As of two days ago, it has been 80 years since Ole Kirk Kristiansen started a carpentry business in Billund, Denmark — a company that would eventually turn into the Lego Group we all know and love. As part of the celebrations, Lego has made this short animated film. It chronicles the ups and downs Ole, his sons, and now grandson have gone through since the carpentry business starting failing in the mid 1930s and Ole turned to making high-quality wooden toys, including a disastrous fire in the factory during World War II, the introduction of the first plastic toys and bricks in late 40s, another factory fire, the construction of an airport to help with shipping and eventually the first Legoland theme park.
The animation isn’t quite up to Pixar standards, but it’s better made than most kids’ shows these days and is a touching story of a family building a successful worldwide business from virtually nothing. Could Ole be the ultimate GeekDad? Be sure to watch out for the nice little in-jokes about the creation of the name and if you’re interested in finding more about the history of Lego, they have a nice timeline on the corporate part of their site.
