Twelve Lego masters were enlisted to work on this stop-motion video that was filmed day and night over 168 hours of continuous shooting, with teams taking turns working and resting. It's a heist flick made out of the interlocking toy bricks, and it was commissioned by Chinese e-commerce company JD.com to promote a big sales event for the Lego brand.

The video, by local Chinese agency 180China, tells the story of a Lego brick being transported to its destination by boat, helicopter, truck and scooter. A robber intercepts the cargo, and a delivery man risks his life to retrieve it, "Mission Impossible"-style, while hanging from an airplane. It's notable that the hero is a delivery guy on a scooter. China is the world's biggest e-commerce market, fueled by the success of players like Alibaba Group and JD.com, and Chinese city streets are filled with delivery guys riding scooters piled high with packages.

The film used mostly stop-motion techniques, plus a few 2D animations for facial expressions; CGI was used only for the billboard promoting the sales event at the end, 180China said. By contrast "The Lego Movie," the feature-length film, used mostly CGI, with some stop-motion and real Lego sets mixed in.

JD.com's video is reminiscent of another ad that cast toys in an action short. To promote the movie "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" last year, Disney Consumer Products and creative studio Tongal cast Lego, Hasbro, Funko, Jakks Pacific, Mattel and Disney Store characters in a tale about a quest to find lost instructions for building a Lego Death Star set.