The LEGO Group calls on all masters of Spinjitzu to celebrate a decade of LEGO Ninjago with the launch of a LEGO retail exclusive set, exciting collaborations, and a nostalgic look back at some of the theme’s key milestones. Below is the press-release with more information.
In 2011, the LEGO Ninjago journey started and changed the lives of children all over the world. Today, the LEGO Group is commemorating the ten years of the beloved range that continues to inspire children and teens to re-enact and build epic scenes while developing their ninja skills.
Many kids have grown up with LEGO Ninjago and the Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu television series, where Master Wu and the ninja Kai, Lloyd, Zane, Nya, Jay and Cole have taught them valuable lessons about life, while using their courageous ninja skills to fight the forces of evil.
In a world where many children and young adults feel insecure and an intense pressure to live up to expectations, Ninjago has taught fans how to master ninja skills or “Be Ninja” in real life, teaching them values of inclusivity, friendship, confidence, and staying true to oneself. Through its stories and morals, as well as its building and play experiences, Ninjago has positively influenced and helped fans navigate the path into young adulthood and its many challenges.
“There comes a time when we all must grow up. When that time comes, it’s important not to forget the lessons of our childhood. Because our childhood is the greatest training ground one will ever have.” – Master Wu
“It has been an amazing journey to see a product range turn into something that kids have enjoyed for 10 years” says Michael Svane Knap, Design Manager at the LEGO Group, who has been working on the LEGO Ninjago product line since 2013. “Some have grown up with LEGO Ninjago and are now expressing their gratitude and telling us how they have learned lifelong skills. In my opinion, that is the best thing about LEGO Ninjago. Kids learn about friendship, confidence. and much more… And of course, that ninjas are cool!” he adds.
Beyond the 13 TV show seasons and several mini-movies, the franchise has included an abundance of different LEGO sets and merchandise, several video games and app games, a movie, magazines, coloring books, graphic novels, children’s books, hotel rooms, and a theme park ride at LEGOLAND.
“Originally, the Ninjago theme was supposed to end after season 2 in 2012” says Tommy Andreasen, Senior Manager, Entertainment Development at the LEGO Group, who worked on the LEGO Ninjago product line and show from the beginning. However, the continued success led to both the TV series and products continuing to the current day. “It just shows an incredible commitment from our fans that we are still going strong 10 years later.” – he adds.
Marking the 10th anniversary, the LEGO Group is releasing 11 LEGO Ninjago Legacy sets throughout 2021. February 1st sees a LEGO retail exclusive three-level LEGO Ninjago City Gardens set launch as a true tribute to a decade of Ninjago. The set showcases some of the main moments of the TV series, giving fans the opportunity to relive the show through a building experience. As an added bonus, six of the LEGO Ninjago Legacy sets and the retail exclusive come with a limited-edition collectible golden ninja minifigure.
Moreover, the LEGO Group is teaming up with stylish street wear and clothing brands to create special anniversary merchandise collections. The first collaboration is LEGO Ninjago x HYPE, which was revealed last week and will launch on January 15th. The inspiration behind the street wear collection was the futuristic and colorful city the Prime Empire from the 2020 LEGO Ninjago TV series. Exciting collaborations with several other clothing brands will be coming soon and are not to be missed.
On LEGO.com/Ninjago10Anniversary there will be anniversary content telling the story of LEGO Ninjago through the years and showcasing amazing fan created content including fan art, LEGO builds, and toy photography. The LEGO House will also mark the occasion by hosting and in-depth exhibition celebrating ten years of Ninjago fandom.
Marking the 10th Anniversary of LEGO Ninjago, the LEGO Group is Releasing a Total of Twenty-Three LEGO Ninjago Sets
- Eleven LEGO Ninjago Legacy sets are released throughout 2021. Eight of them have already been released on January 1st (four iconic LEGO Ninjago Legacy sets and four LEGO Ninjago Legacy Epic Battle sets), one retail exclusive LEGO Ninjago Legacy set is releasing on February 1st (a three-level LEGO Ninjago City Gardens set, as a true tribute to the last decade of Ninjago) and the final two sets will be released in June. Moreover, four sets linked to the TV series will be released in March and another five sets in June. There will also be three LEGO Ninjago sets for ages 4+ launching in January and June.
- Exceptional for seven of the eleven anniversary LEGO Ninjago Legacy sets is that they come with a limited-edition collectible golden minifigure depicting one of the six hero ninja or Master Wu.
List of All New LEGO Ninjago Sets
Six Iconic LEGACY sets (with limited-edition golden ninja). The following four are released on January 1st 2021.
One LEGO retail exclusive LEGO Ninjago Legacy set with a limited-edition golden Wu.
Four LEGO Ninjago Legacy Epic Battle sets that look back into memorable battles between hero characters and main villains. Released on January 1st 2021.
Four new TV show sets released in March.
- #71745 LEGO Ninjago Lloyd’s Jungle Chopper Bike
- #71746 LEGO Ninjago Jungle Dragon
- #71747 LEGO Ninjago The Keepers’ Village
- #71748 LEGO Ninjago Catamaran Sea Battle
Three Ninjago sets for ages 4+ (1 launching in January and 2 in June).
LEGO Ninjago – How It All Started
Late on a Friday in fall 2009, a drawing was made that would be the beginning of something big. Tommy Andreasen did a sketch showing different elemental ninjas and the team had the idea of the ninja being on a sort of spinners to make an active minifigure play.
On the drawing, you see a Ninja of Water, tough that ended up not being added until Nya became the master of water in 2015. The sketch has the word “Spinjago” on it, which was the first idea of a name, which then developed into “Spinjitzu” – a combination of the words “spin’” and “ninjitzu”.
The “Ninjago” name was also a combination of two words; “Ninja” and “Go”, which was taken form the end of the LEGO Group company name. It was also thought to be a great activator, like a battle cry.
LEGO Ninjago – TV Series
2021 marks the ten-year anniversary of the Ninjago television series, as it has been in production since the release of the first pilot episode in 2011. Originally, the Ninjago theme was supposed to end after season 2 in 2012. However, the continued success led to both show and products continuing. This milestone reflects the continued popularity of the show amongst its audience. In 2021, the LEGO Group will be launching Season 14, which will be a tribute to the voice actor Kirby Morrow, who gave Cole his voice for many years and sadly passed away recently.
In Ninjago, there isn’t one lead character, it’s about the team. But since the beginning, every season has had a different character focus, helping kids to learn more about each individual character. The focus of the 2021 storyline is Nya and her elemental powers.
LEGO Ninjago – Video Games
The ninja appear as playable characters in a wide variety of video games and mobile games, including LEGO Battles: Ninjago (2011), LEGO Ninjago: Nindroids (2014), LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin (2015), LEGO Dimensions (2015), LEGO Worlds (2017), The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game (2017), LEGO Brawls (2019), and LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed (2020).
It looks like 2021 is going to be an excellent year for Ninjago fans. I’m particularly happy about the LEGO Ninjago Legacy sets because they bring back older sets with new designs. This allows those who got into the story later to own some of the most iconic sets. I’m, also very pleased with the spring sets and LEGO Ninjago City Gardens. If you would like to check out the currently available selection, visit the LEGO Ninjago section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think about all the Ninjago news? Which sets are planning to get? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!
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