Morgan Freemanhas played a variety of roles throughout his career, but he’s mostly known for his mentor roles – and one of his most hilarious roles ended up flipping this typecast in the best way. Morgan Freeman is one of the most popular and respected actors of his generation and with good reason, as he has shown his incredible acting range in a variety of movies in a career that spans six decades. Freeman’s acting debut was in the 1964 dramaThe Pawnbroker, but his big break arrived in 1987 in the crime thrillerStreet Smart.
Since then,Freeman has been part of a variety of moviesin both main and secondary roles, and among his most notable projects areDriving Miss Daisy,Glory,The Shawshank Redemption,Se7en, andChristopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knighttrilogy. Freeman has also been part of more lighthearted stories, such asBruce Almighty, where he played God, but he has been typecast as a “wise mentor” – and while it’s a role that suits him, one of his funniest roles brilliantly flipped this in a hilarious and unexpected way.
The Lego Movie’s Vitruvius Was A Hilarious Take On Morgan Freeman’s Wise Mentor Characters
Vitruvius Wasn’t Exactly The Best Mentor
Morgan Freeman has played mentor roles in movies from different genres – for example, he did so in David Fincher’sSe7enas William Somerset and also in the comedyBruce Almightyas God himself. The latter is one of Freeman’s most notable comedic, but there’s another hilarious character that flipped Freeman’s wise mentor typecast: Vitruvius inThe Lego Movie. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller,The Lego Moviefollows Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), an ordinary Lego minifigure who ends up helping a resistance movement stop the evil plans of a tyrannical businessman.
When Vitruvius met Emmett, he guided him, Wyldstyle, and Batman to Cloud Cuckoo Land and shared the prophecy.
At the beginning ofThe Lego Movie, viewers meetVitruvius, a wizard who is blinded when he fails to protect a superweapon called the Kraglefrom the above-mentioned Lord Business. When Vitruvius meets Emmett, he guides him, Wyldstyle, and Batman to Cloud Cuckoo Land and shares the prophecy. However, Vitruvius is later decapitated by Business, and just before he dies,he reveals that he made up the prophecy– but he briefly returns as a ghost to tell Emmett that his self-belief makes him the Special.
What makes him different is that he was terrible as an old wise mentor, starting with the fact that he made up the prophecy.
Vitruvius is the stereotypical wise mentor character: an old man who has gone through a lot and has a lot of knowledge to share. On top of that, and to make him fit the role even better, Vitruvius is a wizard – what makes him different is that he was terrible as an old wise mentor, starting with the fact that he made up the prophecy, so there was really no guidance for Emmett. However, Vitruvius was a big part of the movie’s comedy, which also flipped the role as old wise mentor, who is usually a serious character.
Why Vitruvius Was Barely In The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part Went In A Different Direction
The Lego Moviewas a huge success with critics and commercial success, with critics praising its animation, story, humor, and voice acting. Unsurprisingly, a sequel was later announced and released in 2019. Appropriately titledThe Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, it was directed by Mike Mitchell and reunited viewers with Emmet and friends, five years after the events of the first movie. This time, Emmett and company travel into the Systar System to stop a coming cataclysm known as the “Armamageddon”.
Vitruvius wasn’t voiced by Freeman in the sequel, and instead, he was voiced by an uncredited actor.
As Vitruvius died in the first movie, he only appears twiceandvery briefly inThe Lego Movie 2: in the prologue, and he is later seen banging on the door when General Sweet Mayhem attacks Apocalypseburg. Vitruvius wasn’t voiced by Freeman in the sequel, and instead, he was voiced by an uncredited actor. Vitruvius is one ofMorgan Freeman’s funniest characters, even more so because of how he flipped the wise mentor trope.
The Lego Movie
The first film in the Lego movie franchise, 2014’s The Lego Movie tells the story of Emmett Brickowski (Chris Pratt), an average construction worker from the Lego city of Bricksburg. After finding the fabled “Piece of Resistance”, Emmett finds himself opposing the plans of the villainous Lord Business (Will Ferrell) with the help of both original characters and licensed ones such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
