STACK September 2017 Issue 155

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T he LEGO Ninjago Movie
isn’t a spin-off or a
sequel – it’s a standalone
adventure based on the toy line
that also inspired the TV series
Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.
The story involves a team
of six young ninjas who fight
to defend their island home
of Ninjago from the evil Lord
Garmadon, while resolving a
number of issues between each
other along the way.
“Every LEGO movie is different,”
says producer Dan Lin when STACK
catches up with him and the film’s
voice cast at Comic-Con. “The first
one is an action-adventure, the
second was a superhero movie, and
this one is our version of a martial
arts/giant robot movie.”
Lin, who also served as producer
on The LEGO Movie and The LEGO
Batman Movie, adds that the
challenge is to constantly innovate
with each installment while keeping
the tone consistent. The LEGO
Ninjago Movie will feature some
live-action elements to provide a
more organic feel. “It’s really different
and the most beautiful looking LEGO
movie we’ve done so far.”
Ninjago features a stellar line-
up including Dave Franco, Justin
Theroux, Silicon Valley stars Kumail
Nanjiani and Zach Woods, Michael
Peña, Olivia Munn and the legendary
Jackie Chan.
In voicing the villainous Garmadon,
Theroux found the process a
liberating experience from an acting
perspective. “We’re not in the same
room together so you’re left to your
own devices with the director and
engineer,” he explains. “You
can scream and talk and shout
for five or six hours and they
take it and splice it up and start
animating it. I find it incredible
– you can improvise with zero
consequence.”
“I’ve done this kind of thing
before,” adds Peña, who plays
Kai, the red Ninja of Fire. “It’s a
very passionate thing, but when
you see the movie it’s nothing like
that. It depends on what take they
use, so for all I know [Kai] could be a
complete psychopath.”
Perhaps the biggest and most
inspired piece of casting was
enlisting Jackie Chan, who not only
voices the ninjas’ Sensei but also
served as the stunt choreographer for
the animated action.
“We cast careers – it’s not just
voice actors,” says Lin. “Jackie’s
strength is not necessarily his verbal
acuity or the comedy that comes
through in his action. We have a
strong script and when the cast come
Assembling a great voice cast is as vital to the success of a
LEGO movie as animation and innovation. Words Scott Hocking
FINDING
THE LEGONINJA
WITHIN YA
Wanna
impress
the kids?
Ninjago
facts go!
If you’re still wondering how
to pronounce “Ninjago”, just
consult the Vanilla Ice school of
pronunciation – “Go ninja, go
ninja, go!”
Erm, unless you’re referring to the
dragon-shaped islands, in which
case it’s more middle syllable
emphatic – “Nin-JAH-go”.
So, what’s the deal with evil
Garmadon’s four arms? He
conjured them via dark magic
in order to use all Four Golden
Weapons all at once.
Yeah, but what are those Four
Golden Weapons? OK, that’d be
the Sword of Fire, the Nunchucks
of Lightning, the Scythe of
Quakes and the Shurikens of Ice.
With a whopping 4,867
pieces, the huge
Ninjago City
released for the
movie is the fourth
biggest LEGO set
ever. EVER! We SO
want one.
An anagram of
‘Garmadon’ is
“ma dragon’/’am
dragon’
042 SEPTEMBER 2017
visit CINEMA FEATURE
Lloyd's a pretty complex
character. he's the son of Lord
Garmadon, the most evil man on the
planet, and everyone in town knows it
and treats him pretty horribly because
of it. By day he's a pretty tortured
high school kid, but by night he has a
secret identity as the Green Ninja, and
he protects his home from Garmadon."
DAVE FRANCO
TELL US ABOUT YOUR LEGO CHARACTER...
Koko is the ex-wife of Garmadon,
the mother of Lloyd, the mayor of
the city, and she also has a secret
identity. It was hard for me to play
because she is so upbeat and my
only reference was my Asian mother
who's very mean [laughs], so being
upbeat and positive was a struggle."
OLIVIA MUNN
I play Zane, who's a robot with
aspirations to be a normal teenager,
but has none of the appropriate
references. He thinks teens like
Buddy Holly and stuff like that. He's
emotionless but wants to experience
the warmth of human feeling and feel
connected – it's an autobiographical
role for me."
ZACH WOODS
• The LEGO
Ninjago Movie
is in cinemas on
Sept 21
in, every actor brings something new
to it. That’s why we have a comedy
cast. They record the lines but it’s
their versions and interpretations of
the characters. That’s what elevates
these LEGO movies."