LEGO Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu – Way of the Ninja Movie Review on Cartoon Network

I wasn’t intending to post such a large review at this point – I wanted to watch the entire thing again and pay attention to the plot, but I’m impressed with both movies, and I’m going to go ahead and post a bit as well as a bunch of screen captures. It was a little bizarre seeing skeletons driving around in motorcycles and four-wheel drive monster trucks, however from my limited experience of what I’ve seen in stores, they did an excellent rendering of the actual LEGO sets into animation for TV. I also saw a lot of vehicles and settings in the movies that I’d like to see turned into actual LEGO sets. If they make the ship you see in the second review, I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

LEGO Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu - Way of the Ninja Movie Review

I’ll say up front that I’m not very familiar with Ninjago! (or NinjaGo! or Ninja Go! as I’ve seen it) and its universe. The screenshots I’ve posted below are going to be out of order – I was jumping around and just taking random screen captures to give you a sense of things I thought were interesting – potential future LEGO sets, etc. I’m trying to avoid giving the actual plot away since many people haven’t seen it yet. Screenshots from the second “movie” – Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu – King of Shadows, will be in a follow-up post. These are screenshots from the first episode “Way of the Ninja” but they are out of order.

Even though I’m not familiar with the Ninjago line, I still enjoyed what I watched. It was very very well produced. The animation, voice acting, sound effects, and music seem to have been upgraded over last year’s LEGO Atlantis movie. This year I do benefit from being able to see it in HD, and it looked great. I would love to be able to view last year’s Atlantis movie in HD. I’m not that into Ninjago! but I think if you were a fan of the sets and minifigs, you’d love the movies.

I have no idea how long these episodes take to produce, but I hope The LEGO Group produces more, and not just in the Ninjago universe.

Just a quick note on the screen captures – there will be blurry areas – that’s due to motion of the characters. It looks great in HDTV. There were a lot of Cartoon Network logos popping up. If this comes out on DVD or Blu-ray, definitely worth picking up if the price is good just to avoid those.

DO NOT VIEW THE IMAGES BELOW IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS!

Link to the second movie at the bottom.

A really cool animation style that was explaining some of the backstory of the characters:

LEGO Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu - Way of the Ninja Movie Review

Read more

LEGO Ninjago Movie Listings – Friday, January 14, 2011

It’s not up on the Cartoon Network website yet, but full listings for the LEGO NinjaGo: Masters of Spinjitzu movie popped up in my DVR listing earlier today. Cartoon Network listings (from my DVR): – NinjaGo: Masters of Spinjitzu – 5:00 PM (Central) – TOON, TOONHD – 5:30 PM (Central) … Read more

LEGO Star Wars 7913 Clone Trooper Battle Pack (2011)

Fans of LEGO Star Wars Clone Wars rejoice, there’s a new set of clones in town. Gone are the plain, white troopers and clone gunners of packs past. The 2011 LEGO Star Wars Clone Trooper pack is here, it’s more colorful, has a new figure (the ARF trooper), and the set’s vehicle is pretty nice, too.

LEGO 7913 Star Wars Clone Trooper Battle Pack

This is another early bird set offered through Toys R Us online, and also in the retail LEGO Stores. This battle pack comes with 85 pieces which includes four Clone Trooper minifigs. It retails at the LEGO Store for $11.99. Toys R Us offers this set online for $14.99. I was able to use my LEGO VIP points on this (and the Mandalorian Battle Pack), so I got it for a little under half the price! The LEGO VIP program is very handy, especially when buying the new stuff no other store has.

By the Numbers:
Set: 7913 Clone Trooper Battle Pack (Star Wars)
Year of Release: 2011 (Released in Dec 2010)
Type: Minifig/Battle Pack
# of Pieces: 85
# of Extra Pieces: 1
# of Minifigs and what kind: 4 Clone Troopers
Stickers? No
Price: $11.99 US
Ages: 6-12
Time to Complete: Less than 15 minutes

Box Art:

LEGO 7913 Star Wars Clone Trooper Battle Pack

Read more

LEGO 21100 Architecture – SHINKAI 6500 Submersible

Photos, and a review, of what appear to be a new, very limited edition LEGO Architecture set, in the Discovery line, have been published on the web through lordbrick’s Brickshelf account and his review in HISPALUG website. Unfortunately it will probably be only available in Japan, and I can imagine … Read more

Review: LEGO 7977 Atlantis Seabed Strider

As some of you readers might already know, some of the 2011 LEGO Atlantis sets are out, including Atlantis sets popping up at your local LEGO store, if you’re lucky enough to have one nearby. In this article, I will be reviewing one of the three 2011 sets that I’ve seen come across, the Atlantis Sea Strider.

LEGO 7977 Atlantis - Seabed Strider

The Sea Strider is a two-legged mech that transforms into a little underwater exploration speeder. This set is sort of like the little brother of the larger LEGO 8080 Atlantis Undersea Explorer in that they both transform from vehicles to mechs in their search for the lost underwater city. Transformation is quick and easy; just flip the legs back, and it’s ready to outswim the Guardian of the Deep…maybe! Armed with grabber claws and powered by two aluminum propellers, it should have no problems carrying out its mission. The Seabed Strider is a simple set to construct (105 pieces, some stickers), and is reasonably priced ($9.99 USD).

By the Numbers:
Set: LEGO 7977 Atlantis Seabed Strider
Year of Release: 2011 (Available late 2010)
Type: Atlantis vehicle that transforms
# of Pieces: 105
# of Extra pieces: 7
# of Minifigs and what kind: 2, human diver, Atlantis monster
Stickers? Yes, 11
Price: $9.99
Available: Amazon.com
Ages: 7 – 14
Time to Complete: 15 minutes or less.

Read more