Ever wonder how a musical genius sees the world?
“Piece by Piece” clicks together Pharrell Williams’ colorful life story using LEGO bricks.
From the housing projects of Virginia Beach to the writer of “Happy” (for “Despicable Me 2”, “Drop it Like It’s Hot” (for Snoop Dog) and “Frontin” (for Jay-Z).
I watched this documentary with my wife and 9-year old son. He liked it so much that the next night he asked us to watch it again….and the next night again…and then again! He had never watched a full-length doc before.
“Piece by Piece” is like “The LEGO Movie” meets “8 Mile”.
Thanks to Chris Jordan-Bloch for moving this doc up in my queue (his father, he and his 8 year-old son all watched it together!)
Pharrell also gives a shout-out of another documentary in “Piece by Piece”: “Cosmos”.
And if you want to see a super-cool video of Pharrell discovering a new talent, check out “Pharrell Williams Discovers the Then-Unknown Maggie Rogers”.
Trailer for “Piece by Piece”
Watch “Piece by Piece”
You can watch by renting it on Amazon, Apple TV, Fandango and Microsoft.
You can find the latest streaming options at https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/piece-by-piece-2024
Ratings:
- My Rating: 100/100
- IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 89/100 (Users); 83/100 (Critics)
Release Date: November 20, 2023
My Review of “Piece by Piece”
The Setup
“Piece by Piece,” directed by Morgan Neville (https://dailydoc.com/20-feet-from-stardom/
“The “Piece by Piece” is a 90-minute documentary using LEGO animation to bring Pharrell’s world to life.
It’s directed by one of my faves: Morgan Neville.
Neville has nailed every doc I’ve seen of his, including these favorites of mine: “20 Feet from Stardom”, “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain”, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces”, “Shangri-La” and “Abstract: The Art of Design”).
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- Pharrell talks about his synesthesia, a condition where he sees colors when he hears music. His favorite artist is Stevie Wonder, with Aretha Franklin a close second. The LEGO scenes use bright colors to show what Pharrell sees when he listens to music. The way Pharrell sees color seems very similar to “Daniel Tammet: The Boy with the Incredible Brain” (which I rank 95/100)
- A Mega-Music Producer Moves Down the Street from Pharrell on a “Vision” — What are the odds? Teddy Riley, a famous producer who worked with artists like Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown (“My Prerogative”) and Keith Sweat (“Make It Last Forever”), moved to Virginia Beach, where Pharrell lived (and where there is no music business). Note: I was so curious as to how this happened that I looked it up. According to this interview Teddy gave to Red Bull, Teddy said “My vision was just to go to Virginia [Beach]. It was the place where God wanted me to be. Even though I knew it would be a challenge going there and trying to build a music scene when there wasn’t one.” — That lucky connection helped Pharrell start his career.
- After Teddy gave Pharrell his big break, he kept calling record labels to pitch his music. At Arista Records, he talked so much with Kenny Ortiz’s intern, Rob Walker, that they became friends. Rob later became Pharrell’s manager.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Pharrell repeated 7th grade, which was tough but taught him resilience.
- He loved watching Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” documentary. It inspired him to think big about creativity and the universe.
- Pharrell sold beats directly to artists, which led to his big break with Noreaga’s hit song “Superthug.”
- Pharrell made the beat for “Frontin’” and sent it to Prince. When Prince passed on it, Pharrell decided to sing it himself. Jay-Z later joined the song. It became a hit, but Pharrell said the success “scared” him.
Cameos
The doc includes famous names like Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, and Jimmy Iovine. Jimmy has some funny moments, including a comment about skin cream.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Pharrell explains how he connects different styles of music by focusing on the “feeling” they share, like mixing hip-hop with Gwen Stefani’s pop sound.
- The LEGO animation shows more than just Pharrell’s life. It uses creative scenes, like a spinning globe full of LEGO landmarks and these lego shining light bulb-looking things to represent beats. This tells his story in a way that traditional films can’t.
Wrap Up
Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece” is creative, colorful, and full of heart. The LEGO animation makes Pharrell’s story exciting and unique.
Whether you love music or just enjoy a good story, this documentary is one you shouldn’t miss.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc