Check Out the Debut Trailer for ‘The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part’ (VIDEO)

2014's The LEGO Movie was not only a surprise smash hit, it was also one of the most innovative, off-kilter, and hilarious animated movies in years. It's gonna be a tough act to follow, no matter the sequel's concept, but I have to give the filmmakers of The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part credit for this much... they're not just doing the first movie over again.

Sequels have become more and more episodic, high on character, low on concept of any sort. Sequels are no longer places to try something new, so I have to give the team behind this flick a slight bow of respect. I enjoyed The LEGO Batman Movie, but nowhere near as much as The LEGO Movie, and The LEGO Ninjago Movie... even less so.

Still, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here and assume that they're going to push the story forward rather than just give us another ninety minutes to hang out with these characters. I do love that their main antagonist appears to be a minidoll—a controversial subset of minifigures that appear almost exclusively in sets aimed at girls. It's a nice bit of catering to the fans.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part hits theaters on February 8, 2019, and will hopefully have a nice, long run throughout the month the same way the first film did.