It's official! The LEGO Group has placed Pitch Fest Finalist, “The Missing Piece”, into development!
We caught up with Mexico-based Creators Sergio Gómez and Daniela Morán to ask about their journey and the inspiration behind their feature film idea: Two sisters must overcome their differences to battle an evil AI bent on world automation!
Pitch Fest, hosted by LEGO World Builder, is an opportunity for LEGO Fans and Creators to showcase their fully imagined Worlds to the LEGO Group’s Entertainment Team for a chance to have their Worlds turned into the next big LEGO movie, series, game, or digital short! At least one project moves into development each Pitch Fest.
The next Pitch Fest is still a few months out, but if you can’t wait that long for the chance to work with LEGO, check out their current projects right here on Tongal!
Luke Johnson: What was the inspiration behind your World “The Missing Piece”?
Sergio and Daniela: Our inspiration came from a life stage that everyone has to go through: growing up. This is when we start to feel the pressure of acting more like adults, which results in us becoming distanced from our true selves. As a kid, you ideally don't have a lot of creative limitations, or a status quo to stick to; you just get to have fun. We believe that “the missing piece” is a symbol of what we lose when we grow up and what keeps us from being happy.
LJ: The industry is full of awesome creative duos. When did your creative partnership begin and what motivated you to join forces?
S&D: With a bit of luck, we met on social media in 2020. We both were really active on creative topics such as screenwriting and storytelling, so we started networking from there. We tried to collaborate on some projects, but it wasn't until May of 2021 that we both landed a spot in the writer's room for Rey Mysterio Vs. The Darkness and started working together. Funnily enough, The Missing Piece is our first official project as a duo. While we were working together for CN, we felt like we had similar creative visions and it was so much fun working together that we were like, “Why not? We've got nothing to lose.” Looking back, we feel really lucky and we’re glad we took that leap of faith. It also shows the importance of networking and finding your people, especially in this industry.
LJ: Tell us about your first big break in the creative industry. How did it all click together?
S&D: We both have some previous personal achievements in the creative field, but our real 'big break' was writing for Cartoon Network and for Rey Mysterio; that's when we felt like “Okay, maybe we are on the right track.” We're lucky to share this amazing experience and so excited for what's yet to come!
LJ: How did you develop as Creators working on Rey Mysterio Vs. The Darkness? Did working on this show inform your approach to “The Missing Piece”?
S&D: We realized that “dreams” is just another word for “really big goals”-- and these goals are definitely achievable. More specifically, the show represented the opportunity to tell the story of a childhood hero (for Sergio) while working with a life-long favorite channel (for Dani). This also made us connect with our inner children and wonder what would have happened if we had listened when people told us we couldn't make it as creators. This thought process helped us to bring “The Missing Piece” to life, for sure. Most importantly, though, that experience allowed us to work together and learn new techniques from each other, which made us better creatives overall.
LJ: “The Missing Piece” was pitched as a live-action animation hybrid film. How did you go about striking the right balance between live-action and animation in a LEGO world, and what elements were important for you to communicate in your pitch?
S&D: For us, it was important to visually communicate a clash of two opposing worlds: the real and “cold” one without much room for creativity, and the fantastic one that represented limitless possibilities. Having main characters who did not fit in with their respective worlds of origin was a priority for this story, too. A big challenge for us was working out how best to bring the animated elements into the real world, and how to build them into the story, while portraying the message we wanted to deliver.
LJ: Neither one of you is a stranger to pitching in a professional setting. What was it like taking part in the very first LEGO World Builder Pitch Fest and how did it differ from other experiences?
S&D: LEGO's process was definitely different. We felt this supportive atmosphere because everyone wanted this idea to succeed. The feedback was always key to our project and both the Tongal and LEGO teams wanted our story to be better each time we pitched it. They were truly rooting for everyone and in that sense we felt so motivated. They also treated every single Architect as a Creator; they respected our stories, and they made us feel that we deserved the spot in Pitch Fest. Rather than just pitching an idea, we felt part of a community.
LJ: Do you have anything else in the cooker for LEGO World Builder and beyond? If so, we'd love a teaser!
S&D: We have a couple of cool projects underway for TV and films, both live action and
animation! Currently our main focus with LEGO is on “The Missing Piece”, but keep an eye on us, because maybe in the near future, we will be traveling back to the past!
Sergio and Daniela can be found on twitter at @sergio_writes and @terribleartista. Their other recent project, Rey Mysterio Vs The Darkness, is set to premiere on Cartoon Network later this year!
