The LEGO Ninjago Movie

***The Lego Ninjago Movie*** is a 3D computer-animated action-comedy martial arts film that is being directed by Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher and Bob Logan and written by Dan and Kevin Hageman, Hilary Winston, Bob Logan and Paul Fisher. Based on the Lego Ninjago toy line, it is the first film to be based on an original Lego property, and is the second spin-off installment from the 2014 film *The Lego Movie*, following the release of *The Lego Batman Movie* in 2016 and the forty-second Warner Animation Group film. The film will star the voices of Dave Franco, Justin Theroux, Michael Peña, Kumail Nanjiani, Abbi Jacobson, Zach Woods, Fred Armisen, Olivia Munn and Jackie Chan.

The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on September 22, 2017, in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D by Warner Bros. Pictures.

## Plot[edit]

A young boy meets the mysterious owner of a relic shop, Mr. Liu, who tells him the story of Ninjago, a city within the LEGO universe. It is frequently terrorized by the evil warlord Garmadon, who is the father of teenager Lloyd Garmadon and estranged husband of Koko. Everybody in the city of Ninjago hates Lloyd for being Garmadon's son, which puts Lloyd under emotional stress. Unbeknownst to them, Lloyd is the Green Ninja and part of a secret force of ninja warriors comprising Nya, Zane, Jay, Cole, Kai and their master named Wu, who always stop Garmadon from taking over Ninjago City by fighting with mechs. When Garmadon is again unsuccessful at conquering Ninjago, his tech division shows him a giant new mech.

Lloyd and his friends see the return of Master Wu, who tells them that only their "unique element" will defeat Garmadon. Lloyd is frustrated to learn his element is green. Jay has lightning, Cole has earth, Zane has ice, Nya has water and Kai has fire. Wu also mentions an "Ultimate Weapon", giving Lloyd new hope of stopping Garmadon, despite Wu warning them that *nobody* can ever use the device. The next day, Garmadon attacks Ninjago City with his giant mech and this time defeats Lloyd. As Garmadon gloats, Lloyd returns with the Ultimate Weapon and fires it, only to reveal that it is really a laser pointer that attracts a live-action cat named Meowthra. Garmadon points the laser at the ninja's mechs, which the cat destroys, but Lloyd breaks the laser pointer. As Garmadon celebrates his victory, Lloyd unmasks himself and denounces his father, leaving Garmadon confused.

Lloyd meets up with his friends and Master Wu, who tells them they must use an "Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon" to stop Meowthra from destroying Ninjago City, which can be found on the other side of Ninjago Island. Garmadon overhears Wu talking about the weapon, follows close behind, intercepts Wu and fights him only to end up in a cage defeated. However, Wu loses his balance and falls off a bridge into the river below. Before being swept away, he tells the ninja they must find "inner peace". The ninja continue on with Garmadon leading them, much to Lloyd's disappointment. Despite this, the two bond throughout their journey, while the ninja learn not to rely solely on their mechs to fight. The group survives an encounter with Garmadon's fired generals, and Garmadon teaches Lloyd to throw.

They eventually crash down onto the Temple of Fragile Foundations, Garmadon's childhood home. He tells Lloyd that he wishes he had stayed with him and his mom after deciding to conquer Ninjago, but he couldn't change so they had to stay apart. The ninjas find the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon, a chest consisting of a set of LEGO pieces that resemble their elemental powers, only to have it stolen by Garmadon, who remains resolute in taking over the city after Lloyd rejects his offer to replace a mutinous general. In a villainous turnaround, Garmadon locks all of them inside the temple as it begins to collapse. Lloyd realizes that "inner peace" means that they must unleash their elemental power, and they escape from the collapsing temple. As they fall off a cliff, Wu saves them with his flying ship, the "Destiny's Bounty", and they head back to Ninjago City.

Garmadon arrives and tries to defeat Meowthra with the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon, but Meowthra eats him whole instead. Lloyd and the crew arrive and begin fighting Garmadon's army. As Lloyd approaches Meowthra, he reveals to everyone that he is the Green Ninja and realizes that green means life and that his element is what connects the ninjas together and his family together. He comforts Meowthra and apologizes to Garmadon profusely, saying that he forgives him. Garmadon cries tears of fire, which causes Meowthra to vomit him out. After Lloyd and his father are reconciled, Meowthra becomes the mascot of Ninjago and Lloyd is hailed as a hero.

As the story finishes, Mr. Liu informs the boy that he will start training him as a ninja at dawn after the boy shows potential.

## Cast[edit]

* Dave Franco as Lloyd, the Green Ninja, leader of the Secret Ninja Force, Lord Garmadon and Koko's son and Master Wu's nephew.
* Michael Peña as Kai, the hotheaded red Ninja of Fire and Nya's brother.
* Kumail Nanjiani as Jay, the quiet and cautious blue Ninja of Lightning.
* Abbi Jacobson as Nya, the strong silver Ninja of Water, Kai's sister, and Jay's crush.
* Zach Woods as Zane, the robotic white Ninja of Ice.
* Fred Armisen as Cole, the laid-back music-loving black Ninja of Earth.
* Jackie Chan as Master Wu, the wisecracking leader of the group, Lord Garmadon's brother and Lloyd's uncle.
	+ Chan also plays Mr. Liu, an elderly shopkeeper who appears in the live-action part of the film.
* Justin Theroux as Lord Garmadon, the Lord of Evil, an evil warlord, the father of Lloyd, the ex-husband of Koko and the brother of Master Wu.
* Olivia Munn as Koko, Lord Garmadon's ex-wife and Lloyd's mother. She was formerly known as the legendary "Lady Iron Dragon" when she worked as a warrior-queen.
* Randall Park and Retta as Chen and Maggie, the cheerleaders at Ninjago High School who bully Lloyd.
* Constance Wu as the Mayor of Ninjago.
* Charlyne Yi and Vanara Taing as Terri and Asimov, the IT Nerds working for Lord Garmadon.
* Chris Hardwick as a radio DJ working in Ninjago City.
* Robin Roberts as herself, a Lego caricature of the newscaster. In the UK version, she is replaced by Kate Garraway.
* Michael Strahan as himself, a Lego caricature of the known media personality and former New York Giants defensive end. In the UK version, he is replaced by Ben Shephard.
* David Burrows as a fuchsia ninja who has the "element of surprise."
* Alex Kauffman as Ninja Computer.
* Ali Wong as General Olivia, the fish-themed general of Garmadon's Shark Army.
* Todd Hansen as General Omar, the shark-themed general of Garmadon's Shark Army.
* Doug Nicholas as General Jollty, the jellyfish-themed general of Garmadon's Shark Army.
* Bobby Lee as the owner of a pilates studio in Ninjago City.
* Laura Kightlinger as Mrs. Laudita, a teacher at Ninjago High School.
* Pearl and Ruby as Meowthra, a live-action cat that terrorizes Ninjago.
* Kaan Guldur as a young boy who appears at the live-action part of the film whom Mr. Liu tells the story of Ninjago to. At the end of the film, he begins to train as a ninja by Mr. Liu as the story ends.

## Productionedit | edit source

### Developmentedit | edit source

On September 17, 2013, Warner Bros. announced that it was developing an animated Ninjago film based on the Lego toy line Lego Ninjago. The Hageman brothers, who wrote Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu show and co-wrote the story of The Lego Movie, would write the adaptation. Charlie Bean was announced as director, and The Lego Movie team of Dan Lin, Roy Lee, and Phil Lord and Chris Miller as producers. On June 27, 2016, the film's voice cast was announced, including Dave Franco, Michael Peña, Kumail Nanjiani, Zach Woods, Fred Armisen, Jackie Chan, and Abbi Jacobson. Additional voice cast included Justin Theroux as Lord Garmadon and Olivia Munn as Koko.

### Filming[edit]

In order to give the film a more believable father-son atmosphere, Dave Franco and Justin Theroux recorded most of their lines where their characters interact with each other together in a single recording studio. During the process, Franco openly admitted he found himself uncontrollably crying while recording some of his lines. Franco stated "I found myself getting caught up in the moment and basically crying harder than I have in any live-action movie I’ve ever been in".

Jackie Chan choreographed all of Master Wu's fight scenes in live action before they were recreated in animation for the film. Chan found the experience new to him as well as interesting. “Everything the stunt team does, the ninja do also”, Chan commented.

## Release[edit]

*The Lego Ninjago Movie* premiered at the Regency Village Theater on September 16, 2017, before it was widely released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 22, 2017, in 3D, RealD 3D, and Dolby Cinema. It was originally scheduled for a September 23, 2016 release. The film was released in Denmark on September 21, 2017. It was released in the Philippines on September 27, 2017.

A short film, *The Master*, that promoted the feature film was shown in front of screenings of *Storks*, which took the original September 23 release date. On February 8, 2017, the first trailer was released. The trailer was shown in front of screenings of *The Lego Batman Movie*. On July 22, 2017, a second trailer for the film was shown as part of San Diego Comic-Con and released on YouTube later in the day. Both trailers feature the song "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift, with the second trailer also featuring "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette, "Ain't Gonna Die Tonight" by Macklemore and "I Wanna Go Out" by American Authors.

*The Lego Ninjago Movie* was originally planned for an IMAX release, as evident in trailers (attached to *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales* and *Transformers: The Last Knight*), and Facebook, but was cancelled and only received non-IMAX presentations and then eventually, *Kingsman: The Golden Circle* took over the IMAX screenings.

### Marketing[edit]

Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including a set of Collectible Minifigures. A video game by TT Fusion based on the film, *The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game*, was released on September 22, 2017, for Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is similar to previous Lego games, with some new features such as multiplayer and new techniques.

### Home media[edit]

*The Lego Ninjago Movie* was released on Digital HD on December 12, 2017, and DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and 4K Blu-ray on December 19, 2017, by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

## Reception[edit]

### Box office[edit]

*The Lego Ninjago Movie* grossed $59.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $63.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $123 million against a $70 million budget.

In North America, the film was released alongside *Kingsman: The Golden Circle* and *Friend Request*. Various tracking services had the film projected to gross anywhere from $27–44 million from 4,047 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $5.8 million on its first day, weekend projections were lowered to $21 million. It ended up debuting to $21.2 million, finishing third at the box office and ranking as the lowest opening of the *Lego* franchise by over 50%.

### Critical response[edit]

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 56% based on 133 reviews and an average rating of 5.83/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite ample charm and a few solid gags, *The Lego Ninjago Movie* suggests this franchise's formula isn't clicking like it used to." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Andrew Barker of *Variety* wrote: "Plenty entertaining and occasionally very funny, *Ninjago* nonetheless displays symptoms of diminishing returns, and Lego might want to shuffle its pieces a bit before building yet another film with this same model."

### Accolades[edit]

List of Accolades
 Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature
 Matthew Everitt, Christian So, Loic Miermont, Fiona Darwin for "Garmadon"
 Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature

## Triviaedit | edit source

* This is the first film in the *The Lego Movie* series not to be released in February.
* The last Warner Animation Group film to have Warner Bros. Pictures logo with "A TimeWarner Company".