Piece By Piece

The Pharrell Williams Lego documentary is enjoyable if biased

Music biopics employ such a rote and tired structure that it was parodied as far back as This is Spinal Tap (1984) and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007). Music documentaries have been trying something new by emulating the musical style of their subjects visually. This was employed with the counter-culture, Warhol style of The Velvet Underground (2021) and David Bowie’s surrealism in Moonage Daydream (2022). The latest to employ a unique take is Morgan Neville with his Pharrell Williams documentary Piece by Piece (2024), telling his story through stop-motion Legos.

Piece by Piece looks at the rise of Pharrell Williams, from his beginnings as an awkward teen in Virginia Beach, to his role as a behind-the-scenes hit producer, and eventually stepping into the spotlight himself, with one particular summer delivering the hits “Blurred Lines,” “Get Lucky,” and “Happy.”

The choice of telling Williams’ story through Legos is shown to be the artist himself. Its use is less of a gimmick than a storytelling tool that illustrates the complex yet essential role of a music producer. Beats and themes are bouncing abstract Lego constructions that Williams rebuilds and changes to his liking so other artists like Snoop Dogg or Gwen Stefani can include in their bigger Lego set of a song. This proves to be the greatest demonstration of how music producers visualize a song’s potential since the wonderful invisible musicians scene in Begin Again (2013).

The animation medium allows Williams’ quirky and colorful personality to shine forth, helping his childhood imagination and inspiration particularly stand out. The rest of his career trajectory proves amusing, as we see interviews with music legends in Lego form, from Jay Z to Justin Timberlake and Kendrick Lamar.

The biggest drawback to Piece By Piece is the involvement of Williams as a creative producer. Given that this is a film about his life, being so close to the creation of Piece By Piece robs Neville from delving into anything unsavory or dark, such as the breakup with his band The Neptunes. These uncomfortable moments are glossed over rapidly, blaming corporate executives who corrupted Williams with money, instead of diving into a deeper look as to Williams as a character and flawed human being. This keeps viewers at a distance from the documentary’s main subject and we never get to see deeper than the artist allows us. As such we are presented with a limited and biased take on his life, that Neville isn’t given the full autonomy or objectivity to explore.

Nevertheless, Piece By Piece is an enjoyable watch, and for those less familiar with Williams’ work, it will be astounding to see how many hits he’s been involved with in the last 20 years. The Lego animation is a risky and bold choice, but pays off, elevating the enjoyment and personality at the heart of this documentary. Sadly, such close proximity from Williams as a co-creator prevents Piece By Piece from taking the liberty at digging into more of the actual person that this music icon is.

7.0/10