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The Lego Ninjago Movie

From Alfawiki
The Lego Ninjago Movie
Company typeAnimated film
IndustryFilm
Founded2017
FounderCharlie Bean, Paul Fisher, Bob Logan (directors)
Headquarters
United States, Denmark
ProductsAnimated film

The Lego Ninjago Movie is a 2017 animated martial arts comedy inspired by the Lego Ninjago toy series and television show. This film marks the directorial debut of Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, and Bob Logan, with a screenplay crafted by Logan, Fisher, William Wheeler, Tom Wheeler, Jared Stern, and John Whittington. It represents the first theatrical release based on an original Lego franchise and stands as the third film within The Lego Movie series, serving as its second spin-off. The voice ensemble features Dave Franco, Michael Peña, Kumail Nanjiani, Abbi Jacobson, Zach Woods, Fred Armisen, Justin Theroux, Olivia Munn, alongside Jackie Chan, who also appears in live-action and voices the character Wu. The narrative centers on Lloyd Garmadon, a teenage ninja who must face his villainous father while embracing his destiny as a ninja amid rising dangers.

Warner Bros. announced the project in September 2013 with The Hageman Brothers assigned to adapt the story and Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Dan Lin, and Roy Lee producing. Originally slated for release in September 2016, the premiere was pushed back to September 2017 following the success of The Lego Movie. Voice recording took place between June and August 2016. Animation duties were handled by Animal Logic, consistent with previous Lego productions. The film's score was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh and complemented by original tracks from various artists.

Produced as a collaboration between the United States and Denmark, The Lego Ninjago Movie was distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures on 22 September 2017. Although it received mixed reviews from critics, its box office performance was disappointing—grossing $123.1 million globally against a $70 million budget—making it the franchise’s first financial underachievement. Universal Pictures is currently developing a live-action reboot.

Plot

A young boy encounters Mr. Liu, who owns an antique shop and recounts the tale of Ninjago—a city within the LEGO universe frequently besieged by the malevolent warlord Lord Garmadon and his army themed after sea creatures. Due to Garmadon's attacks, his son Lloyd is shunned by Ninjago City's inhabitants, unaware that Lloyd is actually the Green Ninja leading a team of ninjas: Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane, Nya—and their mentor Wu (Garmadon's brother and Lloyd's uncle). Together they protect Ninjago using powerful mechs.

Following Garmadon's recent defeat, Wu explains that only each ninja’s "unique element" can permanently stop him. Lloyd discovers his element is "green," while Kai commands fire, Cole earth, Jay lightning, Zane ice, and Nya water. Wu references an "Ultimate Weapon," which remains unused. When Garmadon returns wielding a giant mech and overpowers Lloyd, Lloyd activates the Ultimate Weapon—a laser pointer—that summons a live-action cat named Meowthra. The cat destroys the ninjas' mechs until Lloyd disables the laser pointer. Lloyd then reveals his identity and rejects his father.

Wu directs them to seek out the "Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon" located on the island’s opposite side to defeat Meowthra. Garmadon pursues them and battles Wu but falls into a river during their confrontation. Wu encourages the ninjas to find "inner peace." Although frustrated with Garmadon leading them, Lloyd bonds with his father during their journey and learns to fight without reliance on mechs. They survive assaults from Garmadon's generals; Garmadon teaches Lloyd how to throw properly.

They arrive at the Temple of Fragile Foundations—Wu and Garmadon's childhood home—where Garmadon reveals their mother was Lady Iron Dragon and expresses remorse for prioritizing conquest over family ties. The ninjas discover the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon—a chest containing LEGO pieces representing their elemental powers—but after Lloyd refuses to join him, Garmadon steals it and traps them inside as the temple collapses. Lloyd realizes that achieving "inner peace" means unleashing their elemental abilities to escape. Wu rescues them aboard their flying ship, Destiny's Bounty, and they return to Ninjago City.

Attempting to use the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon against Meowthra backfires when Garmadon is swallowed by the creature. Lloyd confronts Meowthra as the Green Ninja and comprehends that "green" symbolizes life connecting ninjas with family bonds. He calms Meowthra and forgives his father; Garmadon’s fiery tears prompt Meowthra to release him. After reconciling, Meowthra becomes Ninjago’s mascot while Lloyd is celebrated as a hero.

Mr. Liu concludes his tale by telling the boy he has potential as a ninja warrior and that training will commence at dawn.

Cast

  • Dave Franco portrays Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja who leads the Secret Ninja Force. He is the son of Lord Garmadon and Koko, as well as Master Wu’s nephew. Lloyd faces challenges due to his father’s dark legacy and his own outsider status.
  • Michael Peña plays Kai, the passionate red Ninja of Fire and Nya’s brother.
  • Kumail Nanjiani voices Jay, the cautious blue Ninja of Lightning.
  • Abbi Jacobson is Nya, the resilient silver Ninja of Water, sister to Kai, and the object of Jay’s affection.
  • Zach Woods takes on the role of Zane, the robotic white Ninja specializing in Ice.
  • Fred Armisen acts as Cole, the easygoing black Ninja of Earth with a love for music.
  • Jackie Chan features as Master Wu, the witty leader and brother to Lord Garmadon, as well as Lloyd’s uncle. Chan also appears as Mr. Liu, an elderly shopkeeper in the live-action segments.
  • Justin Theroux embodies Lord Garmadon, the villainous warlord, father to Lloyd, former spouse of Koko, and brother to Master Wu.
  • Olivia Munn plays Koko, Lloyd’s mother and ex-warrior-queen known as "Lady Iron Dragon."
  • Randall Park and Retta portray Chen and Maggie, cheerleaders at Ninjago High School who torment Lloyd.
  • Constance Wu appears as Ninjago’s Mayor.
  • Charlyne Yi and Vanara Taing are Terri and Asimov, IT experts employed by Lord Garmadon.
  • Chris Hardwick voices a radio DJ in Ninjago City.
  • Robin Roberts appears as herself; in the UK version, her role is replaced by Kate Garraway.
  • Michael Strahan also plays himself; replaced by Ben Shephard in UK broadcasts.
  • David Burrows provides the voice for a fuchsia ninja embodying the "element of surprise."
  • Alex Kauffman voices Ninja Computer.
  • Ali Wong, Todd Hansen, and Doug Nicholas play Generals Olivia, Omar, and Jollty—leaders of Garmadon’s Shark Army themed after sharks and jellyfish.
  • Bobby Lee portrays a pilates studio owner located in Ninjago City.
  • Laura Kightlinger acts as Mrs. Laudita, a teacher at Ninjago High School.
  • Pearl and Ruby bring to life Meowthra, a live-action cat wreaking havoc in Ninjago.
  • Kaan Guldur plays a young boy in live-action sequences who listens to Mr. Liu recounting the story of Ninjago.

Production

On 17 September 2013, Warner Bros. revealed plans for an animated Ninjago feature inspired by the Lego toy series Lego Ninjago. The adaptation was assigned to The Hageman Brothers, known for writing Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu and co-writing The Lego Movie. Direction was led by Charlie Bean, with producers including Dan Lin, Roy Lee, and The Lego Movie’s team members Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The voice cast was announced on 27 June 2016, highlighting talents such as Dave Franco, Michael Peña, Kumail Nanjiani, Zach Woods, Fred Armisen, Jackie Chan, and Abbi Jacobson. Additional roles featured voices from Justin Theroux as Lord Garmadon and Olivia Munn as Koko.

Filming

To deepen the portrayal of the father-son relationship, most scenes involving Dave Franco and Justin Theroux were recorded together within the same studio. Franco shared that these sessions were emotionally intense for him—he experienced more tears than during any of his live-action performances. Jackie Chan personally choreographed all live-action fight sequences for Master Wu before they were translated into animation. He remarked that the stunt work closely resembled traditional ninja techniques and described this process as both innovative and captivating.

Music

Mark Mothersbaugh, who composed the score for The Lego Movie, returned to create the soundtrack for The Lego Ninjago Movie. WaterTower Music issued the album on 15 September 2017.

Release

The Lego Ninjago Movie had its premiere at the Regency Village Theater on 16 September 2017, prior to its broad release across the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on 22 September 2017 in formats including 3D, RealD 3D, and Dolby Cinema. The film was initially slated for release on 23 September 2016, a date that was later allocated to Storks. It opened in Denmark on 21 September and subsequently in the Philippines on 27 September 2017.

Accompanying Storks screenings was a promotional short film titled The Master. The first official trailer debuted on 8 February 2017 and was shown before The Lego Batman Movie. A second trailer premiered at San Diego Comic-Con on 22 July 2017 and was subsequently made available online. Both trailers incorporate Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood," while the second also features songs by Roxette, Macklemore, and American Authors.

Marketing

More than twenty Lego sets inspired by the movie were released, including a Collectible Minifigures series. TT Fusion developed a video game adaptation titled The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game, which launched on 22 September 2017 for Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. This game introduces multiplayer battle modes and enhanced combo-based combat mechanics, expanding upon previous Lego gaming features.

Home media

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released The Lego Ninjago Movie digitally on 12 December 2017. Physical formats including DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and 4K Blu-ray followed on 19 December 2017.

Video game

The video game tied to the movie was released concurrently with the North American theatrical debut on 22 September 2017 and became available internationally on 20 October 2017. It represents the third installment overall and second spin-off within The Lego Movie franchise’s video game lineup.

Box office

Worldwide earnings for The Lego Ninjago Movie totaled $123 million, with $59.3 million from the U.S. and Canada and $63.8 million from other markets, against a production budget of $70 million.

Opening alongside titles such as Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Friend Request, initial forecasts predicted an opening weekend gross between $27 million and $44 million from over 4,000 theaters. After generating $5.8 million on its first day, projections were lowered to approximately $21 million. The film ultimately opened with $21.2 million, placing third behind It and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, marking the lowest debut within the Lego film series by more than half.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie holds an approval rating based on reviews with an average score . The critical consensus reads: "Though it offers some charm and a handful of laughs, The Lego Ninjago Movie indicates that this franchise’s formula may be losing its effectiveness." Metacritic assigned it a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 from 33 critics, signaling mixed or average reviews. Audience polling by CinemaScore resulted in a "B+" grade on an A+ to F scale.

Andrew Barker of Variety described it as "entertaining enough and occasionally quite funny," but observed signs of creative fatigue suggesting that the Lego brand might benefit from revisiting its approach. Ed Potton from The Times awarded it four out of five stars, commending its emphasis on playfulness and imagination despite functioning largely as an extended toy commercial. In contrast, Robbie Collin of the Daily Telegraph rated it two out of five stars, calling it a disappointing installment in a franchise celebrated for dynamic toy-box action sequences. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave it two out of four stars, criticizing repetitive action scenes and jokes despite strong voice performances by Justin Theroux and Dave Franco.

Accolades

Award / Festival Category Honoree(s) Outcome
16th Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Gregory Jowle, Fiona Childton, Miles Green, Kim Taylor Template:Nom
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Arthur Terzis, Wei Hei, Jean-Marc Ariu, Gibson Radsavanh for "Garma Mecha Man" Template:Nom
Matthew Everitt, Christian So, Loic Miermont, Fiona Darwin for "Garmadon" Template:Nom
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Kim Taylor, Angela Ensele, Felicity Coonan, Jean Pascal leBlanc for "Ninjago City" Template:Nom

Future

According to a report by Deadline Hollywood dated 31 October 2024, Universal Pictures is in the process of developing a live-action adaptation of Ninjago, with Dan and Kevin Hageman confirmed as the screenwriters. After Warner Bros. ended their Lego film rights agreement due to the disappointing box office performance of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Universal initiated preliminary discussions with Lego in December 2019 to secure a first-look deal. By April 2020, Universal officially obtained exclusive film rights through a five-year agreement aimed at creating new Lego-based movie franchises.

External links

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