Lego Friends: Girlz 4 Life

Hello whoever might be out there,

I love charity shops, because you can find some absolute gold in there; such as today where I found a Lego Friends DVD that I had honestly forgotten about when writing my previous posts regarding the franchise. That is the Girlz 4 Life movie.

This film was released in 2016 and captures everything that I believe to be wrong with the 2012 version of Lego Friends. Don't get me wrong, it was a good film and is the standard for what every film for a younger audience should be; short, entertaining, and annoyingly unrealistic. I mean, how do you just conveniently manage to get into a press conference for supposedly the biggest in universe celebrity?

I made a few notes while watching. Nerdy? Yes. But I knew I would want to talk about this on here so I kept receipts, and I am so glad I did. And in case you haven't already caught on, there will be spoilers.

There was one specific moment that made me literally pause the film to pull out my phone. There is a scene where Livi, the famous pop star, and Mia are doing "normal things" - going out for ice-cream. After ordering a large ice-cream as a treat, Livi says, and I quote: "A moment on the lips, life on the hips." Excuse me???

I had to sit there to just think about that. This film is rated PG. This wasn't the first nor the last Livi had made in reference to her personal trainer and her diet and weight, and it all felt a bit gross. It was clearly supposed to be a moral about living life in the moment and not caring about the consequences or something like that, but that was easily the worst example they could've used to demonstrate that point, because Livi never really does end up living like a "normal person." I suppose the film does end with her hanging out with the five, but that is as far as it goes. The dieting point was made loud and clear, but the moral point was much more hidden.

As a franchise created with the soul purpose of empowering girls, with the song the girls create in the film being all about "Girls [...] We march to the beat of our own drums," how very ironic to be discussing something as prominent in girls, namely eating disorders and diet culture, in such a casual and unsupported way. My heart hurts for the amount of girls for whom that would've been their first exposure to the idea that what they eat could have an affect on their bodies, because the way the film discusses it is not representative. I understand that they were trying to represent the difficulties a life of a famous person goes through, but it really was not done the right way.

This is further misrepresented when Livi returns to the hotel, saying she needs a nap and her fitness trainer says straight to her face, with everyone there, "No sleep for you ice-cream lady, we need to burn those calories pronto!" Whoever thought this was a good plot line for a kids movie really needs to seek some help. Did they really not hear the message they are sending out? "Hey, all you preteen pubescent girls! Did you eat lots of ice-cream today? Well your favourite fictional popstar skips sleep when she needs to in order to burn off calories and stay looking pretty, so why aren't you doing the same?"

Livi just walks off, it never really is a direct confrontation of his words. And it leaves me feeling confused, but also worried. Worried for whoever wrote it. Worried for whoever watched it. Worried for everyone.

They were so close to discussing a serious topic in a film, a genuine experience and fear for many of the viewers watching, but they completely butcher it. And it shows what was wrong with pre-2018 Lego Friends - a lack of serious thought.

This isn't the only time looks are discussed either. There was a quote from I believe Andrea, directed towards Olivia, that made me hurl. "You're the genius, and I'm the pretty one." How does this not blatantly go against everything Lego Friends stands for? What happened to empowering girls to follow their interests? We have now created a stereotypical paradox where you can either be pretty or smart, never both. Mia also explains to Livi when asked what "normal things" she does, that she and her friends "laugh at silly things guys do." Pre-2018 Lego Friends in a nutshell; breaking down walls just to build them up again and sell some Lego.

This brings me on to the next issue I would like to discuss that was prevalent in the film, although my mind still can't stop thinking about that disgusting quote from before.

With this being a Lego Friends film, friendship is the focus of the film, right? Wrong! For ninety percent of the film, the five are at each others' throats, bickering and arguing. Of course friends fight, and that is what they were wanting to show, but they fight and then act normal, fight and then act normal. And obviously it all ends with a hug and an apology... right? Wrong again! Only partially wrong though.

The main conflict in the film happens between Mia and Andrea. Mia becomes friends with Livi and wants to help her, while Andrea becomes rage blinded and simply wants to stop Livi from stealing their "rightly deserved" fame from their song. They both have their faults, yet they are the only ones that make up in the end. Meanwhile the other three, Stephanie, Olivia, and Emma, who have all been bickering due to the main conflict do not really apologise for their own role within the conflict. None of them really have any strong desire either way. Emma feels guilt for letting Tanya (Stephanie's top enemy and her sister, Megan, is Livi's stage manager) trick her into taping over the original recording of the song. Stephanie is annoyed at Andrea as she keeps referring to it as "her song" and "her fame" rather than that of the whole group. Olivia is just sort of there, getting annoyed by how overworked she is due to the fact she is often the deciding factor on whether or not their plans work. Well, she doesn't really show her annoyance that much, but I would be annoyed if every single time my friends wanted to get anything done, I had to code a whole new software or whatever.

Andrea's flaws are clear as day in this film. She wants to be rich and famous. She wants to be on stage and she wants to show off her song. This is what frustrates the others, particularly Stephanie, as they are in a band together. Just because Andrea is the lead singer, doesn't mean she gets all the credit and fame. But all Andrea can focus on is how annoyed at Livi she is for stealing "her" song, and how much she wants to be famous. I mean, even in the mission where they attempt to steal the USB stick with their song on back, Andrea spends the whole time trying on dresses from Livi's wardrobe (with literally no repercussions.) For someone so desperate to be rich and famous, she seems to want to spend more time daydreaming about the lifestyle as opposed to putting in the effort to make it happen. They made Andrea's personality in this film so arrogant and selfish - a horrible representation if you ask me. You can want something and strive for fame while still thinking of the people around you; they aren't mutually exclusive. Reason one million why 2018 Lego Friends is way better.

Mia isn't much better in this film. At the start she is used as a tool due to her job at the hotel where Livi is staying. She is the one that has to deliver the USB stick to Livi at the start (they thought this would be a simple, "oh just give it to Livi and we will be famous!" sort of situation) even though it ends up in the hands of Megan. Mia is the one that has to scout out Livi at the hotel. Mia is the one that has to find the schedule of every person in the hotel. Mia takes a surprisingly large role in this film.

Part of this is down to Mia's animal loving personality. When she first meets with Livi face to face at the hotel, Livi assumes Mia will want an autograph, but Mia actually ignores Livi and says hello to her dog, Cookie, instead. This magical, and highly unrealistic, moment sparks something in Livi. She actually never wanted a famous lifestyle, conveniently ignoring her rich privilege (which I will discuss later.) So Mia, being the nice person she is, helps Livi and takes her on the aforementioned ice-cream trip. This bit is on brand for Mia, using a well thought through plan to help someone. Furthermore, the whole time they are out, Mia is trying to help her friends by alerting Livi that the song she plans to perform is their song, but in typical movie fashion, she is never actually able to tell her.

The part which is so out of place for Mia is how she is so okay with the idea of fame. Mia hates being on stage or being the centre of attention, which is shown in Season 2 Episode 1 of Girls On A Mission. She would never actually want to be on stage, and yet at the end she is taking it like it is second nature to her, just because it is what her friends are doing. I feel as if Olivia would feel the same way, as in the episode I stated, Olivia is not on stage at all, but is instead in charge of the lighting and staging etc.

Mia is being so sacrificial, and yet she never actually shows any sign of discomfort when on stage, or anything of the sort. She doesn't get all too annoyed when her friends don't believe her when she told them that Livi was not aware the song was theirs. Mia has a whole lot of patience when she is working with people who have none. She assumes a therapist type role for Livi, which was born out of pure co-incidence and I would question whether or not it is genuine or healthy, considering the whole reason why Mia and Livi met in the first place is because the five wanted something from her. But Mia definitely acknowledges this better than the other girls.

After the five are caught breaking into Livi's penthouse, a plot which in itself went annoyingly unresolved, there is discussion that "Mia was taking advantage of Livi", and even though Livi wants to deny that, there is an element of truth to it. Ultimately, they do want something from Livi. And they get it. So remember that next time guys; if you badger and stalk someone enough, they will eventually give you what you want!

At the point that the five girls go up on stage for the big finale and singing the song which is rightly theirs, Livi hadn't really met the other four girls - she was simply trusting Mia. That is how desperate Livi was for a friend, that she will trust any random stranger who walks her dog for her and goes to buy ice-cream with her. And what a miracle it is for the girls when it all pays off! And they manage to break down the walls (literally) to get them costume changed and on stage with Livi to claim the credit that is rightfully theirs. Just your average copyright claim.

Mia is the main character of this movie, no matter how much you might want to claim it is Livi. I think Livi is a bit of a lazy character to be honest, I mean they didn't even take the time to look at her name and go "Hmmm... we already have Olivia, maybe Livi isn't the best choice?" She never really has any personality other than "big popstar." At the start I was hopeful that she would have a distinct personality, I must admit. She is slightly on the sassier side with the people on her team, but that quickly diminishes once she starts coming into the contact with the five, and by the credit cutscene, her personality has blended into the rest. I yearn for the Livi that was on screen literally an hour ago. I mean, Emma has to stand in front of a ripped up poster of Livi that has a moustache and devil horns drawn on it, and they all just laugh? Come on! Go Lego Friends, give us a hivemind personality!

Livi's other flaw is her refusal to admit her privilege. She is very good at showing the downsides of fame, but doesn't really acknowledge how she is living what many people, including Andrea, would consider "The dream." She is so rich. Insanely rich. Yet Livi makes no comment on it, but the girls do. Lego Friends has always been somewhat class conscious. It shows us, that in this case especially Emma, must be on the poorer side. Emma, upon entering Livi's penthouse, exclaims that: "The other half lives in open plan!" This shows how Emma is able to recognise Livi's privilege as what I presume must be at least a millionaire, and the others also make comments about what it must be like to be this rich, but Livi is completely blind to it herself.

This is no doubt done on purpose to illustrate how money doesn't matter if you don't have any friends, but it is done in quite poor taste. Lego is expensive - and I understand the idea behind trying to make the five also seem poor and relatable, but there isn't really anything to suggest that any of them are particularly struggling money wise. They are all always able to afford to do all these crazy random things - having adventures many could only dream of. Even Lego aren't sure of what they want them to be, I think it might be safe to say realistic isn't one of those things though.

I adore how critical I am being about a franchise that wasn't made for sixteen-year-olds. Lego Friends means a lot to me, and this is something I really enjoy doing. Sometimes these blogs aren't about making you think, they're about making me think, and giving me a place to express my thoughts and ideas in a place that isn't my friends' DMs (although this blog post will end up there anyway, not that I expect any of them to read all the way to the end. Would be nice if they did though.)

I just like ranting about unimportant things to people who don't care - and where better to do it than the internet?

Yours faithfully,

MD