Director: Morgan Neville

Featured voices: Pharrell Williams, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Jay-Z

Director Morgan Neville has already tackled a music documentary with unsung soul performers in film ‘20 Feet from Stardom’. His latest profiles the superstar producer-singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams, boldly, through the medium of LEGO animation. Given Williams has synesthesia, a condition where one experiences more than one sense simultaneously, in Pharrell’s case he experiences music visually through vivid colours, the candy-coloured LEGO world proves a good fit. The film is at its most vital and playful when the singer, interviewed in his LEGO incarnation, talks about growing up in the bustling Virginia Beach area. Despite being bright he was a poor student, and he claims a misfit. Encouraged by his grandmother, he began to explore music. Later he meets his future Neptunes partner Chad Hugo and they begin knocking out beats. In one of the picture’s best conceits, the beats are visually represented by multi-coloured solid objects. Following a talent show judged by New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley, which the duo win, they embark on a prolific and lucrative career. Despite an overly hagiographic tone and some blandly positive philosophical insights from Williams, which become wearing over the 90 minute running time, there is fun to be had with the LEGO recreations of some of the videos of their most famous collaborations. Ultimately this is an uncurious promotional piece which leaves questions unanswered about Williams’ relations with his collaborators, but it bounces along amiably, and the music is great. Expletives are beeped out making it fairly kid-friendly.

David Willoughby

Follow David on Twitter @DWill_Crackfilm