Plans of a feature film based on Lego started in 2008 following a discussion between producers
Dan Lin and
Roy Lee, before Lin left Warner Bros. to form his own production company, Lin Pictures. By August 2009, it was announced that Dan and Kevin Hageman had begun writing the script. It was officially green-lit by Warner Bros. in November 2011 with a planned 2014 release date.
Chris McKay was brought in to co-direct in 2011 with Lord and Miller, and later became the film's animation supervisor. The film was strongly inspired by the visual aesthetic and stylistics of
Brickfilms and qualities attributed to
Lego Studios sets. While Lord and Miller wanted to make the film's animation replicate a
stop motion film, everything was done through computer graphics, with the
animation rigs following the same articulation limits actual Lego figures have. While primarily an animated film, it has several
live action scenes in the real world. Much of the cast signed on to voice the characters in 2012, including Pratt, Ferrell, Banks, Arnett, Freeman, and Brie, while the animation was provided by
Animal Logic, which was expected to comprise 80% of the film. The film was dedicated to Kathleen Fleming, the former director of entertainment development of the Lego company, having died in
Cancún, Mexico, in April