PIECE BY PIECE is an unparalleled motion picture experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO® animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music’s most innovative minds. PIECE BY PIECE is expertly directed by Academy Award® winner Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom, Won’t You Be My Neighbor), and boasts a talented cast of fan-favorite music industry giants such as Pharrell Williams, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg.

For in-depth thoughts on Piece by Piece, please see my colleague Larry Fried’s review from its original theatrical debut here.

Video Quality

Piece by Piece comes to Blu-Ray with a fabulous, detailed 1080p transfer. The level of nuance these animators put into each LEGO environment is truly unbelievable, especially when you consider the number of characters and intricacy of the background in certain sequences. The digital animation feels very carefully rendered to provide a stunning amount of texture to the world on display. Different facets of the subject renderings and the environments are extremely impressive and give the film a real sense of depth. The colors that saturate the frame are notably vibrant and bold with an incredible range of hues. Black levels are strong with no signs of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. The fluid nature of the character designs stands out as you make your way through Pharrell’s life. We would have loved to have seen this one on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, but this HD transfer represents this film beautifully.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray provides a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio track that gives this talent’s life the utmost presence. There is an emphasis on the front channels for a good portion of the dialogue, but activity extends into the surrounds and rears when fleshing out the environments. The low end effects from the subwoofer give certain sequences extra weight to completely capture the vibe. Atmospheric sound effects are implemented carefully within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. The film shines when it comes to the music, and this track pumps the tunes throughout the room in a really exquisite, enveloping way. Anecdotes are crisp and clear without ever getting lost in the music or sound effects. This film is a surprising powerhouse. Optional English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Building The Story: A three-minute piece with Pharrell Williams and director Morgan Neville discussing the process of bringing this icon’s life to the screen in a unique manner.

Final Thoughts

Piece by Piece is a very unique approach to the documentary format that will leave audiences on a joyful note as the credits are rolling. The animation is truly beautiful and the film moves along at a frantic pace that leaves little room to be bored. As pleasant as things are, the film does not completely succeed as a documentary. Once you have gotten to the end, you start to realize that maybe there was not a particularly important reason why Pharrell’s life story needed to be told in feature form. Things are a bit too straightforward for the musician to conjure the highs and lows you expect from the artform. Without the hook of the LEGO animation, its unlikely many would want to sit through this. But you do have thie hook, so those interested in the logline should give it a chance. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray for this film that is stellar in the A/V department with fun special features. Recommended

Piece by Piece will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 17, 2024. The film is currently available on Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.