DVD Review: Lego Friends Girlz 4 Life DVD

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this DVD, free of charge,from Warner Home Video, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

And now for a movie meant for girls, from a name we know and love, LEGO.

Synopsis:

True Friendship in the Glamorous World of Pop!

Join Olivia, Stephanie, Emma, Mia and Andrea, as they learn about friendship, fame and pop star fun in Heartlake City.

The girls’ friendships are tested when mega pop star Livi comes to Heartlake City. When our friends’ hit song “Girlz” is stolen by Livi’s manager, it’s time for a cunning plan.

As the girls try to tell Livi the truth about her latest hit single, they all learn that fame isn’t everything and sometimes friendship is the most precious thing in the world.

 

Review:

If your daughter adores Lego Friends, then she will definitely want to watch this DVD, as it is the first movie for the Lego series.

I watched the DVD with Miss Grace and I was glad I did, as this cartoon need serious parental supervision! I was really surprised that is was from the LEGO company, as LEGO has always been about universality and friendship, and we like watching the regular LEGO movies and cartoon series.

The story sorta reminded me of the Curious George cartoons, where the ends justify the means. Meaning that while the girls actions might have been well intentioned, their methods of getting what they want (ie breaking into someone's hotel room) are not something to be encouraged. Did they learn their lessons in the end? Yes, with a BUT. Yes they learned deceit is wrong, but there was no punishment for what they did do wrong, they just fell back and came up with a new plan, with more deception. So really there is no understanding of the wrong. Additionally all the adults were shown as ineffectual, and there were no parents around to offer advice, or to keep the kids in line either. 

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>However teaching that stardom isn't all fun and games, was a valuable lesson to learn. BUT, once again anything good is surrounded by bad. Body image issues were rampant, and kids ages 9-12 do not need to be hearing 'a moment on the lips, lifetime on hips' in a CARTOON. And if these are what FRIENDS are supposed to act like, I'd rather my kids be the loner. Seriously. While the writers might have had the best of intentions, they wrote for adults, not kids. And this is NOT an adult cartoon.

So the result was a long conversation about how while the show may be entertaining, it was in no way realistic. We discussed what should have happened, and what the girls should have done, like instead of resorting to criminal activity, or how to treat friends. So as an entertaining teaching tool, it was effective, just no where near the way that the producers thought it would be! I did have to laugh when Miss Grace asked, "If it's based on LEGO Friends, WHERE are the LEGOS?". Which is you watch the trailer above, you'll agree she had a point, as the look was more of a Barbie movie, than LEGO! And you might be like us and start counting how many 'LEGO" items you see out of curiosity after about 20 minutes into the movie! And there wasn't many! LOL

We also had issue with the regular DVD- the songs were about 10 levels LOWER in volume, which was odd, so we kept having to move the volume up and down. The songs were enjoyable though! They were the only true highlight of the movie.

So while we applaud LEGO for reaching out to girls with a DVD to go with their LEGO Friends line, they may want to rethink the subject matter for the next one. As to this one, I would recommend watching it with your daughter and having a long discussion about the entire movie. It's definitely not a movie than can just be watched, due to the negativity,unkindness and irresponsibility, rampant throughout the movie.