WildBrain

WildBrain, formerly known as DHX Media, is a Canadian animation studio that creates and broadcasts animated and live-action series, as well as LEGO stop-motions and CGI Gifs. They replaced WILFilm ApS after March of the Oni and were responsible for animating Ninjago from Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu to Crystalized. They are also responsible for animating Ninjago: Dragons Rising, in which the studio utilizes Unreal Engine.https://thehdroom.com/tv/ninjago-dragons-rising-trailers-and-june-1st-netflix-release-date-in-us-169873/https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news/2023/may/lego-ninjago-2023
==Directors==
*Adam Wood
*Daniel Ife
*Shane Poettcker
*Wade Cross
==Style==
More often than WILFilm ApS, WildBrain uses the "smear frame" animation technique, in which a character is stretched out to give the illusion of motion blur (see examples below). Vlad Tutu is an example of a character who always appears stretched out when moving. A similar technique is also often used, in which weapons bend unnaturally.
Compared to WILFilm, WildBrain tends to use flatter colors and less shading, as well as more cartoonish elements to things such as exaggerating the Spinjitzu tornadoes and the movement of the characters as a whole. In some scenes, most often in battle, a technique is used for a few seconds where the background changes to one color with several lines that symbolize movement and emphasize the scene.
The Spinjitzu tornadoes have returned to their original shape as opposed to the often-spherical shape seen in Seasons 8 through 10, with some minor changes. For example, Zane's tornado has bits of ice floating around and there is a ribbon-like texture present on the tornadoes.
WildBrain characters have more color lines and variation in their hair, more detailed texture of clothing (and skin, in cases such as the Munce), and eye pupils that go left and right rather than staying straight. Serpentine scales are two-dimensional as opposed to three-dimensional. However, this does not apply to Pythor, whose scales are, for an unknown reason, three-dimensional in Season 15. 
WildBrain animates the walking animation differently from WILFilm, seeing as the hands move on the sides of the body instead of near the torso. It also seems slower. Similarly, tailed characters such as Skales and Char move around a lot more making them seem like they slither instead of walk.In the WildBrain animation, Wu's hat is also more often seen slightly skewed or jumps during combat sequences, as can be seen, for example, during the return of the ninja from the Never-Realm in "Awakenings" or on GIFs for Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu.
When Wu fights the ninja on the roof of the monastery in "Wasted True Potential," for a moment his hat flies into the air and shows Wu's head, which is missing his black skullcap seen in previous episodes. This is likely because characters are no longer shown with studs on their heads as of March of the Oni (with the exception of Vinny in "Public Enemies 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5!"), so a covering for the top of Wu's head is no longer needed, animation-wise. This is also seen in "The Prodigal Father," but in "The Real Fall," Wu has this skullcap again. This is presumably because he was missing his hat for a longer time in the latter episode, so his skullcap may have been added back in order for him to look more normal.
The technique where the mouth of the character is significantly shifted to the side is also often used.
Starting with Season 1 of Dragons Rising, WildBrain uses Unreal Engine when animating. Smear frames are now used less than before. Elemental Powers now glow more and the character's hands change color when using their power, similar to Jay's lightning in Seasons 11-15.
==Design changes==
WildBrain had some characters' hair change slightly.
*Jay's hair has returned to a more reddish-brown color akin to earlier seasons, rather than the darker brown color used in Seasons 8 through 10.
*Lloyd's hair is a little darker.
*Nya's hair is a little more gray when compared to Cole's.
*Wu has a longer beard and a small ponytail.
*Clutch Powers's hair piece now has the dot on top present on the physical version.
*Misako's silver streak in her hair appears longer and lighter. In addition, a green tie was added to her french braid.
Several other characters' face designs were somewhat altered.
*The relaxed lines above Cole and Dareth's eyes have disappeared.
*Zane's face design is slightly different.
*The lower half of Kai's scar is missing in Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu and the first half of Prime Empire.
*P.I.X.A.L. does not have her face bordered by a black helmet as it was in Seasons 9 and 10.
*Serpentine eyes no longer glow.
*The Mechanic's cheekbones, wrinkles, and the circles under his eyes were removed from his face design.
*Nelson looks slightly older, with a slightly different face print and mid-legs instead of short legs.
*Gayle Gossip has slightly smaller glasses and lighter hair.
*Cyrus Borg was previously slightly redesigned in March of the Oni, having a new hairstyle and slightly smaller glasses. However, in WildBrain he has his original hairstyle and larger silver glasses again. His crow's feet are also absent.
*Avatar Harumi and Harumi look a little younger than WILFilm Harumi and have a smaller mouth.
*Misako's mouth is smaller and has a more generic appearance.
*The Postman has a slightly different face print without his mustache.
*Ronin has his eyes further apart with the lazy-eye effect seen on Dareth and the post-movie Cole pre-WildBrain and he has a slightly less pronounced stubble.
*Ray's eyes are closer together.
*Like Ray, Maya's eyes are a little closer to each other and she has a slightly less generic face.
*Patty Keys has a different hair piece and her lips are gray instead of pink.
*As in the pre-film seasons, Skylor has normal red hair instead of dark red and has a slightly more generic face.
*Pythor has a slightly different head shape, has different pupils and lacks his eyeliner.
Almost all characters have side-leg and side-torso printing, which do not exist on their real-life minifigures.
==Trivia==
*According to Tommy Andreasen, all changes of the characters' designs in the WildBrain animation are approved and supplied by LEGO, so WildBrain cannot be blamed, for example, for the design of The Mechanic, which changed in Season 11 due to the release of his minifigure in 2021.https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1472872415080427521
*According to Tommy Andreasen, the 2D-animated episodes were "inspired by the wealth of Ninjago fan art we have seen over the years. A lot of it was used to in the initial pitch to DHX."https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1152874571617505280 Joshua Deck's art is one example.https://youtu.be/3ruE3M2Rp1M?t=515
*Every major antagonist from WildBrain except Unagami looks a little different in the sets than in the show.
**Aspheera has a fire ghost tail instead of a fire snake tail. She also does not have pupils as she does in the show.
**The Ice Emperor uses white instead of gray coloring and has a mask printed on his face rather than the 3D mask seen in the show.
**The Skull Sorcerer only has two black eyes on his mask, while in the show he has green eyes as well as a mouth and lines on the mask.
**Mammatus and the Keepers have glowy-purple skin in the show but plain lavender skin in the sets.
**Kalmaar has yellow-green eyes in the show, while in the sets they are blue-pink. He also has gold armor in the sets, and he is teal than cyan.
***According to Michael Knap, the reason for this is that "we did not have the option to make the eyes yellow and the tv show need more detail."https://twitter.com/KnapDK/status/1391440418290774027
**The Overlord in his Crystal King form has black hands, and grey teeth which blends in with the face, while in the show he has grey hands and white teeth.
**Beatrix has more wrinkles on her face in the sets and lacks her cape.
*Mister Whiskers's owner is one of the few generic citizens of Ninjago City who appears in the show even after a change of the animation studio from WiLFilm to WildBrain.:File:Mr Whiskers owner.png:File:Mister whiskers owner.png
*According to Andreasen, WildBrain animates capes well.https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1359628538794692608
*A similar technique as the "smear frame" was previously used in The LEGO Ninjago Movie, where existing LEGO pieces were used to simulate motion.:File:The Making of the Movie-2.jpg
*When asked about the animation smears, Tommy Andreasen said, "It is meant to be watched and enjoyed. Not paused."https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1299668999542845440
*There are different fonts on title cards used during the seasons.
**Seasons 11 and 13 use the Kunoichi font, the same as seasons 8, 9 and 10.
**Season 12 uses the Press Start 2P font.
**The Island uses the Passero One font.
**Seasons 14 and 15 also use a unique font, although its name is unknown.
**Season 1 of Dragons Rising uses a new unique, although its name is also unknown.
*When asked whether WILFilm would return, Bragi Schut stated, "Wildbrain is doing an awesome job in my opinion. They are super dedicated and many of the animators were fans like yourselves not too long ago. We’re excited to have them helping us. Art is a messy/crazy process. But the best art comes from passion and Wildbrain has it in spades."https://twitter.com/bragischutjr/status/1378520701187977217
*Kalmaar is Andreasen's favorite WildBrain villain.https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1426239504277454853
*According to Andreasen, WildBrain most likely uses the animation application Maya.https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1529591453747380225
*Each WildBrain installment brought back characters or environments from the earlier days of Ninjago.
**Season 11: Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu brought back Killow, Ultra Violet, The Mechanic, The Preeminent, Acidicus, Skales and Nelson.
**Season 12: Prime Empire brought back Cyrus Borg and the Nindroid Sentries.
**Season 13: Master of the Mountain brought back Lou.
**The Island brought back Ronin.
**Season 14: Seabound brought back Ray, Maya, Skylor, Ed and Edna.
**Season 15: Crystalized brought back The Overlord, Pythor, Harumi and Garmadon.
**Season 1 (Dragons Rising) brought back the Kingdom of Madness, Cloud Kingdom, and Djinjago.
**Season 2 (Dragons Rising) brought back Tox and Paleman.
*The studios also handles Monkie Kid since the fifth season of the series.
==Gallery==
This is a gallery of abnormal frames in which the animation is used to simulate action or sudden movement.
Screenshot (504).png
Screenshot (505).png
Screenshotter--NEW111-8’39”.jpg
Nya legs.png
Screenshot (509).png
Screenshot (510).png
Strange bo staff.png
Screenshot (598).png
Screenshot (596).png
Screenshot (512).png
Ninjago Thermolytic Kinetic Inverter.png
Screenshotter--NEW113-5’33”.jpg
LN103Bridge.png
Screenshot (592).png
Screenshot (595).png
Screenshot (1107).png
Screenshotter--NEW1130-5’21”.jpg
Vlad Tutu hands.png
Vlad Tutu hand.png
CURSED IMAGE 2.png
Screenshotter--NEW124-5’54”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW125-8’21”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW126-9’42”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW127-6’42”.png
Ninjago129-4’50”.png
Ninjago129-6’35”.png
Ninjago1212-8’59”.png
Ninjago1212-9’22”.png
Ninjago Confidential57.png
Ninjago Confidential52.png
Ninjago–(Ep.142)–10’39”.jpg
S12E15 Jay AbnormalFrame.png
S13E03 WuHand AbnormalFrame.png
Skull sorcerer strange.jpg
Ninjago–(MotM)–0’33”.png
Wu leg.png
Bo staff strange.png
Vania knee.png
Screenshot 2021-01-24 at 9.52.39 PM.png
Weird kai long.jpg
S14E10 KaiSword Smudge.png
S14E10 RayStretched.png
S14E16 StretchSmudge.png
Wu trident.png
Curiosity LloydStretched.png
Crystalized–Kryptarium Prison Blues–5’09”.png
Crystalized–Kryptarium Prison Blues–5’56”.png
MoS188KaiLeg.png
S15E15 Image (29).png
S15E15 Pythor 5.png
S15E15 Pythor 10.png
S15E19 Image (108).png
S15E23 Stretched Jay.png
S15E25 Skylor StretchedLeg.png
Skales S15 1.png
S15E28 Image (42).png
DF LLoyd Kicks.png
S1E1 Sora's legs for WildBrain gallery.png
CC - Lloyd's legs.png
BM - Arin's legs.png
BM - Nya's legs.png
RTI - Lloyd's legs.png
MB - Legs.png
MB - Arin stretch.png
Mindless Beasts (341).png
Mindless Beasts (411).png
IWBTD - Wyldfyre legs.png
TCI - Ras legs.png
This is a gallery of background changes and scene emphasis.
Screenshotter--NEW111-8’59”.jpg
Screenshot (516).png
Screenshot (515).png
Screenshotter--NEW112-10’27”.jpg
Screenshot (506).png
MoS101What.png
Ninjago--(Ep.102)--4’41”.png
Ninjago--(Ep.102)--4’34”.png
Ninjago--(Ep.102)--4’36”.png
Ninjago--(Ep.102)--4’38”.png
LN102.gif
Ninjago--(Ep.102)--4’44”.png
Chains background.png
S11Pixal.jpeg
Screenshot (204).png
Screenshot (205).png
Screenshotter--NEW1112-2’54”.jpg
Background S11E13.png
Ninja background.png
Screenshotter--NEW1116-5’28”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW1112-2’24”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW1119-4’40”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW1119-4’48”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW1119-5’57”.jpg
Nya anime motorcycle.png
The mechanic anime.png
Screenshotter--NEW1119-8’00”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW1119-8’11”.jpg
The mechanic water anime.png
Shurikens background.png
The Kaiju Protocal 55.png
The Kaiju Protocal 60.png
Background S12E01.png
Screenshotter--NEW1130-2’30”.jpg
Screenshot (601).png
Screenshotter--NEW124-1’58”.jpg
Jay ep4.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW125-1’28”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW125-7’29”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW128-7’46”.jpg
Screenshotter--NEW128-10’01”.jpg
Ninjago129-3’47”.png
Ninjago129-6’19”.png
Ninjago129-8’54”.png
Ninjago1212-5’29”.png
Ninjago1212-5’39”.png
The robo arm S12.png
Ninjago–(Ep.143)–2’56”.png
Sushi knives.png
Ninjago–(Ep.143)–3’49”.png
Ninjago–(Ep.143)–5’00”.png
MotM151ChompyCharge.png
Vania Wu Cole.jpg
Screenshot 20200724-104416.jpg
Upply.jpg
Screenshot 20200727-092743.jpg
Ninjago–Assault on Ninjago City–10’38”.png
TVoS–Wisdom–0’33”.png
TVoS–Wisdom–0’36”.png
TVoS–Wisdom–0’37”.png
TVoS–Wisdom–1’08”.png
TVoS–Wisdom–1’36”.png
TVoS–Wisdom–1’51”.png
TVoS–Wisdom–2’05”.png
TVoS–Courage–2’05”.png
TVoS–Courage–2’10”.png
TVoS–Courage–2’26”.png
Crystalized–Farewell the Sea–0’45”.png
Crystalized–Farewell the Sea–2’13”.png
2022-11-26 10 00 14-Greenshot.png
S15EP18 ZaneJet.png
S15E22 Image (9).png
S15E22 Image (15).png
S15E22 Image (34).png
S15E22 Image (110).png
S15E22 Image (111).png
S15E22 Image (128).png
S15E22 Image (132).png
S15E22 Image (133).png
S15E24 Image (79).png
2022-11-19 10 06 58-Greenshot.png
2022-11-19 10 07 27-Greenshot.png
S15E27 Image (44).png
S15E28 Image (42).png
Jump up....png
Kick back....png
Whip around...png
And...png
SPIN!.png
DF Harumi Attacks.png
DF Vangelis Dragonide.png
TMP1 Scene emphasis.png
Beyond Madness (163).png
WoD (78).png
WoD (87).png
WoD (98).png
Mindless Beasts (217).png
Mindless Beasts (218).png
Mindless Beasts (219).png
Mindless Beasts (220).png
Mindless Beasts (221).png
Mindless Beasts (222).png
Mindless Beasts (223).png
==References==
fi:WildBrain
de:WildBrain
ru:WildBrain
Category:Real-Life Articles
Category:Companies
Category:2019
Category:Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu
Category:2020
Category:Prime Empire Original Shorts
Category:Prime Empire
Category:Master of the Mountain
Category:2021
Category:The Island
Category:Seabound
Category:Ninjago: Reimagined
Category:2022
Category:The Virtues of Spinjitzu
Category:Crystalized
Category:2023
Category:Season 1 (Dragons Rising)
Category:2024
Category:The Elemental Mechs
Category:Season 2 (Dragons Rising)
Category:Ninjago