Production and Distribution

Production:

Warner Bros. Animation (also known as Warner Animation Group for theatrical films) is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons (formerly Leon Schlesinger Productions), the studio which produced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon shorts from 1933 to 1963, and from 1967 to 1969. Warner reestablished its own animation division in 1980 to produce Looney Tunes related works.

Distribution:

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly called Warner Bros., Warners, or simply WB) is an American media company that makes film, television and music entertainment. As one of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and the former The WB Television Network. Warner Bros. owns half of The CW Television Network.

Box Office Figures

Background Info of The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie (stylized as The LEGO Movie) is a 2014 computer animated adventure comedy film directed and co-written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, and featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman.

It was the first film produced by Warner Animation Group, and is an international co-production of the United States, Australia, and Denmark. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, the film tells the story of Emmet (Pratt), an ordinary Lego mini-figure prophesied to save the universe from the tyrannical Lord Business (Ferrell) as he gains different allies along the way.

It was released theatrically on February 7, 2014. The movie was a critical and commercial success, with many critics highlighting its visual style, humor, voice acting, and heartwarming message. It earned more than $257 million in North America and $210 million in other territories for a worldwide total of over $468 million.

A spin-off film, featuring Batman from the film, is scheduled to be released in 2017, and a direct sequel is planned for a 2018 release.

Poster Advertisements

This is the general release poster for 'The Lego Movie'. This again uses exactly the same fonts, images and text as the DVD release. This would show that the distributers wanted to create a progressive branding image.

This poster above would potentially be found in restaurants as those things that go on the tray or even in billboards mounted on walls. This poster would be distributed as ABOVE THE LINE advertisement meaning they would have to pay for it to be implemented.

The posters above show that from the beginning they were marketing the film in a way which introduces the characters before an audience has even sat down to watch it. This includes featuring stars names such as 'Morgan Freeman'. Using big stars instantly promotes your film to the top so it is evident it is worth the investment.

Lego Movie Cover Art

 The Lego film had a variety of cover arts for different platforms. This may be due to marketing various different versions of the film to different audiences.

The first cover art is the standard DVD release, coming out June the 17th 2014 in the UK. This includes images, text and graphics. The majority of the cover is images suggesting it is marketed towards a child based market.

The 3D cover was more simplistic potentially meaning it is marketed towards adults who want to view it with their child, due to its technological advancement and understanding when viewing it.

The movie had a high level games console spin-off which features a hugely edited cover. This is strange as the creators should want it to identify with the movie. Despite this they used the same logo as the movie, meaning people who had potentially watched the film could identify with the game.

This is the disc which would come with the DVD, for obvious reasons it relates to DVD cover potentially to give consistency to the brand.