Beyond the Brick: A Lego Brickumentary delves into all things that surround the Lego brick and the global phenomenon it has created.
The beginnings of the toy throws up various dates. The Lego company was founded in 1932 (although at this time the interlocking bricks were not even an idea in the making), and the first brick was released by them in 1949 (although called the Automatic Binding Brick), before the current design was released in 1958.
Since 1958, The Lego Group has produced over 600 billion bricks. In fact it has been worked out that for every person alive today each person could have 75 Lego bricks!
There are currently 4 Legoland theme parks, there’s been numerous films and tv shows, they are the biggest tyre manufacturer in the world making 400 million a year, have products on sale in 130 different countries, had revenue in 2013 of $4.7 billion, and it has been record that children spend more than 5 billion hours playing with the bricks each year. With that said it is hardly surprising that Lego surpassed Mattel in early 2014 to become the world’s largest toy company, and in February of this year overtook Ferrari as the ‘World’s most powerful brand’ according to financial experts.
But Lego bricks aren't just for kids, more and more adults are using them, and some take it very seriously. Adult Fans of Lego (AFOLs – that’s honestly true) around the globe are unashamedly declaring their love of the brick, brick artists are creating stunning and surprising creations, and Lego master builders are building human scale and larger structures.
Lego bricks are being used educationally, therapeutically, and have provided a universal system for human creativity and our innate desire to build. A Lego Brickumentary playfully delves into the extraordinary impact of the Lego brick, its massive global fan base, and the innovative uses for it that has sprung up around the world.
It is narrated by Hollywood actor Jason Bateman and directed by Oscar Nominated Director Kief Davidson and Oscar Winning Director Daniel Junge.
As of yet it hasn’t been given a UK release date (the US one is July 31st), but you can check out the trailer for it below.