LEGO’s influence in pop culture can at times be obscure—though in the next year its presence as a mega-entertainment company will be solidified.  The source of LEGO’s continued burgeoning influence is the currently-in-production full-length animated 3D movie, titled “LEGO: Piece of Resistance,” and its ongoing collaborations with the likes of companies like Disney, Marvel and DC.

The LEGO film continues to garner buzz as details trickle out: Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett, Chris Pratt, Liam Neeson, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie and Will Ferrell have all signed on as voice actors.  The story will follow Emmett (Pratt), a normal everyday LEGO figure who is mistakenly taken for Master Builder, a legendary persona essential to saving the LEGO universe.  Ferrell takes on the voice of bad guy President Business while Neeson plays his diabolical goon, Bad Cop.  If those awesome names are any indication…

LEGO’s partnerships with aforementioned powerhouses Marvel, DC and Disney have boosted the appeal of the Danish born company with unexpected side effects.  Recently at the 2013 London Toy Fair, LEGO displayed new sets based on the upcoming films "Iron Man 3," "Man of Steel" and "The Lone Ranger" leaving clues to certain aspects of the films.  LEGO’s Lone Ranger-based train chase set revealed the existence of a Gatling gun in the movie’s action sequence and apparently their stagecoach set’s carriage safe was so liked by the "The Lone Ranger" crew that it was actually added to the film.  Sets based on "Iron Man 3" reproduce scenes from the film, gelling with leaked photos from the set. 

Locally, the Hennepin County Library’s disclosure of their top books of 2012 illustrated LEGO’s wide-spread empire: LEGO’s retelling of Star Wars: Episode 1-The Phantom Menace topped the very young children’s books list.