The Lego Ninjago Movie - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Lego Ninjago Movie

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie

The LEGO brand has really gotten a boost after the wildly successful (and completely unexpected) success of The Lego Movie a few years back. Besides the fact that you can’t get “Everything is Awesome!” out of your head, the movie was a cute adventure that appealed equally to kids and adults alike. Something that most animated films outside of Pixar/Disney and Dreamworks studios fail to do. Following it up with Lego Batman last year netted even more positive results, but there was a little side project called Lego Ninjago that was make waves in the TV world. The show was light and airy like the two movies, but it was much fluffier and aimed more at children than the before mentioned blockbuster films. Well, after three seasons, Lego Ninjago gets its own movie and Warner aims at bringing it to prime time (with mixed results).

The Lego Ninjago Movie is fun and silly, but also at the core it is a LEGO movie to the core. Like all of the films, the villain is full of quips and smart alec remarks, while a hero has to dig deep inside of himself and find the inner savior of the universe that we all know he’s going to become. I guess you could say that The Lego Ninjago Movie is a smaller scale project, as its not so massive and expertly acted as the other two films, and really feels like a TV show that is given a few extended episodes rather than a blockbuster.

Lloyd (Dave Franco) isn’t exactly the most popular character at school. He’s boo’d by the other students, shunned by everyone but 5 of his friends (who are about as popular as he is), and basically the outcast of Ninjago city. You see, he’s the son of the evil warlord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), who just so happens to be the arch nemesis of Ninjago. Little do the townsfolk know, but Lloyd is actually the green Ninja, one of 6 powerful (and secret) ninjas who protect the town from Lord Garmadon and allow peace to thrive. Or at least MOSTLY live in peace, as Garmadon does make it a habit of terrorizing the town before the ninjas can thwart his evil plan each and every episode.

Getting frustrated with the fact that his dad has no care about him whatsoever, Lloyd decides to put an end to Garmadon once and for all. Grabbing the weapon of ultimate power, against the wishes of the wise and ancient ninja master Wu (Jackie Chan), the young man unleashes its power on his father, only to have it backfire when it attracts Meowthra (yeah, a live action cat), who ends up terrorizing the city and smashing all of the Ninja’s mechas. Thus allowing Lord Garmadon control of the city. Now it’s up to Lloyd and his 5 ninaj compatriots to embark on a harrowing mission to get the super ultimate weapon and defeat Garmadon, and probably learn some life lessons along the way.

As I said, The Lego Ninjago Movie is pretty light and fluffy. The TV show base for the intellectual property shows a bit, even though Warner did make this a full on theatrical release this fall. That being said, it does follow some of the plot points of the Lego Ninjago TV show, but also is able to be watched on it’s own as a standalone movie outside of the regular episodic plots. Franco is a bit bland as Lloyd, but Justin Theroux has a blast with Lord Garmadon, hamming it up to the extreme (making him the best character in the show. Kumail Nanjiani, Michael Pena, and Zach woods also add their vocal talents to the crew, but it’s mostly Franco, Jackie Chan and Justin doing the heavy lifting here. All do a solid job, but I still think Justin really shines above the rest, with Franco bringing up the read as Lloyd. A solid family friendly flick, The Lego Ninjago Movie is charming and sweet, with a more children centered focus than it’s other LEGO intellectual properties.




Rating:

Rated PG for some mild action and rude humor




Video:

Once again we get the standard uptick in quality from a 2K mastered animated film. Meaning that it looks good, and definitely cleaner than the 1080p Blu-ray, but it doesn’t turn into demo material either. The film doesn’t have any information on what resolution the film was finished at, but from talking to a few insiders it seems that this was most likely finished at 2K, which makes sense for the amount of detail we see present. The colors are richer and more vibrant thanks to the HDR, which is where a good majority of the uptick comes from, but the fine details are cleaner and crisper, with just a bit more stability in the contrast and black levels. It’s a modest boost in quality for sure, but still noticeable, especially with the lack of banding or other minor artifacts that the Blu-ray showed glimpses of.





Audio:

Warner Brothers has really been knocking it out of the park the last few weeks with these Atmos tracks. IT, Blade Runner 2049, and now The Lego Ninjago Movie. I was expecting a really nice track considering how great the last two Lego movies have been, but Warner has given us a stellar Atmos experience (the Atmos WAS a bit of an unexpected treat) that really rocks and rolls. The movie’s audio mix is just as chaotic and explosive as the movie itself, roaring and bellowing with each and every battle that happens between the ninja’s and Garmadon. The Mech’s roar and soar to new heights, shifting all over the sound stage with pinpoint accuracy, and a ferocity that really can be felt all around. Dialog is strong at all times and the overheads used quite a bit during the battles, but that LFE just has to be heard (and felt) to be believed. Deep waves of bass permeate the room with each and every blow. A footstep from Meowthra is deep and thunderous, and each energy blast rocks the room with authority.






Extras:

• Team Supreme: Building NINJAGO® – featurette
• Rumble in the Bricks- featurette
• Rebrick Contest Winners- featurette
• Which Way to the Ocean – mini-movie
• Zane's Stand Up Promo – mini-movie
• The Master: A LEGO® NINJAGO® Short – mini-movie
• LEGO® NINJAGO® TV Series Sneak Peek
• Oh, Hush! & Jeff Lewis Found My Place – Music Video
• Everybody Have a Ninja Day – Music Video
• Rocktagon – Music Video
• Warlord Ballad – Music Video
• Animation Bridge Test – Deleted Scene
• Baby Fight– Deleted Scene
• Dock Scene– Deleted Scene
• Gimme Some Outtakes!
• Commentary by Director Charlie Bean and Crew
• 13 Promotional Videos

Final Score: ​

The Lego Ninjago Movie is a fun little jaunt that acts as a great add-on (and standalone feature film) to the The Lego Ninjago animated TV series (which finished up it’s 3rd season in 2016). More akin to The Lego Movie than anything, this one is a completely new story that doesn’t rely on knowledge of any other characters (like Batman etc) to truly enjoy. Dave Franco is a bit of a weakness as Lloyd, but the rest of the cast are having a ball with their characters (even Jackie Chan) making it a fun romp for the young ones in the house (or at least the young at heart). It’s not overly ambitious but excels in having simple fun without any strings attached. The 4K UHD disc is a modest upgrade over the stunning Blu-ray disc, and while it's not night and day, I would definitely go with the 4K disc if you're picking this up due to the more stable image and cleaner look to it. Definitely a fun watch for those who have enjoyed the LEGO film franchise so far.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Dave Franco, Jackie Chan, Fred Armisen
Directed by: Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher
Written by: Paul Fisher, Bob Logan
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish, English DVS DD 5.1
Studio: Warner
Rated: PG
Runtime: 101 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: Own The LEGO Ninjago Movie on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on December 19 or Own It Now on Digital HD!

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Good movie for Lego fans.