to improvise without preparation
We'll wing it.The Lego Movie · 2014 — Chapter 17 of 22 · 2'39" · B2
Vitruvius Reveals the Prophecy Is Fake, Explained: made it up
The plan falls apart, the team is captured, and then comes the real blow: the prophecy everyone has followed is a lie. "I made it up. It's not true" is the confession, and it leaves the hero with nothing—until a promise that the truth may matter more than the legend.
What happens
The assault goes wrong when Benny argues with the fortress's computer instead of lowering the shield, and the heroes are captured. In the Think Tank, Vitruvius tells Emmet the truth: the prophecy that made him special was invented. Emmet reels, but Vitruvius insists he still has something important to say.
Listen for
wing itby the wayno match formade it up
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Phrase of the scene
made it up
invented something untrue
维特鲁威斯临终坦白：那个让所有人追随的预言，其实是 I made it up，被他编出来的。
She made up a story about why she was late.
Also in this scene
- wing it
to improvise without preparation
- by the way
used to add a side remark
- no match for
unable to compete with
Everything marked in this scene
21 notes across 61 lines
- No! I never once said anything...! - COMPUTER: I don't understand what you mean.Benny, what's going on?You are undermining me!Sneaking around the corner...I see you've accidentally wandered into my Think Tank.used to add a side remark
And by the way, I found a few of your friends.weak form
And by the way, I found a few of your friends.- By which I mean all of them! - Sorry!Robots, destroy this old man at once.Well, Junebug, I really prefer the word...unable to compete with
A corrupted spirit is no match for the purity of imagina...be no match for: No match for puts two sides in a contest and rules one of them out.
A corrupted spirit is no match for the purity of imagina...I know, I'm doing my best...present continuous for ongoing effort: The continuous form shows effort in progress rather than a promise.
I know, I'm doing my best...invented something untrue
I made it up. It's not true.liaison
I made it up. It's not true.What I'm about to tell you...be about to: About to pins the action to the instant just before it happens.
What I'm about to tell you...liaison
What I'm about to tell you...will change the course of history.Vitruvius Reveals the Prophecy Is Fake, explained
What's really going on
The scene's real target is belief, not the fortress. Everything the heroes have risked was built on a story they were told, and the confession finally comes: "I made it up. It's not true." It lands hardest on the person the story was aimed at—Emmet has been living inside someone else's sentence, which is why his first reaction is to ask whether he is The Special at all. What the film does next is sly. Instead of letting the lie destroy him, it keeps the value of the story: that a scared, ordinary person can act anyway. The closing promise, that what comes next will "change the course of history," turns a confession into a handoff.
Theme
LiesVitruvius admits the prophecy that gave the hero his purpose was invented to inspire desperate people.
IdentityEmmet's first question is whether he is still special once the story that defined him turns out to be false.
Listen for
- by the way — weak form
- made it up — liaison
- about to tell you — liaison
I made it up. It's not true.The reveal that undoes everything: the guiding prophecy was invented, which means the hero's whole mission rests on a lie.
You must know something about the prophecy.A soft setup for bad news. It signals a confession before the confession, drawing the listener in instead of warning him.
I see you've accidentally wandered into my Think Tank.A villain's mock-polite greeting that turns a break-in into a joke, as if the heroes simply got lost in the wrong room.
And by the way, I found a few of your friends.The casual follow-up that lands the real threat: everyone the heroes brought along has already been captured.
Questions about this scene
Why does Vitruvius lie about the prophecy?
He admits the whole thing was invented. The implication is that he needed to give exhausted, frightened people something to believe in, and a story could do what plain truth could not.
Is the prophecy actually real?
No. He says plainly that he made it up and that it is not true. The reveal forces both Emmet and the audience to decide what the story was worth if it was invented.
What does "wing it" mean here?
It means to proceed without a plan and improvise. Someone says it just before the assault, because the shield is still up and there is no time to prepare anything better.
What happens to the team at the fortress?
The attempt to disable the shield fails—largely because Benny argues with the computer—and the heroes are caught. The scene then moves to the Think Tank, where the captured Vitruvius speaks with Emmet.
The Lego Movie · 22 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 18special little snowflakeLord Business Releases the Kragle
Chapter 1put to sleepEmmet Follows the Instructions
Chapter 2between the linesEmmet's Morning Routine in Bricksburg
Chapter 3I hate to tell you thisEmmet Touches the Piece of Resistance
Chapter 4a blank slateBad Cop Interrogates Emmet
Chapter 5drop the actWyldstyle Rescues Emmet
Chapter 6no time to loseVitruvius Explains the Universe
Chapter 7No more Mr. Nice GuyPresident Business Reveals the Kragle
Chapter 8blend inEmmet Fails the MasterBuilder Test
Chapter 9in the first placeEmmet Invents the Double-Decker Couch
Chapter 10Trust your instinctsEmmet Learns to Trust His Instincts
Chapter 11tale of woeEmmet Addresses the MasterBuilders
Chapter 12every man for himselfCuckoo Land Gets Raided
Chapter 13after allBusiness Mocks the Double-Decker Couch
Chapter 14the last thing someone expectsEmmet Pitches His Master Plan
Chapter 15out of the blueEmmet Plans the Tower Heist
Chapter 16put on a tough actLucy Reveals Her Real Name
Watching · Chapter 17made it upVitruvius Reveals the Prophecy Is Fake
Chapter 18special little snowflakeLord Business Releases the Kragle
Chapter 19sounds like a cat posterGhost Vitruvius Reveals the Truth
Chapter 20a face in the crowdWyldstyle Rallies the Universe
Chapter 21Fire in the holeDad Finds His Lego Collection Wrecked
Chapter 22back from the deadLord Business Offers His HandChapter 17 of 22 · about 17 min to go