| The Lego Ninjago Movie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | Lego Ninjago |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Simon Duggan (live-action sequences) |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Mark Mothersbaugh[1] |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures[4] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 101 minutes[6] |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70 million[8] |
| Box office | $123.1 million[9] |
The Lego Ninjago Movie is a 2017 animatedmartial artscomedy film,[10][7] based on the toy/kit lineof the same name and theTV show starring the same characters. Directed byCharlie Bean, Paul Fisher, and Bob Logan (in their feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay by Logan, Fisher, William Wheeler,Tom Wheeler,Jared Stern, andJohn Whittington, it is the first theatrical film to be based on an originalLego property and the third installment inThe Lego Movie franchise as well as its secondspin-off. The film stars the voices ofDave Franco,Michael Peña,Kumail Nanjiani,Abbi Jacobson,Zach Woods,Fred Armisen,Justin Theroux andOlivia Munn, as well as a live-action role byJackie Chan (who also voiced Wu in the film). The film focuses on a teenage ninjaLloyd Garmadon, as he attempts to accept the truth about his sinister father and learn what it truly means to be a ninja warrior as a new threat emerges to endanger his homeland.
An animated feature film based onNinjago was announced in September 2013 by Warner Bros., with The Hageman Brothers writing the adaptation while Bean was hired to direct the film withPhil Lord and Christopher Miller,Dan Lin andRoy Lee producing. By May 2014, following the success ofThe Lego Movie, Warner Bros. announced that the film would be originally released in September 2016, which later changed to September 2017 in April 2015. The cast were signed in to voice the characters in 2016, from June to August. As withThe Lego Movie andThe Lego Batman Movie, the animation was provided by Animal Logic.Mark Mothersbaugh, who composedThe Lego Movie, composed the film's musical score, with several artists performing new original songs for the film.
Acollaboration betweenproduction houses from the United States and Denmark,The Lego Ninjago Movie was released byWarner Bros. Pictures in the United States on 22 September 2017.[11] The film received mixed reviews from critics and was the franchise's firstbox-office disappointment, grossing only $123.1 million worldwide against its $70 million budget. A live-action reboot fromUniversal Pictures is in development.
A young boy meets the mysterious owner of a relic shop, Mr. Liu, who tells him the story of Ninjago, a city within theLEGO universe. It is frequently terrorized by the evil warlord Lord Garmadon and his army ofsea life-themed henchmen. Garmadon's constant attacks on the city resulted in his sonLloyd being despised by nearly everyone in Ninjago City for his relation to Garmadon, putting him under emotional stress. Unbeknownst to everyone, Lloyd is the Green Ninja, the leader of aninja team comprising Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane, Nya, and their master Wu (Garmadon's brother and Lloyd's uncle), who always stop Garmadon from taking over Ninjago by fighting with mechs. When Garmadon is once again unsuccessful at conquering Ninjago, his tech division shows him a giant new mech.
Following their victory, Wu tells the ninja that only their "unique element" will permanently vanquish Garmadon. Lloyd is frustrated to learn his element is "green" while Kai hasfire, Cole hasearth, Jay haslightning, Zane hasice, and Nya haswater. Wu also mentions the "Ultimate Weapon", giving Lloyd new hope of stopping Garmadon, despite Wu warning them thatnobody can ever use the device. The next day, Garmadon attacks Ninjago with his new mech and this time defeats Lloyd. As Garmadon gloats, Lloyd returns with the Ultimate Weapon and fires it, only to discover it is actually alaser 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 it. As Garmadon celebrates his victory, Lloyd unmasks himself and denounces his father, leaving Garmadon confused.
Lloyd meets up with his friends and Wu, who tells them they must use the "Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon" to stop Meowthra from destroying Ninjago, which can be found on the other side of the island. Garmadon overhears the conversation, follows close behind, and intercepts the ninja. Wu and Garmadon fight, and although the former manages to trap the latter in a cage, he falls off a bridge into the river below. Before being swept away, Wu tells the ninja they must find "inner peace". The ninja continues with Garmadon leading them, much to Lloyd's annoyance. 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 and Wu's childhood home. He tells Lloyd that his mother, Koko, was once a warrior named Lady Iron Dragon and that he wishes he had stayed with them after deciding to conquer Ninjago, but couldn't change his ways, which is why they had to stay apart. The ninja finds 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 refuses his offer to replace a mutinous general. In an unexpected turnaround, Garmadon locks the ninja inside the temple as it begins to collapse. Lloyd realizes that "inner peace" means they must unleash their elemental power and escape from the collapsing temple. As they fall off a cliff, Wu saves them with the ninja's flying ship, theDestiny's Bounty, and they head back to Ninjago City.
Garmadon tries to defeat Meowthra with the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon, only to end up eaten. Lloyd and the others 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 ninja and his family. He comforts and tames Meowthra and apologizes to Garmadon profusely, saying that he forgives him. Realizing the error of his ways, Garmadon cries tears of fire, causing Meowthra to regurgitate him back out. After Lloyd and Garmadon reconcile, Meowthra becomes the mascot of Ninjago and Lloyd is hailed as a hero.
As Mr. Liu finishes his story about Ninjago, he informs the boy that he has the potential to be a great ninja warrior and tells him that they will start training at dawn.
On 17 September 2013, Warner Bros. announced that it was developing an animatedNinjago film based on theLego toy lineLego Ninjago.The Hageman Brothers, who wrote theNinjago: Masters of Spinjitzu show and co-wrote the story ofThe Lego Movie, would write the adaptation.[15]Charlie Bean was announced as director, andThe Lego Movie team ofDan Lin,Roy Lee, andPhil Lord and Chris Miller as producers.[15] On 27 June 2016, the film's voice cast was announced, includingDave Franco,Michael Peña,Kumail Nanjiani,Zach Woods,Fred Armisen,Jackie Chan, andAbbi Jacobson.[12] Additional voice cast includedJustin Theroux as Lord Garmadon andOlivia Munn as Koko.[13]
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 singlerecording 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".[16][17][18]
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.[19]
Mark Mothersbaugh, who composed the score forThe Lego Movie, returned to scoreThe Lego Ninjago Movie.[1] The soundtrack was released throughWaterTower Music on 15 September 2017.[20]
The Lego Ninjago Movie premiered at theRegency Village Theater on 16 September 2017,[21] before it was widely released in the United States byWarner Bros. Pictures on 22 September 2017, in 3D, RealD 3D, and Dolby Cinema.[22] It was originally scheduled for a 23 September 2016 release.[23] This release date was given toStorks instead. The film was released inDenmark on 21 September 2017.[24] It was released in the Philippines on 27 September 2017.[25]
A short film,The Master, that promoted the feature film was shown with screenings ofStorks, which took the original 23 September release date.[26] On 8 February 2017, the first trailer was released.[27] This trailer was shown in front of screenings ofThe Lego Batman Movie.[28] On 22 July 2017, a second trailer for the film was shown as part ofSan Diego Comic-Con and released on YouTube later in the day.[29] Both trailers feature the song "Bad Blood" byTaylor Swift, with the second trailer also featuring "It Must Have Been Love" byRoxette, "Ain't Gonna Die Tonight" byMacklemore and "I Wanna Go Out" byAmerican Authors.
Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including a set of Collectible Minifigures. A video game byTT Fusion based on the film,The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game, was released on 22 September 2017, forWindows PC,Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 4 andXbox One.[30][31] The game is similar to previous Lego games, with some new features such as multiplayer battle modes and new combo based combat techniques.[30]
The Lego Ninjago Movie was released on Digital HD on 12 December 2017, andDVD,Blu-ray,Blu-ray 3D, and4K Blu-ray on 19 December 2017, byWarner Bros. Home Entertainment.[32][33][34]
Based onThe Lego Ninjago Movie, it was released forMicrosoft Windows,Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 4, andXbox One, alongside the film, in North America on 22 September 2017, and worldwide on 20 October 2017.[35] It serves as the second spin-off video game and the third game inThe Lego Movie franchise.
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.[citation needed]
In North America, the film was released alongsideKingsman: The Golden Circle andFriend Request. Various tracking services had the film projected to gross anywhere from $27–44 million from 4,047 theaters in its opening weekend.[36][37] 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 belowIt andKingsman: The Golden Circle, and ranking as the lowest opening of theLego franchise by over 50%.[8]
On review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 56% based on 132 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. 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."[38] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[39] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[8]
Andrew Barker ofVariety 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."[40] Ed Potton ofThe Times gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5, saying, "Just asToy Story did by featuring an owner of the toys, it reminds us that these films are about play and imagination. Yes, they're also effectively feature-length adverts for Lego, but this is rampant capitalism at its most arch and entertaining."[41]Robbie Collin ofDaily Telegraph gave it a 2 out of 5 rating, describing it as "a sad turn-up for a franchise which has already proven dazzlingly adept at stagingMichael Bay-style madcap spectacle on a toy-box scale."[42]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone gave the film a 2 out of 4 scoring, saying, "Despite comically inspired vocal performances fromJustin Theroux andDave Franco as nutjob Lego versions ofDarth Vader andLuke Skywalker, the action and jokes pile up with exhausting repetitiveness."[43]
| Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16th Visual Effects Society Awards[44] | Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature | Gregory Jowle, Fiona Childton, Miles Green, Kim Taylor | Nominated |
| Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature | Arthur Terzis, Wei Hei, Jean-Marc Ariu, Gibson Radsavanh for "Garma Mecha Man" | Nominated | |
| Matthew Everitt, Christian So, Loic Miermont, Fiona Darwin for "Garmadon" | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature | Kim Taylor, Angela Ensele, Felicity Coonan, Jean Pascal leBlanc for "Ninjago City" | Nominated |
On 31 October 2024,Deadline Hollywood reported that a live-actionNinjago film fromUniversal Pictures is in development, with Dan and Kevin Hageman attached to pen the script.[45] By the time the film was announced, Warner Bros. had terminated their film rights to the Lego brand by the fall of 2019 followingThe Lego Movie 2: The Second Part's disappointing box office returns, which led Universal to enter early negotiations with Lego for a new first-look deal in December of that year,[46][47][48] eventually acquiring the rights to the brand in April 2020, which was set for a five-year deal.[49]
The Regency Village Theatre was decked out with life-sized caricatures Saturday afternoon.
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