The LEGO Movie has turned into a surprise global hit for Warner Bros..The studio's first animated effort in over two years has grossed more than $200 million worldwide as of　this writing.

　　《樂高大電影》已出乎意料地成為華納兄弟影業的全球熱門大片。截至完稿日，該工作室兩年多來的這首部動畫作品贏得了超過2億美元的全球票房。

　　In North America, LEGO is the fifth-highest grossing WB animated film of all-time (swiftly topping their most recent cartoon, Happy Feet Two and its $64 million domestic　run).Happy Feet ($198 million) and The Polar Express ($162.8 million original run, $183.4 million lifetime)represent the studio's best domestic earners, but LEGO is having no　problem making more money.

　　在北美，《樂高大電影》是華納兄弟史上第五大最賣座動畫片（迅速超越了該公司近期最賣座動畫——《快樂的大腳2》在國內收獲的6400萬美元）。《快樂的大腳》（1.98億美元）和《極地特快》（首映1.628億美元，上映期間收入1.834億美元）代表了工作室在國內最佳盈利戰果，但《樂高大電影》持續吸金絕不是問題。

　　Founded in Denmark in 1949, the LEGO company has become a generational brand. The block-building line of toys evolved into an immensely broad franchise consisting of video games, retail stores, theme parks serving as popular family destinations, and an impressive line of licensing partners that has expanded the LEGO establishment since 1999.

　　That's when the company began its game-changing relationship with Lucasfilm and Star Wars, still the hottestproperty on LEGO's list of licensors which includes Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Batman, Toy Story,Spider- Man, Spongebob Squarepants, and many more. The company's global market share has since topped Hasbro and moved closer to that of Mattel.

　　樂高公司成立于1949年丹麥，已經成為一個好幾代人的品牌。其堆積木玩具系列也演變成非常廣闊的特許經營活動，包括視頻游戲、零售商店、針對普通家庭游玩的主題公園，以及令人印象深刻的系列特許合作伙伴，自1999年起大大擴展了樂高帝國。那一年，該公司啟動了與盧卡斯影業、星球大戰之間開始改變游戲局面的合作，迄今樂高的授權商名單中最暢銷的商品仍然包括哈利·波特、指環王、蝙蝠俠、玩具總動員、蜘蛛俠、海綿寶寶等等。該公司全球市場份額此后超越了孩之寶，并直逼美泰公司。

　　Then, Hollywood came knocking. Warner Bros. landed the chance to make a LEGO movie happen and wisely worked with the toy company throughout the creative process. The next crucial step was hiring the directing/writing/producing team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Their ability to successfully dabble in multiple genres made them a perfect choice for the witty and wondrous world of LEGO.

　　然后，好萊塢來敲門了。華納兄弟抓住機會讓樂高電影成為現實，并在整個創作過程中明智地與這家玩具公司合作。下一個決定性的步驟是聘用了導演/編劇/制作團隊菲爾·羅德與克里斯·米勒。他們成功涉獵多種類型影片的能力，令其成為樂高詼諧奇妙世界的完美之選。

　　Driving themes among enthusiastic critic reviews include an indelible sense of charm expertly blended with adventure and a parent-approved message. That's a winning combination in animation that previously drove Despicable Me and Shrek to their blockbuster numbers. The latter franchise especially, through its fortes of pop culture humor, star voice casts, and strong storytelling, excelled in appealing to all ages. LEGO seems to be taking up the mantle.

　　在熱心評論家中掀起熱議的話題，包括該片將“冒險精神”與“家長認可的信息”熟練地融合，頗有難以忘懷的魅力。這種成功的動畫組合推動之前的《卑鄙的我》與《怪物史瑞克》不同凡響的票房。尤其是他們后期的系列，呈現出流行文化幽默的拿手好戲、明星配音陣容、強勁的故事情節，擅長俘獲所有年齡段觀眾。《樂高大電影》似乎繼承了他們的衣缽。

　　Also not to be forgotten is the timing of LEGO's blockbusting stature.Disne's Frozen is still going strong nearly three months after release, while Open Road's The Nut Job surprised with its $19.4 million North American opening in January. There certainly were excuses for a modest jump out of the gate by LEGO, but they turned out to be unnecessary. Only March 2012's The Lorax opened higher (slightly, at $70.2 million)among animated titles released outside of the summer andholiday seasons. LEGO also became the secondbest February opener in history,only trailing The Passion of the Christ's $83.9 million in 2004.

　　別忘了《樂高大電影》造成轟動效應的時間段。迪士尼的《冰雪奇緣》在上映后接近3個月仍走勢強勁，而開路影業的《搶劫堅果店》在1月北美上映則驚喜收獲1940萬美元票房。《樂高大電影》首映伊始不溫不火當然也是情有可原的，但結果卻大相徑庭。剔除夏季和假期檔上映的動畫片，只有2012年3月的《老雷斯的故事》首局更高（稍高一點，為7020萬美元）。《樂高大電影》也成為有史以來2月首映第二高票房的電影，緊隨2004年《耶穌受難記》的8390萬美元票房。

　　Budget-wise, the film's estimated $120 million production and marketing costs were less than half of Pixar's Brave ($255 million), and still significantly less than Wreck-It Ralph ($230 million). LEGO's team of builders smartly kept costs down to the reasonable levels previously enjoyed by the Despicable Me flicks, as well as Sony's Hotel Transylvania and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs series.

　　從預算的角度來看，這部電影制作與營銷成本估計為1.2億美元，比皮克斯的《勇敢傳說》（2.55億美元）一半還少，且明顯低于《無敵破壞王》（2.3億美元）。《樂高大電影》創作團隊出色地把成本管控在合理的水平上，就像之前的《卑鄙的我》、《精靈旅社》與《天降美食》系列。

　　It's likely that LEGO's success will soon be felt. Hollywood has been in need of a way to get audiences into theaters outside the peak summer and holiday seasons. Recent blockbusters like The Hunger Games (March 2012)and Gravity (October 2013) have shone a light on the lucrative potential of well-executed, broadly appealing movies opening during the year's off-peak months.

　　《樂高大電影》的成功有可能很快會被人們感受到。好萊塢一直需要另辟蹊徑，在夏季高峰期與假期以外時段吸引觀眾進入影院。近期轟動票房的影片，比如《饑餓游戲》（2012年3月）與《地心引力》（2013年10月）就在一年中非高峰月份首映，但周密策劃實施、廣受歡迎，就為潛在的豐厚利潤點亮了一盞明燈。

　　The takeaways: LEGO has a hugely successful first transition onto the big screen, and Warner Bros. has itself set up with a new animation franchise for the first time in nearly a decade. Don't be shocked if they decide to lock up a February 2017 release date, but from the looks of things, the inevitable sequel could easily compete during any time of year.

　　余味： 樂高首次“ 觸電” 就大獲成功，且華納兄弟影業也是在近十年內首次推出新的動畫系列。如果他們決定鎖定一個2017年2月的檔期，那完全不必大驚小怪，但粗看起來，遲早要來的樂高續集將會輕松地稱雄一年中的任何時段。