LEGO House – Home of the Brick review

A new documentary on Netflix looks at how Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen realised his dream of building the ultimate celebration of the brick and his family company

LEGO House – Home of the Brick is an original documentary streaming on Netflix, that follows the creation of the new central landmark in Billund, Denmark, that the film takes its name from. The town in which the LEGO Group grew up now has a permanent monument, and this documentary explains how it arrived there.

Earlier this month, another exclusive documentary popped up on Netflix about LEGO – The Toys That Made Us. For fans of the brick to be treated to two such programs in such a short space of time is very unexpected, especially with how quietly this second one appeared. With the two arriving so close together, it is hard not to draw comparisons.

The Toys That Made Us was an outsider looking in at the LEGO Group, whereas LEGO House – Home of the Brick is a much more official offering. As such, it comes with the benefits and drawbacks of that. On the plus side, there is incredible access to everyone involved, including LEGO Group owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen. On the other hand, this story is told with a very, very positive spin.

What comes across is just how passionate Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is for the project, highlighting small details that it would be hard to imagine someone so important fussing over – yet there he is, describing the way the stairs turn as they descend. Seeing him look upon the tree of creativity is particularly moving. Someone who has spent decades surrounding by incredible builds is still awed seeing something on this scale.

Anyone who has watched the special features on the making of the Star Wars prequels might notice similarities with the way that the LEGO House is Kristiansen’s singular vision. Others support it, and carry out the work that must be done to achieve it, but when he walks into a room, everyone is waiting to hear his take on the matter at hand.

What works really well in this documentary is how in-depth it goes. A potted history of the LEGO Group is very brief indeed, with the majority of the runtime instead focused on the LEGO House, in more detail than anyone could ever have expected to be covered in. The terms AFOL is referenced without being explained. A casually interested Netflix browser might find this is a dull watch, but for a LEGO devotee it is wonderfully in depth.

LEGO House – Home of the Brick has incredible access to the making of this marvellous venue, but that means this is a very LEGO approved version of the story. That aside, it is a fascinating watch and by the time the credits roll, LEGO fans will be booking the next flight out to Billund.

LEGO House – Home of the Brick is streaming now on Netflix.