While LEGO fans have been mostly talking about The LEGO Batman Movie, there is another film later this year that LEGO fans can be excited about; The LEGO Ninjago Movie. It seems like this film has been going through several updates and changes based on what has been revealed so far, but according to the latest information the cast and storyline are now settled, and the movie should be in theaters on September 22nd. 🙂
First of all, there is this gorgeous new poster depicting Lloyd as an ordinary kid, and as the Green Ninja, with the subtitle: “Find Your Inner Piece”. You can tell just from this that the movie is going to be deep and funny at the same time. Then there is the brand new trailer, and a couple of previously released teaser-trailers that let us get a glimpse of what the movie is going to be about. You can watch all of them below.
As you can see, while the characters are the same as in the LEGO Ninjago TV show, their suits, hairstyles and even facial features are quite different. Kai’s hair is even messier than before, Nya grew her hair out, and Cole has some type of headband/hair-bun combination. The suits look simpler and more modern at the same time. I’m wondering if Nya’s leg-armor is going to be a new cloth piece, or (hopefully) soft plastic in the upcoming LEGO sets. Then there are all those amazing mechs!
The voice actors for the characters also changed, which may be quite a shock for many LEGO Ninjago fans. I know I will definitely miss Sensei Wu’s wise and caring voice. The new voice actors are as follows; Sensei Wu (Jackie Chan), Kai (Michael Pena), Nya (Abbi Jacobson), Jay (Kumail Nanjiani), Lloyd (Dave Franco), Zane (Zach Woods), Cole (Fred Armisen), Lord Garmardon (Justin Theroux), and Koko (Olivia Munn).
In addition, a news article published a few days ago in USA Today reveals some other interesting tidbits: For those who rank Darth Vader pretty high as Worst Dad Ever, meet Lord Garmadon. The black-helmeted, four-armed supervillain aims to rule over Ninjago City, and a team of teenage ninjas — led by his estranged son, Lloyd Garmadon – aim to stop the operatic sociopath in The LEGO Ninjago Movie. “It’s about a son having to live with this father who’s a threat to LEGO-manity (but) more about the son’s journey of forgiving him and learning to accept him for who he is.” Justin Theroux says.
Lloyd is a seemingly unremarkable kid in his daily life, but when he becomes the masked Green Ninja of the Ninjago superteam, “he has much more confidence … and wants to do everything he can to protect his home,” Dave Franco says. Also in his squad are the hotheaded Kai, robot Zane, über-rad Cole, insecure Jay, and strong-willed Nya. “They may be really cool as ninjas and the Ninjago world adores them, but at school they’re the geeks and nerds who are ignored.”
Master Wu is the group’s teacher – as well as Lord Garmadon’s brother – and Franco says he and Lloyd have a Mr. Miyagi/Daniel relationship, à la The Karate Kid. “It sometimes takes Lloyd a little while to grasp the lessons that Master Wu is trying to instill within him.” (Chan’s stunt team actually filmed the martial-arts sequences that the filmmakers animate over for the movie’s fights.)
Hanging over Lloyd is the shadow of his father, who left him and his mother, Koko, when Lloyd was a baby. An operatic sociopath, Lord Garmadon doesn’t exactly make the road to redemption easy. “I think he’s suffered a series of slights and cuts over the course of his life when people question his narcissism, so it’s made him more and more evil as a result.” Theroux says.
For Theroux, the magic of the LEGO movies like Ninjago is the blend of the distinctive look, playful energy and goofy humor that hits on multiple levels: Kids will dig Lord Garmadon riding a large mechanical shark with legs, while adults get the comedy of the supervillain frequently pestering Lloyd to find out if his ex-wife is seeing anybody. “Ninjago is one of the most insane places in the universe,” Theroux says. “So much of it makes no sense. It feels like it came out of the mind of a kid rather than out of the minds of some people sitting in a writers’ room.”
Based on a popular toy line and animated TV show, LEGO Ninjago is the third in the LEGO series of interlocking films, each with its own style: The successful The LEGO Movie in 2014 was the “call to adventure” project, The LEGO Batman Movie features action and superheroes, and The LEGO Ninjago is a mix of the martial-arts genre and Japanese kaiju movies with giant monsters and robots.
As you can see, The LEGO Ninjago Movie will have a similar story and settings as the LEGO Ninjago TV show, but different enough to make it into an interesting film. I feel kind of bad for Lord Garmadon that he has to go back to being the badguy. The whole revelation of Garmadon being Wu’s brother and then eventually redeeming himself and turning into Sensei Garmadon was one of the most dramatic features of the TV show. I wonder if The LEGO Ninjago Movie can deliver such a strong emotional impact when we already know the identity and fate of Garmadon.
And of course there are going to be LEGO sets related to the movie. We have briefly discussed them already, but I will include their names here for reference: #70606 LEGO Ninjago Movie Jay’s Electro Waver, #70607 LEGO Ninjago Movie Titanium Turbo, #70608 LEGO Ninjago Movie Samurai Stealth Takedown, #70609 LEGO Ninjago Movie Master’s Dojo, #70610 LEGO Ninjago Movie Nya’s Water Brigade, #70611 LEGO Ninjago Movie Dragon’s Cove, #70612 LEGO Ninjago Movie Spinjitzu Sanctuary, #70613 LEGO Ninjago Movie Ninja Wake Run, #70614 LEGO Ninjago Movie Kai’s Blazing Breaker, #70615 LEGO Ninjago Movie Rai Mech, #70616 LEGO Ninjago Movie Krypt of the Cave, #70617 LEGO Ninjago Movie Backstreet Break-in, #70618 LEGO Ninjago Movie Shadow Legion Ambush, and #70620 Ninjago Movie City Invasion. Besides these fourteen sets, there are also going to be a series of twenty LEGO Ninjago Movie Collectible Minifigures. You can also check out the currently available sets under the LEGO Ninjago section of the Online LEGO Shop.
All in all, I’m very interested to see how The LEGO Ninjago Movie is going to turn out, and I’m definitely rooting for its success. I’m much more a Ninjago fan than a Batman fan, so I hope that the film can deliver and reach the success of the previous two LEGO movies. What do you think? Are you excited about The LEGO Ninjago Movie? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉
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That is soooo cool. I am also a huge Ninjago fan and I’ve been trying to collect some of the last years sets . I figure that you can never have to many Ninjago sets. I am trying to get as many dragon sets because I hear that they eventually become harder to find later on ( also more expensive). I am hoping that the Ninjago movie sets are going to be priced like the LEGO movie Batman sets are ( a lot of $ 20.00 Dollars sets.)
I’m fairly certain that the sets will have a good mix of small, medium and large sets. LEGO is pretty good with that. And there is probably going to be a second wave of sets too with some large sets (like they have done with the other two movies). And yes, the Ninjago dragons are very nice and make a great collection. 🙂
Oh man, I flipped out when I saw this. I love the look of the movie and it makes the Ninjago universe look so much cooler.
I’m upset that Lloyd seems to be the center of the movie. He’s one of my least favorite characters. I fell in love with the show when it was early season 1/pilot, so you feel me?
The voice actor changes is also sad, but I have to hear the rest of the ninjas before making a call on whether I like them or not. (But I wish they hadn’t changed Garmadon’s voice actor)
Still gonna watch it though.
Yeah, there is a lot to like! And there are also things that Ninjago fans are not so happy about. We shall see how it turns out. Can’t wait! 😀
Do you have any idea when the Ninjago show is going to air this year?
It hasn’t been announced yet, but there is a new trailer I will probably post shortly.
Well, I cannot say I am a total fan of this movie. It takes nearly everything I like about Ninjago and ruins it. I feel like the writers took the names from the show and attached them to whatever character they wanted, ruining Zane and possibly Cole in the process. However, the movie is such a completely separate universe to the show that I can hopefully overlook that issue (except for Zane – they took “robot” too literally). The storyline is fine, but the movie is marred for me by the tune chosen to accompany it. No offense, but however fitting it may be for the movie’s theme, I loathe that song. Anyways, the animation looks great, although I’m undecided on my opinion of the real sand, water, and plant life.
As for the sets, I’m excited for those, as the vehicles are very cool. #70912 Spinjitzu Sanctuary has an interesting name, as I thought it was determined that they have discarded Spinjitzu from the story. The CMF series will hopefully contain good characters as well. That’s my thoughts. 🙂
Those are all good thoughts… remember when it was discovered that Zane was a robot? It was one of the most emotionally gripping episodes, and the music was heavenly. In many ways I think the TV show is better then this movie is ever going to be, as I think they are trying way too hard. But I still think it is going to be a good movie, and in many ways it is a good thing that it won’t overshadow the TV show. I’m also mainly looking forward to the sets. If they look anything like what’s in the movie, I’m going to be very happy. BTW, have you seen the D2D Batmobile coming this summer? And the Fishing Store? There are images circulating already. I have been drooling over them today. 😀
I hope the soundtrack is just like the show, it has fantastic music, especially in the episode where Zane finds his old home. That song when they’re chasing the hawk and the song when Zane’s remembers his dad were so great.
Oh, my! That’s my favorite song too! It is so amazing! 😀
Zane was really awesome early on (the snake season, and his death scene was well done also – the best part of Rebooted by far, I thought) but after he became titanium it just felt like he lost a lot of his personality. He looks terrible in that screen shot though. In fact, I’m not keen on the way most of them look. For one thing it seems that their personalities are really going to change. Lloyd is the only one who seems to me as good or better… he could use a personality change, actually. 😛 However, I might end up not seeing the film anyways, so it’s just as well that it doesn’t look amazing to me. And we might get some cool sets anyways!
Yes, I agree. After Zane went titanium he lost a lot of his personality. Even his voice became weird. He was my favorite character of all during the earlier seasons. In later seasons he sort of fell in the shadows. Someone said that the Ninjago Movie characters look like Neanderthals with those big, thick eyebrows. I have to agree. And Zane looks really bizarre. I hope it’s just a single bad screenshot, and he will look better overall. I’m definitely planning to see the film, but so far I’m not convinced that it will be as good as the TV show. We shall see… 🙂
I’m okay with Zane’s Titanium version, although I had hoped that eventually he would make himself look human again, as before. His personality did change, though, as you say. 😕
Someone on Brickset pointed out that Zane looks the same in all the trailers, standing and smiling, so I doubt it’s a bad screenshot. Even at the end of the trailer, when everyone else is rather grim, he’s still smiling. As I said before, I think they took “robot” to far… he’s a Nindroid, not a robot. But at least he’s not titanium…. 😉
I too will be seeing the movie, but for the same reason I watched the Hobbit and Star Wars Ep. VII: to confirm that I do not like it, and it marred what came before.
Oh… that’s not good. I really hope they won’t ruin Zane completely. I think it’s a good thing that The Ninjago Movie is in a different setting than the TV show. If the movie flops, it won’t effect the TV show story, and if it is a winner, it will be just a nice addition.
Yes, Tick-Tock is probably my most favorite Ninjago episode ever. I agree with your points on the movie, although I’m less sure than you that it will be good. My biggest concern is that the movie will flop, and Ninjago will end with a crash-and-burn. It’s not as widely popular as Batman, seeing as most non-LEGO fans do not know what it is, so I guess it will receive less enthusiasm from the general public than the previous two LEGO Movies.
Also, I had a thought; what are the chances that after TLM 2 LEGO combines the three stories for a mash-up movie, like what Marvel’s doing for Avengers Infinity War? That would be interesting. Or did they already cover that idea with the first LEGO Movie? 😕
I have seen the Ultimate Batmobile, and it is definitely ultimate. I guess it splits into a Batmobile, a Batwing, and maybe twin Batcycles (under the Batwing part). Polka Dot Man and Alfred are great inclusions. I don’t get why the Wicked Witch is in it, but then I don’t know how much she’s in the movie (and don’t tell me, I haven’t seen it yet). I haven’t seen the Fishing Store… are there official images for it, or just prelims? It’s not on Brickset.
How are the rights concerning Warner Bros and Lego ?…
The Avengers characters are all owned by Marvel, and were also already established in the comics…
The Ultimate Batmobile, yeah…
I know a dude who’s dressed in Black!
His microchips are out of whack!
He built a Bat-Tron Cadillac!
He’s Bats-in-Belfry-Maniac!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBW9JqHpNNU
The Batman Movie is a mash-up too, but I’m not going to say anything more as you haven’t seen the film yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if The Ninjago Movie would also have some references to other properties. So do a mash-up of mash-ups? That may be too much, no? If the movies are all successful however I don’t see why LEGO would stop. There is the second LEGO Movie that suppose to be coming sometime, and I’m sure that will have some references as well.
The Fishing Store is a leak of the box image, that’s why Brickset hasn’t posted it. If you want to see it here is a link: http://i.imgur.com/SHSJ7CM.jpg
I suppose a mash-up of mash-ups would be overkill. I was thinking along the lines of Dimensions, with all the themes combined to defeat Vortech (if that’s the name of the bad guy in Dimensions). The LEGO Movie did have a ton of different themes involved (including Batman and Ninjago), but most got only a bit of screen time. I guess the LEGO Movie 2 could fix that, though. 😕
The Fishing Store looks interesting (I couldn’t resist looking), although now I want official pics for more details. 🙂
If I remember correctly the Fishing Store is going to be released in the fall, so it may be a while before the official images get released. What I really want to see though is the Saturn-V, which supposed to be released sooner. I like your idea of a Dimensions style mash-up. The LEGO Movie II could very well make that happen. 😀
This movie looks so much better than the TV show. I really like how all the ninja look, especially Kai. It really doesn’t bother me how Zane is a robot. I never really liked him in the show (although I never really liked anything about the show after the skeletons). I can’t wait to see this movie!
Carbo, glad you like it. I’m sure there will be those who prefer the TV show, and those who will prefer the movie. And having choices between awesome things is a good thing. 😀
Ok, I’m gonna be super honest. I’m gonna start with POSITIVE I have been waiting soo long for this movie. I love ninjago and I’m totally gonna go see it. I love the idea of the ninja going to regular school ( I write stories and they go to school , regular school) having you know a social life, them being on the big screen!! Now with the NEGATIVE ( I advise if you are going to be offfended or anything do not read!) they kinda ruined the ninja by for ex making their hairs wrong, facial expressions, garmadon evil( seriously that seasons ago) Zane looks just not right… se say creepy, the voices are not the same, they didn’t put the fold in the trailer ( taiylor swift seriously? I mean I got nothing against her I’ve heard a few of her songs but really?)
That’s a good analysis, and I appreciate all your points. In fact, from the changes they made, it was inevitable that long-time Ninjago fans were going to feel unsettled. Frankly, I’m not sure why they made the changes in the first place (hair, facial features, voice), when the original was just fine and very much beloved by fans. And yeah, replacing The Fold with Taylor Swift was a strange choice as well.
For long-time Ninjago fans, I would say that it is best to view this film as a standalone, and not related to the Ninjago TV show. Just something similar. Sort of like how sometimes a Broadway musical is made into a film, or a videogame is made into a movie. There will be changes, and some of those will be jarring. But if you accept that they are a different medium, and let go of expectations, you will enjoy it better. Having said that, yeah, I don’t know why they made Zane creepy… 😯
Yeah, the fold issue could be that maybe the company couldn’t afford them or something. As for the differences, I’m just gonna imagine it’s another alternative version or dimension of ninjago.
I’m fairly certain that Taylor Swift is more expensive than working with The Fold, but there are many logistics to work out with a movie like this, so I’m sure they had their reasons. Who knows? Maybe Taylor has been a Ninjago fan all along! 😀
It’s over,isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it over..?
XD Sorry about that; the song just seems kinda fitting right about now.
Uh,yeah. I am a tad bit concerned about this movie like most fans, but I do hold onto the frail hope that it’ll be much better than it’s letting on. (Kinda like with the Lego Movie-I didn’t think I would like it,but in the end,I did..I actually kinda cried bit.Don’t judge.)
I mean,the voice actors are changing,which really is something the pre-existing fans will have to deal with,and while I’m not keen on Jay’s new voice actor,or Wu’s,I actually kinda like Garmadon’s and Lloyd’s-despite the fact that Lloyd sounds like the token emo kid.
Then you have Zane,who,uh…looks a tad bit high,but maybe he won’t be as badly marred as we believe. Zane always was one of my favorite characters,mostly due to his own complexity,and to think that the movie may have messed with his personality and who he is as a ninja? Well..that’s a scary thought. (If they mess up Cole’s character however,I will personally start a riot.)
And,call me basic,but I do really like Taylor Swift being in the trailer.
Anyway,I am interested in seeing how it plays out.I’ve been a fan of Ninjago since the pilots came out six(!?!?!?!) years ago,and while I can see why many fans are upset,I’m going to remain fairly optimistic about it and wait to watch the movie until casting further judgement..I believe it deserves that at the very least.
Also,if it does come out on the 22nd of September,I’ll have just turned seventeen on the 17th,so..I mean,a seventeen year-old female walking into a movie theater for a Lego movie? That’ll certainly be something.XD
Girl, I got you. I’m 15 , almost 16 and I’m probably gonna feel weird too!! You are not alone!! T. F.O.L!!
Nice for your to share that! I bet the movie theatre will end up being full of self-conscious teens who all think they are going to be alone! Ninja… GO!!! 😀
Ahhh… don’t feel bad… most early Ninjago fans will be exactly your age. If you still feel uncomfortable, just borrow a little kid to take with you. 😉
Yes, that’s a good attitude to have. Let’s wait and see. I’m sure the directors have the best intention in mind, and will do the best they can to honor the original Ninjago series, and maybe even attract new fans. I’m definitely eagerly – and a bit nervously – waiting. 😀
“Just borrow a little kid to take with you.”
Ah,yes.More wonderous advice from The Brick Blogger community. I remember being told to make a Lego dental trap of sorts for people who’d wanna make fun of me for liking Ninjago..good times,good times. XD
If I beg my mom enough maybe I’ll get to see it in theaters,but I’m doubtful as she’s never really supported my love for our favorite brick ninja.. oh well. I have a feeling my boyfriend will end up buying it for me on DVD when I move out anyhow,so no worries!
Ahhh… sounds like your boyfriend is a keeper! Yeah, this movie should be perfectly fine in DVD. I like watching epic movies like Star Wars on the big screen because it’s so awesome, but for most animated movies the DVD version is perfectly fine. The only thing is that you have to wait longer for the DVD. That’s the hard part. 🙄
So it’s a Ninjago reboot/alt universe rather than in-continuity with the show. That’s an interesting choice.
Yeah, it is indeed! Very curious of how it will turn out!
I hope we can attract more ninjago fans. Its hard for me to talk about ninjago or lego if no one knows about it…also if what if they make fun of me or something? My friends- the ones ive tolds- respect it some like it others dont get it. But its fine. Im probaly am gonna see it in theathers b/c my brother who is younger than me like ninjago too.
also now that i think about it, once this movie comes out, my brother would have turned 13, so he would go as a brand new fresh T.F.O.L!!!
Ahhh… that’s sweet! 😀
That in fact could very well be happening. The LEGO Movie gave a huge boost the popularity of the hobby, so did The LEGO Batman Movie. By the time The Ninjago Movie comes out pretty much everyone should have been converted. 🙄