THE LEGO MOVIE (U, 100 mins) ****
Featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Cobie Smulders, Will Forte, Jonah Hill, Alison Brie, Charlie Day. Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller.

h, the heady whiff of nostalgia. It was Christmas 1984. I remember excitedly tearing wrapping paper off a large box and staring wide-eyed at the LEGO construction set that had been the subject of countless unsubtle hints to my parents.

Those tiny coloured construction bricks became a building site for my imagination, and even now, I get warm, fuzzy pangs when I see film-themed kits cluttering up the shelves of toy shops.

That same warm glow permeates this rollicking adventure, which cleverly employs the latest technical wizardry to mimic the crude, imperfect movements of stop-motion animation.

The LEGO Movie is a hoot, celebrating the enduring power and popularity of a toy invented in the late 1940s, striking a delicious tone of irreverence throughout to ensure parents enjoy the ride just as much as younger audiences.

The unlikely hero is a socially awkward LEGO mini-figure called Emmet (voiced by Pratt), who works on a building site in his hometown of Bricksburg.

Desperate to fit in, Emmet follows the dictates laid down by President Business (Ferrell), who is actually – shock, gasp! – arch-villain Lord Business in disguise.

This nefarious tyrant plans to destroy Bricksburg and the neighbouring districts of Cloud Cuckoo Land and Middle Zealand using an artefact known as The Kragle.

Ancient wizard Vitruvius (Freeman) and his henchwoman Wyldstyle (Banks) mistake Emmet for a mythical figure known as Master Builder, who possesses the power to create anything out of the bricks with his mind.

According to prophecy, Master Builder will locate the Piece Of Resistance and destroy The Kragle.

Emmet is press-ganged into leading the perilous quest to defeat the despot aided by a rogue’s gallery of mini-figures including Wyldstyle’s boyfriend Batman (Arnett), Green Lantern (Hill), Wonder Woman (Smulders), Abraham Lincoln (Forte) and a classic 1980s-era blue spaceman named Benny (Day), pursued by schizophrenic law-maker and -breaker Bad Cop (Neeson).

Fast-paced and crammed with primary colours, The LEGO Movie pulls out all the stops to dazzle and delight.

The script is peppered with wry one-liners, cinematic homages and an infectious theme song – Everything Is Awesome – that burrows into the brain and refuses to leave quietly.

The final ten minutes provide an unexpected, heart-warming surprise, guaranteed to have kids big and small grinning with glee.