The Lego Ninjago Movie

The Lego Ninjago Movie was a product line based on The Lego Ninjago Movie, the third film of The Lego Movie franchise. It was licensed from The Lego Group and Warner Bros. Animation. The theme was introduced in 2017 as part of a licensing and merchandising programme associated with the film. Alongside the release of the Lego sets, the programme included the release of several promotional short films and The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game. The product line was discontinued by the end of 2019. Overview The Lego Ninjago Movie theme was based on the characters and events of the 2017 film titled The Lego Ninjago Movie. The main focus of the line is Lloyd Garmadon, the leader of a group of six teenage ninja and the son of Lord Garmadon, the villainous warlord who is intent on conquering Ninjago City. The film and toy line were based on the long running Lego Ninjago theme and its associated computer-animated television series, Ninjago, which were launched in 2011. Development Following the success of The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Group aimed to make a third success with The Lego Ninjago Movie. The development of the theme was the result of a collaboration between the film makers and Lego designers. The Lego Ninjago Movie was developed to reach a wider audience than the Ninjago television series, which meant that it diverged from the television series storyline. The development of both the film and its associated product line was predominantly influenced by the writers and directors of the film, however the Lego design team ensured that the characters remained true to the series. Designer Christopher Stamp commented, "We also emphasised the importance of specialised vehicles for each of the ninja, not only because they look great on screen but also because they are a lot of fun to build and play with as a physical toy. For instance, Warner Bros. actually suggested that Kai should pilot a mech in the movie and gave some indication of how it might look before a Lego designer was able to create a set to be released in conjunction with the film." Senior Creative Director, Simon Lucas commented, "We invited the director and production designer to Denmark and spent a week doing what we call a design boost. We got several Lego designers together and asked them: 'We know that Kai needs a fire-mech in the scene - what does that look like? What's the functionality?' And then we sketched in the Lego bricks."