We were invited to the Premiere of Lego Ninjago. Opinions are our own.
LEGO: The Ninjago Movie is out in theaters Sept 22nd.
LEGO fans rejoice! There is a brand-new movie coming your way featuring the battletastic world of Ninjago. The Ninjago world was first introduced by LEGO in 2011 and even has its own popular TV series Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, and now will finally get to see it get its chance to shine on the big screen.
The city of Ninjago is protected from the evil metropolis-leveling schemes of Garmadon by a team of brave color-coded ninja led by Sensei Wu, Garmadon’s wise and virtuous brother, who all fight with awesome hand to hand martial arts skills and also giant mechanical vehicles.
Meet the Team:
Black Ninja- Cole (voiced by Fred Armisen)
Element: Earth
Mech: Garma Mecha Man with built in turn-tables. Time to quake the stage.
Blue Ninja- Jay (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani)
Element: Lightning
Mech: Lightning Jet. Goes from 0-60 in 1.5 gigwats.
Red Ninja- Kai (voiced by Michael Peña)
Element: Fire
Mech: Fire Mech with blow-torch hands, enough said
Grey Ninja- Nya (voiced by Abbi Jacobson)
Element: Water
Mech: Water Strider, you can cut the tension with a knife… a really big knife
White Ninja- Zane (voiced by Zach Woods)
Element: Ice
Mech: Ice tank, totally normal starter car for an average teenage kid
Green Ninja- Lloyd (voiced by Dave Franco)
Element: Um… Green
Mech: Green Dragon with a back-up missile propelled head for when things get extra emotional with his dad.
Garmadon (voiced by Justin Theroux)
Décor Preference: Retro villain volcano lair with accents of ocean flair
Mech: Mega Shark with secret ankle dolphin gun.
Master Wu (voiced by Jackie Chan) has ninja wisdom and lives on a sweet boat called “Destiny’s Bounty” which houses the Ultimate Weapon.
Lloyd, who is the green ninja, has the bad luck of being Garmadon’s unloved and forgotten son, an unfortunate association which also makes him unwelcome and despised by the very citizens he helps defend each day from the newest destructive plans his dastardly and dismissive dad comes up with. This complicated father son relationship is at the center of the movie as Lloyd tries to prove himself despite it seeming like he’s been dealt the short end of the stick in just about everything.
Each ninja has an elemental super skill and a cool unique mech they can trot out during their many frequent battles. While all of Lloyd’s companions get to master exciting things like lightening, fire, earth, ice, and water Lloyd is stuck with boring old “green”.
On top of everything Lloyd accidentally lets the Ultimate Cat out of the bag when he bites off more than he can chew and ends up turning The City of Ninjago into a squeaky toy of sorrow, unleashing a weapon of unimaginable terror even more heartless and self-adsorbed than his father on its streets. The only way to redeem himself is a long harrowing trip of self-discovery and training montages to reveal an unexpected past.
While the team has some pretty impressive mechs and enviable elements, that sort of thing doesn’t come together overnight. They must have had some early attempts that got tabled before they hit it out of the park. Here are some ideas for additions we would have loved to see make the cut:
Ninja Color: Rainbow Foam
Mech: Giant Mech-Wash
Crime attracts some dirty scoundrels, time to make them go clean.
Elemental Weapon of Ultimate Ultimate power: The blue car wash roller Lego piece
Powers:
- Brain-washing
- Uses double wax coat to control friction for super speed
- Super bubbles
Ninja Color: Fuchsia
Mech: Giant Cucumber
Arch nemesis of giant Catzilla. Everyone with access to YouTube knows cats are terrified of cucumbers.
Primary Power: Master of disguise meets element of surprise.
Elemental Weapon of Ultimate Ultimate power: LEGO Vegetable
Supplemental powers:
- Removes bags from under eye-area
- Transforms into a refreshing lo-cal snack
While disappointingly these ninjas may not have made it into the movie you can still make it down to a theater near you to enjoy wishing Hot Dog Guy a happy birthday, learn a new chart topping pop song about how much Llyod sucks, get helpful advice about building a corporate severance package that doesn’t involve being shot out of a cannon, and yes, even discover the secret of the green.
