Pharrell Williams Teams with Lego for Groundbreaking Animated Documentary

Pharrell Williams partners with Lego for 'Piece by Piece', an animated documentary using Lego to depict his life and career. Highlighting the importance of representation, Williams praises Lego's willingness to support his unique story, with contributions from artists like Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg enriching the narrative.

Pharrell Williams has extended heartfelt gratitude towards Lego for collaborating on his upcoming animated documentary, 'Piece by Piece', set to premiere on October 11. At a recent preview, Williams emphasized the crucial role of support in narrating his distinctive story, especially as a Black man from a marginalized background, Deadline reports.

The Grammy-winning artist commended Jill Wilfert, Lego's head of global entertainment, for embracing his unconventional narrative. Williams stated, 'I don't want to make it all heavy, but she said yes to a Black man's story. When I was young, that's my origin story,' underscoring the value of representation and its impact on storytelling, according to Deadline.

In the past decade, Lego's success with animated features like 'The Lego Movie' (2014) has been notable. Williams remarked, 'Lego could have said no. I'm Black, in case you hadn't figured that out. But they said yes. I'm not Batman. This is not Harry Potter intellectual property. It's just me, from Virginia. But they said yes.'

'Piece by Piece' distinguishes itself as a biographical documentary using Lego animation to portray Williams' life and career. The idea of incorporating Lego was Williams' early suggestion to director Morgan Neville. 'I didn't want to do a documentary,' he mentioned at the Toronto International Film Festival.

'The minute that I agreed to it, I knew I wanted it to be in Lego and I wanted Morgan to be the storyteller. I turned it over to him,' Deadline reports. The film includes contributions from artists such as Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Gwen Stefani, Busta Rhymes, and Snoop Dogg, enriching its narrative, according to ANI.

(With inputs from agencies.)