''The Lego Ninjago Movie'' is a 2017 animated

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

, based on the toy/kit line of the same name and the

TV show A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

starring the same characters. Directed by Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, and Bob Logan (in their feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay by Logan, Fisher, William Wheeler,

Tom Wheeler Thomas Edgar Wheeler (born April 5, 1946) is an American businessman and former government official. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 31st Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He was appointed by President Bar ...

Jared Stern Jared Stern is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He collaborated with John Whittington on ''The Lego Batman Movie'' (2017), ''The Lego Ninjago Movie'' (2017), and ''DC League of Super-Pets'' (2022), the latter of which he also ...

, and John Whittington, it is the first theatrical film to be based on an original

Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

property and the third installment in ''The Lego Movie'' franchise as well as its second

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

. The film stars the voices of

Dave Franco David John Franco (born June 12, 1985) is an American actor and filmmaker. He began his career with small roles in films such as '' Superbad'' (2007) and '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010). Following a starring role in the final season of the comed ...

Michael Peña Michael Peña (; ; born January 13, 1976) is an American actor. He has starred in many films, including '' Crash'' (2004), '' World Trade Center'' (2006), '' Shooter'' (2007), '' Observe and Report'' (2009), '' Tower Heist'' (2011), '' Battle: L ...

Kumail Nanjiani Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ; Urdu: کمیل علی نانجیانی; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-writi ...

Abbi Jacobson Abbi Jacobson (born 1984) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and illustrator. She co-created and co-starred in the Comedy Central series ''Broad City'' (2014–2019) with Ilana Glazer, based on the web series of the sam ...

Zach Woods Zach Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom '' The Office'', as Jared Dunn on the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley ...

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, he co-created and co-starred in the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. He also co-created ...

Justin Theroux Justin Paul Theroux ( ; born August 10, 1971) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained recognition for his work with director David Lynch in the mystery film '' Mulholland Drive'' (2001) and the thriller film ''Inland Empire'' (2006). He al ...

and

Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network G4, and on the series '' ...

, as well as a live-action role by

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

(who also voiced Wu in the film). The film focuses on a teenage ninja

Lloyd Garmadon Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon is a fictional character in the animated television series '' Ninjago'' (previously known as ''Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu'') and its sequel series '' Ninjago: Dragons Rising'', produced by The Lego Group. He was crea ...

, 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 on ''Ninjago'' was announced in September 2013 by Warner Bros., with The Hageman Brothers writing the adaptation while Bean was hired to direct the film with

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Philip Anderson Lord (born July 12, 1975) and Christopher Robert Miller (born September 23, 1975) are an American filmmaking and acting duo. Their films are known for subversion of genre and detailed visual sensation, spanning various styles of ...

Dan Lin Dan Lin (; born April 8, 1973) is a Taiwanese-American film and television producer. He is the chairman of Netflix Films and the founder of Rideback (formerly Lin Pictures until 2018), a film and television production company that he formed ...

and

Roy Lee Roy Lee (born March 23, 1969) is an American film and television producer. His production company, Vertigo Entertainment, has a first-look deal with Lionsgate. Early life Lee was born in 1969 at Wyckoff Heights Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, ...

producing. By May 2014, following the success of ''

The Lego Movie ''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, the film stars the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will ...

'', 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 with ''The Lego Movie'' and ''

The Lego Batman Movie ''The Lego Batman Movie'' is a 2017 animated superhero comedy film, based on characters created by DC Comics and the Lego Batman toy line. It was directed by Chris McKay (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay that is based on a ...

'', the animation was provided by Animal Logic.

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American musician and composer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead vocalist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US ...

, who composed ''The Lego Movie'', composed the film's musical score, with several artists performing new original songs for the film. A

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

between production houses from the United States and Denmark, ''The Lego Ninjago Movie'' was released by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...

in the United States on 22 September 2017. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was the franchise's first

box-office disappointment A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, grossing only $123.1 million worldwide against its $70 million budget. A live-action reboot from

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

is in development.

Plot

A young boy meets the mysterious owner of a relic shop, Mr. Liu, who tells him the story of Ninjago, a city within the

LEGO Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

universe. It is frequently terrorized by the evil warlord Lord Garmadon and his army of

sea life Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life-themed aquarium attractions. there are 53 Sea Life attractions (including standalone Sea Life centres, mini Sea Life features within resort theme parks, and Legoland submarine rides) around the worl ...

-themed henchmen. Garmadon's constant attacks on the city resulted in his son Lloyd 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 a

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

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 has

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

, Cole has

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

, Jay has

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

, Zane has

ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

, and Nya has

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

. Wu also mentions the "Ultimate Weapon", giving Lloyd new hope of stopping Garmadon, despite Wu warning them that ''nobody'' 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 a

laser pointer A laser pointer or laser pen is a (typically battery-powered) handheld device that uses a laser diode to emit a narrow low-power visible laser beam (i.e. Coherence (physics), coherent light) to highlight something of interest with a small brigh ...

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, the ''Destiny'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.

Cast

, the Green Ninja, leader of the Secret Ninja Force, Lord Garmadon and Koko's son and Master Wu's nephew. He is an outcast in society because he is Garmadon's son, and he is bitter towards his father for making his life hard. *

as Kai, the hotheaded, energetic red Ninja of Fire and Nya's brother. *

as Jay, the quiet and cautious blue Ninja of Lightning. *

as Nya, the strong silver Ninja of Water, Kai's sister, and Jay's crush. *

as Zane, the robotic white Ninja of Ice. *

as Cole, the laid-back music-loving black Ninja of Earth. *

as Master Wu, the wisecracking leader of the group, Lord Garmadon's brother and Lloyd's uncle. ** Chan also plays Mr. Liu, an elderly shopkeeper who appears in the live-action part of the film. *

as Lord Garmadon, the Lord of Evil, an evil warlord, the father of Lloyd, the ex-husband of Koko and the brother of Master Wu. *

as Koko, Lord Garmadon's ex-wife and Lloyd's mother. She was formerly known as the legendary "Lady Iron Dragon" when she worked as a warrior-queen. *

Randall Park Randall Park (born March 23, 1974) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his roles as Agent Jimmy Woo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, FBI Special Agent Edwin Park in the Netflix series '' The Residence'' (2025), Louis Hu ...

and

Retta Marietta Sangai SirleafJung, E. Alex Vulture.com, May 23, 2018. rchived https://web.archive.org/web/20180523214634/https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/retta-has-a-story-to-tell.htmlon 05-23-2018

as Chen and Maggie, the cheerleaders at Ninjago High School who bully Lloyd. *

Constance Wu Constance Wu (; born March 22, 1982) is an American actress. Wu's breakthrough role came with the ABC sitcom '' Fresh Off the Boat'' (2015–2020), which earned her four nominations at the Critics' Choice Television Awards. For leading the roma ...

as the Mayor of Ninjago. *

Charlyne Yi Lo Mutuc, born Charlyne Yi (January 4, 1986), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer, known for their role as Dr. Chi Park in the Fox medical drama ''House'' (2011–2012), and for providing the voices of the Rubies in the Cartoon ...

and Vanara Taing as Terri and Asimov, the IT Nerds working for Lord Garmadon. *

Chris Hardwick Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosted '' Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' ...

as a radio DJ working in Ninjago City. * Robin Roberts as herself, a Lego caricature of the newscaster. In the UK version, she is replaced by

Kate Garraway Kathryn Mary Draper-Garraway (born 4 May 1967) is an English broadcaster and journalist. In the 1990s, Garraway was a journalist for ITV News Central and later a co-presenter of ITV News Meridian. From 2000 to 2010, she co-presented GMTV. Cur ...

. *

Michael Strahan Michael Anthony Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television host, journalist, and former professional American football, football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Gian ...

as himself, a Lego caricature of the known media personality and former

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

defensive end. In the UK version, he is replaced by

Ben Shephard Benjamin Peter Sherrington Shephard (born 11 December 1974) is an English television presenter and journalist who is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2024–present), alongside Cat Deeley. Shephard was a main presenter ...

. * David Burrows as a fuchsia ninja who has the "element of surprise." * Alex Kauffman as Ninja Computer. *

Ali Wong Alexandra Dawn Wong (born April 19, 1982) is an American comedian and actress. She is best known for her Netflix stand-up specials ''Baby Cobra'' (2016), ''Hard Knock Wife'' (2018), ''Don Wong'' (2022), and ''Single Lady'' (2024). The last of t ...

as General Olivia, the fish-themed general of Garmadon's Shark Army. * Todd Hansen as General Omar, the shark-themed general of Garmadon's Shark Army. * Doug Nicholas as General Jollty, the jellyfish-themed general of Garmadon's Shark Army. * Bobby Lee as the owner of a pilates studio in Ninjago City. *

Laura Kightlinger Laura Kightlinger (born ) is an American actress, writer and comedian. She was a writer and consulting producer on ''Will & Grace'', while also occasionally appearing on the show as the character Nurse Sheila. She was also a writer on the CBS s ...

as Mrs. Laudita, a teacher at Ninjago High School. * Pearl and Ruby as Meowthra, a live-action cat that terrorizes Ninjago. * Kaan Guldur as a young boy who appears at the live-action part of the film, where he is told the story of Ninjago by Mr. Liu.

Production

On 17 September 2013, Warner Bros. announced that it was developing an animated ''Ninjago'' film based on the

toy line ''

Lego Ninjago Lego ''Ninjago'' (stylized as ''LEGO NINJAGO''; , ) is a List of Lego themes, Lego theme that was created in 2011 and a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first theme to be based on ninjas since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja th ...

''.

The Hageman Brothers Kevin Hageman (born April 21, 1974) and Dan Hageman (born December 17, 1976), professionally known as the Hageman Brothers, are American screenwriters and television producers. They are best known for their work on the television series '' Ninjago ...

, who wrote the '' Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu'' show and co-wrote the story of ''

'', would write the adaptation. Charlie Bean was announced as director, and ''The Lego Movie'' team of

, and

Phil Lord and Chris Miller Philip Anderson Lord (born July 12, 1975) and Christopher Robert Miller (born September 23, 1975) are an American filmmaking and acting duo. Their films are known for subversion of genre and detailed visual sensation, spanning various styles of ...

as producers. On 27 June 2016, the film's voice cast was announced, including

, and

. Additional voice cast included

as Lord Garmadon and

as Koko.

Filming

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 single

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

. 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". 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.

Music

, who composed the score for ''

'', returned to score ''The Lego Ninjago Movie''. The soundtrack was released through

WaterTower Music WaterTower Music Inc. (formerly New Line Records from 2000 to 2010) is an American record label serving as the in-house music label run by entertainment company Warner Bros., ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The name and logo are based ...

on 15 September 2017.

Release

''The Lego Ninjago Movie'' premiered at the

Regency Village Theater The Regency Village Theatre (formerly the Fox Theatre, Westwood Village or the Fox Village Theatre, commonly called the Westwood Village Theatre) is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California in the heart of the Mediterra ...

on 16 September 2017, before it was widely released in the United States by

on 22 September 2017, in 3D, RealD 3D, and Dolby Cinema. It was originally scheduled for a 23 September 2016 release. This release date was given to ''

Storks Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout Beak, bills. They belong to the family (biology), family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, suc ...

'' instead. The film was released in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

on 21 September 2017. It was released in the Philippines on 27 September 2017. A short film, '' The Master'', that promoted the feature film was shown with screenings of ''Storks'', which took the original 23 September release date. On 8 February 2017, the first trailer was released. This trailer was shown in front of screenings of ''

''. On 22 July 2017, a second trailer for the film was shown as part of

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

and released on YouTube later in the day. Both trailers feature the song " Bad Blood" by

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

, with the second trailer also featuring "

It Must Have Been Love "It Must Have Been Love", originally "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)", is a song written by Per Gessle and performed by the Swedish pop duo Roxette. The power ballad became the duo's third number one hit in the Unite ...

" by

Roxette Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, ...

, "

Ain't Gonna Die Tonight ''Ain't'' is a negative inflection for ''am'', ''is'', ''are'', ''has'', and ''have'' in informal English. In some dialects, it is also used for ''do'', ''does'', ''did'', and ''will''. The development of ''ain't'' for the various forms of ''be'' ...

" by

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper. A native of Seattle, Washington, he started his career in 2000 as an independent artist rele ...

and "I Wanna Go Out" by

American Authors American Authors, formerly known as the Blue Pages, are an American rock band originally from Boston, based in New York City, that consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Zac Barnett, bassist Dave Rublin, and drummer Matt Sanchez. Guitarist an ...

Marketing

Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including a set of Collectible Minifigures. A video game by

TT Fusion TT Games Limited is a British holding company and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games. The company was established in 2005 through the merger of video game developer, developer Traveller's Tales and Video game publisher, publisher Giant Interact ...

based on the film, ''

The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game ''The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by TT Fusion and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Based on ''The Lego Ninjago Movie'', it was released for Nintendo Switch, PlaySta ...

'', was released on 22 September 2017, for

Windows PC Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

. The game is similar to previous Lego games, with some new features such as multiplayer battle modes and new combo based combat techniques.

Home media

''The Lego Ninjago Movie'' was released on Digital HD on 12 December 2017, and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

Blu-ray 3D Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-definition ...

, and

4K Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray supports 4K UHD (3840 × 2160 pixel resolution) video at frame rates up to 60 progress ...

on 19 December 2017, by

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

Video game

Based on ''The Lego Ninjago Movie'', it was released for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

, and

, alongside the film, in North America on 22 September 2017, and worldwide on 20 October 2017. It serves as the second spin-off video game and the third game in ''The Lego Movie'' franchise.

Sets

Reception

Box office

''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. In North America, the film was released alongside '' Kingsman: The Golden Circle'' and ''

Friend Request ''Friend Request'' (released internationally as ''Unfriend'') is a 2016 English-language German supernatural psychological horror film directed by Simon Verhoeven. The film was released in Germany on January 7, 2016 and received generally negat ...

''. Various tracking services had the film projected to gross anywhere from $27–44 million from 4,047 theaters in its opening weekend. 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 below '' It'' and ''Kingsman: The Golden Circle'', and ranking as the lowest opening of the ''Lego'' franchise by over 50%.

Critical response

On review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . 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." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Andrew Barker of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 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." Ed Potton of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5, saying, "Just as ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...

'' 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."

Robbie Collin Robbie Collin is a British film critic. Collin studied aesthetics and the philosophy of film at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He edited the university's student newspaper, '' The Saint''. Collin has been the chief film critic at ''The ...

of ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' 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 staging

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...

-style madcap spectacle on a toy-box scale."

Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born June 27, 1943) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film i ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' gave the film a 2 out of 4 scoring, saying, "Despite comically inspired vocal performances from

and

as nutjob Lego versions of

Darth Vader Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...

and

Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...

, the action and jokes pile up with exhausting repetitiveness."

Accolades

Future

On 31 October 2024, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' reported that a live-action ''Ninjago'' film from

is in development, with Dan and Kevin Hageman attached to pen the script. By the time the film was announced, Warner Bros. had terminated their film rights to the Lego brand by the fall of 2019 following '' The 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, eventually acquiring the rights to the brand in April 2020, which was set for a five-year deal.

References

External links

*
Official website at Lego.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lego Ninjago Movie, 2017 films 2017 3D films 2017 action comedy films 2017 computer-animated films 2017 directorial debut films 2017 martial arts films 2017 science fiction action films 3D animated films 2017 American animated films 2010s animated superhero films 2010s children's comedy films 2010s English-language films 2017 fantasy films 2010s martial arts comedy films 2010s superhero comedy films American 3D films American action comedy films American children's animated adventure films American children's animated comedy films American children's animated fantasy films American computer-animated films American martial arts comedy films American fantasy adventure films American films with live action and animation American science fantasy films Animated films about cats Animated films based on animated series Film spinoffs Films about bullying Films about dysfunctional families Animated films based on toys Animated films about sentient toys Films based on television series Films directed by Charlie Bean (filmmaker) Films produced by Roy Lee Films produced by Dan Lin Films produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Films produced by Seth Grahame-Smith Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh Films set on fictional islands Films with screenplays by The Hageman Brothers Films with screenplays by Jared Stern Films with screenplays by John Whittington (screenwriter)

Ninjago Lego ''Ninjago'' (stylized as ''LEGO NINJAGO''; , ) is a Lego theme that was created in 2011 and a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first theme to be based on ninjas since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja theme in 2000. It was ...

Movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Metafictional works Ninja films Warner Bros. films Warner Bros. Animation films Warner Bros. animated films Warner Animation Group films Animal Logic films Dune Entertainment films Vertigo Entertainment films 4DX films Animated films about father–son relationships English-language science fantasy films English-language science fiction action films English-language action comedy films