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Think “The Lego Movie” with a Neptunes beat.

Adam Graham
| Detroit News film critic

The life of Pharrell Williams, one of music's most vibrant and colorful producers, is celebrated in Piece by Piece, a sometimes wildly entertaining biopic that brings the Virginia native's world to life in Lego form.

Williams is worthy of consideration outside the box as his innovative productions have helped redefine hip-hop and expand the boundaries of the genre. If there's a stumbling block in “Piece by Piece,” it's that Williams still has a lot of life to live and, at 51, his story is far from over.

What's undeniable is the music, and Williams' productions – from NERD's “Maybe” to Kendrick Lamar's “Alright” – inform the film, which chronicles his rise from the Atlantis Apartments in Virginia Beach to the top of the music industry. Williams' collaborators, from Pusha T to Gwen Stefani to Snoop Dogg, also appear as her animated counterparts, making “Piece by Piece” feel like a children's playhouse where everyone is welcome.

And really anyone can play in this Lego world: “Piece by Piece” has a PG rating and uses radio-friendly versions of Williams' hits where necessary and even cleverly clouds Snoop Dogg's weed smoke with what the film calls “PG spray “Calls.” It really is an offer for all ages.

And it is remarkable that the life and work of a hip-hop producer is being toasted in this way. We tend to reserve these types of fees for rock stars or deceased legends who are considered “Gone Too Soon,” and get one for a black creator of rap and pop music – and one who is still alive and very successful at that – feels revolutionary even in 2024.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems with the way Williams' story is told. “Piece by Piece” covers Williams' impeccable string of hits with his producing partner Chad Hugo, who were collectively known as the Neptunes. From NORE's “Superthug” in 1998 to Gwen Stefani's “Wind it Up” in 2006, their sound has varied The Sound of hip-hop and pop music that spans the culture from No Doubt's “Hella Good” to Jay-Z's “I Just Wanna Love U” and Nelly's “Hot in Herre” to Kelis' “Milkshake.”

They played more than a dozen Top 10 hits, four No. 1 singles and all-time earth-shattering classics like Clipse's “Grindin',” an eerily sparse beat built over what looks like a parking lot full of slamming car doors sounds. The duo's keyboard-heavy sound creations don't feel tied to any particular era – they borrow from 70s funk, 80s synth-pop and 90s boom-bap – and on the whole still sound fresh today, even that you hear. I've heard it 50,000 times.

The Neptunes eventually disbanded, which “Piece by Piece” doesn't really cover (Williams no longer speaks to Hugo, which the film doesn't touch on), but Williams returned in 2013 with Robin Thicke's “Blurred Lines” (which he later wrote for similar to an earlier work by Marvin Gaye) and “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk, which was followed a year later by his universal hit “Happy”, for which it was recorded for the soundtrack to “Despicable Me 2”.

Not being at the top of the charts for a few years doesn't mean great drama, but “Piece by Piece” treats it as the dramatic core of the film, and its eventual comeback is a monumental triumph. Actually, it was more of a blip in a stellar track record, and its amplification here feels overdone, especially when there are other places – his relationship with Hugo, for example – from which to infer human drama.

But that is the nature of a biopic whose subject is also its producer. “Piece by Piece” is no mere exposé, and director Morgan Neville (“20 Feet from Stardom,” “Won't You Be My Neighbor?”) trades narrative revelations for the pure joy of praising Williams' compositions. and bring them to life in colorful building blocks. The film has a lot of fun recreating the hip-hop story with children's toys.

Williams explains in the film that he sees music as colors – a condition known as synesthesia – and that it determines how he sees the world. You could say “Piece by Piece” is also informed by a sense of synesthesia, helping us see what the inside of Williams' head looks and sounds like. And it feels damn good.

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“Piece by piece”

Grade: B

Rated PG: for language, some suggestive material, and thematic elements

Running time: 93 minutes

In the cinema

On By John Fenwick

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