The hitmaker stars in a movie about himself that sidesteps all past controversies to reflect a heavily curated version of his life and career — in Lego animation.

The toymaker has found success in fictional films. But with “Piece by Piece,” about the life of Mr. Williams, it has gotten into a new genre.

This film’s topic, singer-songwriter-producer Pharrell Williams, seems somewhat inappropriate at first glance. Many of the songs he recorded, wrote, or produced do not lend themselves to a PG-rated movie treatment.

The superproducer and "Happy" hitmaker, responsible for changing the sound of hip-hop, tells his life story via Legos and Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville.

Grammy-winner Pharrell Williams and Oscar-winner Morgan Neville talk with USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa about the Williams' Lego biopic "Piece by Piece."

If it weren’t filmed entirely using animated Lego blocks, “Piece by Piece” would be a fairly routine music documentary, in this case a profile of the protean hip-hop producer-performer Pharrell Williams.

In a sea of formulaic biographical documentaries about musicians, “Piece by Piece,” about the life of the hitmaker and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams, stands out boldly. Not because it doesn’t follow the usual narrative formula.

For Lego, making 'Piece by Piece' was its biggest gamble since stepping into feature films with 2014's 'The Lego Movie.'