Everyone loves Lego: it is one of the unwritten rules of life. But 10 years ago I bet no one at the Lego HQ (now there's a nice image) could have foreseen that, come the dawn of Youtube and UGC, they would become a media of choice for amateur animators the world over.
I seem to remember the whole thing being kick started by the guy doing rather surreal takes on bible stories. Since then anything and everything has been retold in a Lego stylee, from Michael Jackson's Thriller to the post-modern classic of Lego doing Eddie Izzard doing Darth Vader (using Star Wars characters).
The only thing that comes close are the machinima films made using clips from video games, such as the Halo-based Red vs Blue. But these seem technical and difficult (which is probably why there's so little good stuff about), whereas animation with Lego has that air of 'I could do that' ease about it (even if that isn't the case). So much so, I'm surprised Lego haven't started to produce their own stop-frame animation kits.
Anyway, the latest thing to enjoy a Lego makeover is UK series 4 of the apprentice. Enjoy.
Episode 1...
Episode 2...
Episode 3...
Episode 4...
With more to follow I guess.