Jamen

Lego Ninjago is a Lego theme that was introduced in 2011, which is a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first to be based on ninja since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja theme in 2000. Whilst it retains some elements of the previous theme, it is based on a more detailed storyline set within a fantasy world, primarily underpinned by the computer-animated television series that it is based on, Ninjago.

The theme focuses on a group of six teenage ninja, led by the legendary Green Ninja, Lloyd Garmadon. The main ninja characters are defined in the story as "Elemental Masters", which means that they each possess special elemental powers. The ninja are trained in the fictional martial art of "Spinjitzu" by their ancient and wise teacher, Master Wu, giving them the ability to fight against the forces of evil.

The theme enjoyed phenomenal popularity and success in its first year, and a further two years were commissioned before a planned discontinuation in 2013. However, after a brief hiatus, the line was continued after feedback from fans and has been in production ever since. The Lego Group developed the theme into a media franchise aimed primarily at young boys and teenage boys, which has produced books, video games and theme park attractions. The popularity of the TV series and the toy line resulted in the production of The Lego Ninjago Movie, released in 2017, which was the third film in The Lego Movie franchise. In January 2021, the Ninjago theme celebrated its ten-year anniversary, having maintained its popularity for more than a decade, making it one of The Lego Group's longest running and most successful original brands.

The main focus of the line is the formation and consequent exploits and trials of a group of teenage ninja, battling against the various forces of evil. The theme originally introduced five main characters with an original storyline set in a fictional world that fused the ninja theme with dragons, modern vehicles and futuristic mech-robots. In the theme's storyline, the ninja characters are trained in the art of "Spinjitzu" a fictional martial art that allows them to fight their opponents. The storyline is set within the fictional world of Ninjago, a place inspired by East Asian culture. Simon Lucas, Senior Creative Director, commented, "With Lego Ninjago, we took inspiration from a Japanese starting point, but it developed into something of a massive mashup of cultures, not just one particular culture."

The origin of the Ninjago theme lies in the earlier Lego Ninja theme, which was released in 1988. This theme was based on Feudalistic Japan and featured ninjas, fortresses, catapults and horses. It originated in the Lego Castle theme that had been in existence since 1978. In 2000, Lego Ninja was replaced by Lego Knights. These themes eventually resulted in the introduction of the Ninjago theme, which included some of the original concepts of the Ninja theme, such as the dragons and fortresses, but also introduced modern day elements.

The focus on ninjas was also the direct result of ethnographic research of children's interests. The Ninjago product development team in Fort Lee, New Jersey spent several days monitoring groups of eight to ten-year-old boys to gauge their reactions to various concepts and storyboards, including ninjas, underwater adventures and futuristic cities. The chosen concept then went through several rounds of testing to refine the final product in order to produce a successful line. This rigorous testing and development resulted in the Ninjago line being delayed by a year. Cerim Manovi, Senior Design Manager for the theme stated, "Ninjas crystallised themselves because we were, like: 'What’s the greatest hero entry point?' We showed them superheroes, everything – but ninjas just grabbed kids right there."

During the development process, the Ninjago team took a trip to the Iga Ninja Museum, located three hours to the north of Tokyo, Japan in order to get inspiration for the theme. This allowed the designers to gather historic details from the 15th century ninja building, whilst also developing ideas about how to give these historic elements a contemporary appeal.

The Ninjago theme then employed the use of an original story that would appeal to young teenage boys, by creating a cast of characters that focused on a group of ninja heroes and a wide variety of villains. Senior Creative Manager, Tommy Andreasen commented, "It wasn't until we started developing a fantasy theme that we saw it actually can become a building toy as well. So you can put a ninja on a dragon - the kids found that appealing and very natural. But figuring out the enemies of the ninja was more of a challenge and we tested a lot of things there".

The introduction of skeletons as the main villains in the storyline was also the result of research with children. The children in the research groups were given the choice of six options, including monkeys, skeletons, robots and lizard people. The overwhelming preference was for skeletons, which the children considered to be "real" fantasy villains. Andreasen recalled, "As it turned out, if you took the fantasy to where they were battling skeletons, that made total sense for the kids. We could push it one step further - it's fine that these skeletons have these skeleton themed monster trucks and stuff like that. At that point, you could really start to see a product assortment".

The ninja characters were given different coloured costumes and unique elemental powers, which gave them distinctive personalities. The team also came up with the concept of "Spinjitzu", which was the main fighting method in the story. Andreasen commented, "we wanted to make sure that it was something that would look great on TV, lightning coming out of tornadoes and stuff like that. The toy representation of that was the spinner". The fantasy element was later combined with the introduction of advanced technology into the Ninjago universe. Although the original intention was to remain true to the historical setting, the Ninjago team decided that technology could be introduced without having a detrimental effect on the characters.

The brand name "Ninjago" was formed from a combination of two words: "ninja" and "Lego". Andreasen noted that this fell into place naturally, saying "It's universally recognised, it works in any language and it has a good dynamic to it. It's short and to the point. We added 'Masters of Spinjitzu' to it just for flavour".

Lego Ninjago was developed as a Big Bang project with a goal to double the sales of the previous Big Bang product line, Lego Atlantis. The design team set a target for the Ninjago line to deliver 10% of the company's total revenue. This was particularly ambitious, as no Lego theme had ever achieved this target, not even the successful Bionicle theme. By late April 2009, a full range of Ninjago products had been defined, which totalled 17 sets in the first year of its release. Alongside the Lego Ninjago product line, a variety of other media was created, including a Ninjago board game for Lego Games, a themed world for Lego Universe, a video game with TT Games that launched in April 2011, and the development of the animated Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu TV series that launched in January 2011. The launch of the TV show and the overwhelming popularity of the theme resulted in a 20% increase in sales in the first quarter of 2011, with the Ninjago line making the highest single-year sales for any Lego original product line in the company's history.

With its initial launch in early 2011, the Ninjago line was intended to continue for a limited run of three years. However, the strong sales performance of the line combined with the company's increased engagement with online communities resulted in The Lego Group reversing this decision. The company had begun to use online forums, such as Lego Cuusoo, to engage with fans and obtain customer feedback relating to its product range. The Ninjago brand was consequently extended past the end of 2013 and has been in production ever since.

The Lego Ninjago sets are based on the 3D computer-animated Ninjago television series (originally titled Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu). The series was created by Michael Hegner and Tommy Andreasen. Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu was animated in Denmark by Wil Film ApS for its ten season run. Animation was relocated to WildBrain Studios in Canada with the release of its successor, Ninjago. Regular seasons of the show have been released each year since 2011, along with one pilot season and one extended special. The series and the product line were created to coexist, with the storyline and products running alongside one another. This close connection is created out of a collaboration between product designers and storywriters. Design Manager Michael Svane Knap has elaborated on this by stating, "The product is important to us, but it's as important that we tell an engaging story from the beginning. We start developing with a lot of concept boards, so we know where we want to go...Often the writers also come up with new characters or new plot developments that we can then integrate into the products where possible. Both story and product are really tight together".