a biopic about his life in 2013, but it wasn’t until 2019 that he and Neville had the time to collaborate on a project. COVID-19 allowed them to reconnect, conceive the project, shoot live-action footage later mixed with Lego animation, and write five new songs. Yet, with Williams co-producing Piece by Piece through his production company, I Am Other, it’s easy to see how the partial bias evokes a hagiographic vibe rather than a fair and unbiased biography.
Producing one’s own biographic film is a surefire way to avoid controversy, shape the narrative, and control what’s revealed to the masses. Despite the immersive appeal of the Lego animation, the movie becomes too ponderous and unfocused in the end to paint the full truth of Williams’ life on and off the stage. Instead, the movie functions less as a gripping biography than a diversionary introduction for children to Williams’ music, which has become more wholesome and family-friendly with the more animated films he works on.
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1 Piece By Piece Offers Style Over Substance
In a classic example of style over substance, Piece by Piece feels more of a contrived publicity stunt than a legitimate musical biopic. As the review from Roger Ebert.com states:
“Williams’ playful, genre-bending music that mixes post-soul cool with skater sensibilities is probably more than a live-action narrative could contain. In the hands of director Morgan Neville, however, the story of Williams’ life lacks specificity and substance.”
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Piece by Piece Review: Creative Biopic Fails to Look Beneath the LEGOs [TIFF 2024]
Director Morgan Neville and Pharrell Williams chronicle the artist’s life in LEGO form but don’t fully take advantage of the medium.
Without the specific substance to hold the dramatic gravity of Williams’ life, the movie loses its way and wanders around for too long. The Hollywood Reporter’s review also hints at the biased nature of Williams’ involvement, stating:
“While inventive, Neville’s doc can’t quite avoid the trappings of the celebrity-produced biopic, and is expectedly marked by typical hagiographic evasiveness.”
The so-called “biography” fails to deliver the full scale and scope of Williams’ career by evading the specifics of his professional failures and public controversies. Above all, viewers are left pondering the picture’s point beyond celebrating Pharrell Williams’ musical contributions in and out of Hollywood. While visually wholesome, winning, and wonderful, the crass partiality prevents the biopic from being another example of flashy style over fulfilling substance.
Piece by Piece is currently playing in select theaters
