15 Creative LEGO "Brickfilms"

Brickfilms are animated films made using LEGO bricks, usually employing stop-motion animation. When The LEGO Movie came out last year, it was not stop-motion animation (it was actually well-designed CGI), but it was in many ways the ultimate brickfilm. Today, let's take a look at what you can do with a camera, some LEGOs, and a lot of time.

1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Wow. Just wow.

2. 2001

What if 2001 had been just one minute long, and created using LEGOs? Well, here ya go.

3. Star Wars: The Han Solo Affair

Billed as Episode V 1/2, this is a somewhat goofy original (and apparently licensed!) Star Wars film. The creators discussed their creative intent in a Tumblr post.

4. The White Stripes: "Fell in Love With a Girl"

Directed by Michel Gondry, this brickfilm uses bricks to the extreme, eschewing minifigs in favor of a very brick-centric view.

5. Queen: "We Will Rock You"

Not the same intensity as The White Stripes, but nice use of a Harry Potter minifig. I wish we'd gotten to see some Freddie Mercury strutting during Brian May's solo! (Also, where's John Deacon?)

6. Star Wars Battle of Hoth

This was my introduction to brickfilms back in December. Filmmaker Kévin Ziolkowski recreated the intense snow battle from The Empire Strikes Back using various sets of LEGO Star Wars toys.

7. Star Wars Luke vs. Vader

Ziolkowski made this three years after the Hoth battle scene above, now focused on intricate character movements and glowing lightsabers. The Force is strong in this one.

8. The Dark Knight Trailer

This charmingly low-budget version of the trailer uses plenty of camera movement. Big bonus points for all the simulated LEGO gunfire.

9. Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

Prepare to get meta. A brickfilm about the making of a brickfilm.

10. Breaking the Fourth Wall

Like many brickfilms, this is director Jaiden Deutschlander's first time creating animation and working with stop-motion. Not bad!

11. The Two Doctors

Two franchises collide. This is an adorable silent film, somehow with only 211 YouTube views.

12. The Good Old Days

A smart, funny short film with a point. And it's less than three minutes long!

13. I Am Legend Trailer

Could have used more stop-motion, but points for building all those sets.

14. Jaws

The shark special effects make this pretty impressive.

15. 2010 World Cup - U.S.A. vs. England

Finally, LEGO sports! Though I can't imagine what it would take to animate the rest of the match, aside from the very few goals. Yikes.