True North Bricks

The more I think about The LEGO Ninjago Movie, the more I like it. I recently acquired and read The LEGO Ninjago Movie: The Making of the Movie, and it helped me to appreciate the film and its artistic direction a little more. When I went to see the film (click here for my review), one of the things that I noticed was that it lacked some of the brick-built feel of The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie. Ninjago City certainly fit the bill, but a lot of the movie takes place in the jungle, which was markedly not LEGO. That didn’t really bother me, it was just something that I noticed. It turns out that the makers of the movie chose that direction intentionally to give the film a more traditional, martial arts film feel. That was just one of the interesting facts that I learned about The LEGO Ninjago Movie from reading this book.

Front cover of The LEGO Ninjago Movie: The Making of the Movie

Another aspect of the film that I really gained a lot more appreciation for was Ninjago City itself. The city is impressive in the movie, for sure. But, through this book I was able to pick up on many details that I missed in the film. Shops, signs, and the shape of buildings were all things that flew by in the movie, but that I was able to study more closely on the pages of the book. There are so many intricate details that you just don’t see watching the film for the first time. I also noticed when watching the movie that the Ninjago City LEGO set did not actually appear in the movie. Through the book, I was able to see where different parts of the set were pulled to make a smaller scale amalgamation for sale. The artwork for Ninjago City in the book is also amazing.

Some of the concept art for Ninjago City

All of the signs in The LEGO Ninjago Movie are written in an Asian-style script. This was an alphabet developed entirely for the movie that was based on the Latin alphabet, according the book. The book also provides a full key for deciphering the Ninjago language, which actually adds a whole new layer of fun to examining the pictures in the book, as well as to reading the signs in the real LEGO sets.

The Ninjago language

The book also gives you a map of Ninjago island, and a bit of background about it for those who are unfamiliar with the TV show. I quite like the map, because it gives you a better idea of where things take place in the movie. It also shows just how much thought went into making this production.

The map of Ninjago Island

In terms of a DK LEGO book, this one is along the same lines as The LEGO Batman Movie: The Making of the Movie (click here for my review). It doesn’t come with the gimmicky exclusive Minifigure (which I am totally a sucker for) that many other DK books have. So, that means that it is a book through-and-through, and it isn’t half filled with cardboard to house a Minifig. While I love those Minifigures, I do appreciate the more artistic approach of this book. It is still kid friendly, but adults will get a lot out of it too.

No Minifigure comes with this book, but here, Master Wu shows you the thickness of the book.

Overall, I like The LEGO Ninjago Movie: The Making of the Movie. It is a great supplement to the actual film, and a really fun and easy read. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Until next time,

-Tom

The rear cover of the book