Creativity is for Everyone

Directed by Charlotte Footitt

2025

If we go back a few years, people may have forgotten how much of a surprising hit The Lego Movie was. Surprising as it took one of the world’s best known corporate brands, and instead of a name-recognised kids cash grab, delliverd a family-friendly, entertaining and heartfelt film about the beauty of the creative process.

Creativity is for Everyone is a new short film from Midlands animator Charlotte Footitt and very much has a similar sentiment, focusing on inventiveness around the world and using the small bricks and minifigs to highlight these issues.

Unlike that film however, Footitt has used stop motion animation to bring her story to life using actual LEGO and going through the pain-staking process of giving the impression of movement.

A LEGO map of the world opens the short with an emphasis that creativity has no boundaries and we zoom into a city where Footitt has recreated the famous 1932 photo “Lunch atop a Skyscraper”.

But here the black and white image is presented in the full colour range of minifig characters - as they also give a cheeky Mexican wave before we head off to a busy street. The map is then used to take us to a number of other global locations.

First, we head to the South American jungles, then a European cafe, an African farm and some boating and surfing at an Australian beach. The world tour continues with jaunts taking in Santa’s grotto before leaving earth altogether to end in space as an astronaut in pink plants a flag on the moon.

Creativity Is For Everyone is a fantastic little animated short. Jumping between locations allows the filmmaker to create different buildings, characters and sets showing the versatility of the “children’s” toy.

Each little vignette is accompanied by appropriate sound effects but the avoidance of any dialogue is a great choice to align with its universal themes. And although a little rough and round the edges - the stop motion does indeed stop and start at times, perhaps needing more frames - the ‘blocky' nature of LEGO bricks means this is less of an issue.

And we rarely see stop motion in the Midlands film scene so it was a refreshing change and that unique style makes it stand out as a short. And although only two and a half minutes long, it won't be lost on viewers that this must have taken meticulous efforts day and night from the DeMontfort University student and her team.

With its homemade feel and honourable message of individual expression no matter where you live, Creativity Is For Everyone therefore ends a successful short, and one that speaks to not just kids but reminds adults that lots of fun can still be had when keeping creativity in mind.

★★★★

4 / 5

Michael Sales

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