The Brick Connection –A novice Lego fan explores the great brick world of LEGO

Happy Fall, LEGO fans!

Yes, the day that I have been talking about way too much is finally here! Granted, that doesn’t mean the weather automatically cools down, but where I live I have seen the light. (Or actually I guess I see that the light is coming from farther away and doesn’t last as long.) Plus, a few days ago this wet stuff fell from the sky and that seemed to cool things down. Weather!

Okay, enough small talk! I’m back! Did you miss me? Because I didn’t miss you. Not because I don’t like you, but because I liked my vacation a lot more.

Here’s a picture of a cloudy sunrise I took last week.

*sigh*

We have to go back!! (Said like Jack from LOST.)

Anyway, I am back, but while I was away I still got a reminder of why LEGO is awesome. Not that I needed one.

This time, it wasn’t about an awesome set, it was about awesome customer service. But really just one specific customer service representative. I was on Twitter last week, when I saw someone retweet an email conversation between a young LEGO fan named Luka and Richard from LEGO Consumer Services.

If you haven’t seen this yet, please read:

So wonderful! Not only just being sweet to this boy, but actually knowing enough about Ninjago to relate to him that way. I mean, he put a call into Sensei Wu! Talk about great customer service. As someone who also works in customer service (although on a level so much lower than LEGO that you have to transfer elevators 100 times to get to it) I am super impressed with this response and kind of jealous of Richard’s natural customer service skills. I need to step up my game!

If there is one lesson we all can learn from this exchange, it’s to always leave your Jay ZX minifigure at home. And probably all your other minifigures.

Reading Richard talk about Ninjago so naturally made me want to know about these characters. I mean who is this “Jay ZX” that Luka was so sad to lose?

In fact, I don’t know why I haven’t looked into Ninjago sooner. People are obsessed with these little ninjas. Ninjago is one of LEGO’s most popular themes. It’s actually impressive that I’ve taken this long to talk about the Ninjago theme. This is my 65^th blog post and I think I’ve mentioned Ninjago maybe once or twice, but only in passing.

So let’s get into it.

My first question. Why Ninjago? Why not call the theme LEGO Ninja?

Well there actually was a LEGO Ninja theme that ran from 1998 to 2000. According to Wikipedia it was basically replaced by the Knights-Castle theme. How you replace Japanese ninjas with European knights instead of just having both, I don’t know.

Ninjago does use elements from the original Ninja theme, but there is a new plot and characters. Apparently the setting is also more modern than feudal Japan, as can be seen by the “advanced vehicles and technology.”

I couldn’t exactly find how they came up with the name Ninjago, but I guess they wanted the theme to center on a world that was home to both modern cities and ancient villages. That world needed a name so they called it Ninjago. So when you hear it, you know it has something to do with Ninjas, but it’s a whole new fantasy world of ninjas that LEGO can do what they want with. Which makes sense. LEGO isn’t really known for putting out historically accurate sets with a history lesson attached. They want fun and imagination. You can’t re-imagine a period of history. It happened the way it happened, and that’s that.

So what do we need to know about the world of Ninjago? Well, I don’t have the patience to try to paraphrase the basic premise of Ninjago from Wikipedia, so instead I’m just going to share with you exactly what they said about the basic premise on Wikipedia:

Ninjago was created by the First Master of Spinjitzu using the Four Golden Weapons: the Sword of Fire, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Scythe of Quakes, and the Shurikens of Ice. The four had so much power that no one could wield all four except for the master himself. He had two sons, Garmadon and Wu, who guarded the weapons and banished enemies into the Underworld, including the four-armed skeleton general Samukai. After the First Spinjitzu Master died, his son Garmadon was corrupted by the venom of the Great Devourer and wanted to use the Golden Weapons to recreate Ninjago in his own evil image. However, younger brother Wu fought Garmadon, and Garmadon was banished to the Underworld, vowing to return one day. Wu then hid the weapons in different parts of Ninjago and gave the map to his friend, Kai's father (Former Elemental Master of Fire), to hide. However, peace didn't last for long, as Lord Garmadon defeated Samukai, the former general, and took control over the Skulkin Army. Wu brings together four young ninja, Kai, Master of Fire, Jay, Master of Lightning, Cole, Master of Earth, and Zane, Master of Ice to combat the evil Lord Garmadon and his skeleton army and bring peace to Ninjago once again.

Well now I get it…..I think. I’m wondering about the passage of time though. Like exactly how old is this Sensei Wu?

Don’t sweat the details, Cori! Basically Wu is good, his brother, Garmadon is bad. Four young Ninjas, each of whom is the master of one of the golden weapons are being mentored by Wu to defeat the bad guys.

It kind of seems like Sensei Wu is just using these poor kids to get back at his big brother for being mean to him. Keep your family squabbles to yourself, Wu!

Just kidding!

LEGO didn't stop at just making sets for this world. What better way to explain the world of Ninjago than with a TV show?! Two pilot episodes aired in January 2011 on Cartoon Network to introduce the characters and story just as the first sets were being released.

Here’s a trailer for the pilot:

Inevitably this story had to be made into a regular series though. And it was! In December 2011 the first season began airing. It has now completed 6 seasons. Two more Ninjas have been added since the pilot episodes. Lloyd in season 2 and Nya in Season 5.

There will also be a Ninjago feature film that will be released on September 22, 2017. The film is actually a spin-off of The LEGO Movie. It will have the same basic premise as the TV show and LEGO sets, but will be a new take on the story that is separate from the series. This kind of had to be done, because the filmmakers want anyone to be able to go and enjoy the film, not just people who watch the TV show.

The film will also differ in animation style from the TV show. The LEGO Movie was not stop-motion, but CGI combined with some real LEGO elements were used to make it look like a stop-motion film. Whereas LEGO TV shows like Ninjago are CGI, but in a more traditional animated style. The LEGO Ninjago Movie will be animated just like The LEGO Movie. 

The voice cast for the movie has some pretty cool people, including Jackie Chan as the voice of Sensei Wu.

Here is a teaser trailer for the film:

So should I talk about the actual LEGO products now?

Wikipedia says there are 112 sets under this theme, but that includes promotional sets. There are 62 sets listed on LEGO’s store website.

From what I can see in the online community, The Fire Temple is one of the most popular if not the most popular Ninjago set so far.

It was released in August 2011 and it went on to win “Activity Toy of the Year” at the 2012 American International Toy Fair in New York. It has since been retired by LEGO, but you can still find it for sale on Amazon.

It includes 7 minifigs, but only 3 ninjas. The coolest thing seems to be that the dragons can spit fireballs. Oh by the way, this theme includes dragons.

The current most popular Ninjago set, based on its “hard to find” status on the LEGO website is the Temple of Airjitzu.

This one includes all 6 young Ninjas featured on the show along with Sensei Wu and 5 other minifigs. The set features beautiful Japanese architecture, including Oriental–style decorated windows and sliding doors. I think I would want to collect Ninjago sets just for the cool architectural style of the buildings.

This set is currently available for sale on LEGO’s website for $199.99. 

And that’s my look at Ninjago. I’ve learned so much! Now when I go back and read the exchange between Luka and Richard from LEGO, I understand most of what they’re talking about. 

The Jay minifigure that Luka lost is one of the young ninjas and the master of lightning. When Richard “put in a call to Sensei Wu,” he was talking about the most important man in Ninjago. And when Sensei Wu told Richard to tell Luka to keep his minifigures protected like the weapons of Spinjitzu, I know now that he meant business. Lord Garmadon wants those weapons to do evil things with. Those weapons are sacred and so are Luka’s Ninjago minifigures.

Thanks again LEGO for proving your awesomeness, one employee and LEGO set at a time.

Are any of you Ninjago fans? What’s your favorite set?

And has anyone else had an interesting interaction with LEGO customer service? I’ve heard that there are many positive stories out there.

Until next time…………....................…….let’s go on a hayride!!!

*Compliments, general feedback, and constructive criticism are welcome. Any haters that are gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate can go step on some Lego with their bare feet.*