Animation
Shape Island
Shape Island may charm little viewers and won’t bend their parents out of shape. But the show can also feel surprisingly flat.
These brick-like ninja have seen (and generally fought) it all. From the Overlord, an evil spirit who sat as the source of all darkness in the land of Ninjago, to the Preeminent, an “eldritch horror” who was the embodiment of the Cursed Realm and was able to summon ghosts to fight at her command.
So, by the time our LEGO protagonists start their journey in Ninjago Season One (the sequel to Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu), there’s little that could possibly stand in their way, right?
Well, that’s not exactly the case. It’s been a couple months since their last big battle, and the crew has been taking a long vacation to enjoy themselves—long enough that they’ve slacked in their training and become, as Master Wu so eloquently puts it, “soft.”
Soft enough, it seems, that threats of an invasion by Pyro Vipers and Blizzard Samurai may actually become major threats—and these will be the least of our crew’s worries. Our protagonists will also have to work through being transported into a video game, deal with a native tribe bent on sacrifice and even battle a massive sea serpent.
But it’s all in a day’s work for a group of magical teenage ninja.
Since the creation of Ninjago and the other Sixteen Realms (well, 14 now, due to events occurring in Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu), lots and lots has happened. Like, there’s a whole centuries-long history of events that could span hundreds of pages.
Thankfully, you don’t have to learn about all of that in one sitting. Combined with Masters of Spinjitzu, Ninjago spoonfeeds its surprisingly intricate lore to viewers throughout a whopping 15 seasons (and counting)! And we’ll learn all of that lore through the experiences of our ninja protagonists.
Lloyd, Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane and Nya aren’t your typical ninjas. For one, they’re all magical masters of an individual element, be it water, fire or energy itself. For another, they’re teenagers (and one’s an android). But through the persistent tutelage of their sensei, Master Wu, the group has become a force to be reckoned with—even if they’re still more interested in goofing off and playing video games at times. When the time of need comes, however, our heroes will suit up and defeat evil through clever teamwork and self-discovery (and, of course, a few punches).
That’s a good thing, too, because there’s a lot of baddies for them to deal with: Massive beasts, dragons, demons and even eldritch beings comparable to gods will challenge our protagonists, seeking total dominance and/or destruction (as evildoers tend to seek). These monsters primarily come from other realms—and many of them are simply bitter, awful places. With names like the Cursed Realm, the Realm of Madness and the Underworld, Ninjago stands as one of the few realms seemingly not overflowing with spiritual or physical evil. And in terms of other general spiritual concerns, one realm, the Departed Realm, is revealed to be the place most souls go when they die.
As our ninja fight against evil, we’ll learn lots of lessons about good, too. The show leans into the Eastern idea of balance, with forces of good and evil battling for dominance but maintaining a certain parity. Each time our protagonists defeat one evil, another rises up to replace it, offering a dualistic theological take to viewers: one for creation, and one for destruction. The series also has very occasional instances of LGBT content in its latest seasons, such as two blurry men kissing in a rowboat in the background, a rainbow sidewalk and, in the latest season, a LGBT pride flag on the back of a van. We also see a bisexual flag on a guitar case.
If you can get through that spiritual premise and the show’s other content concerns, these LEGO characters have a surprising amount of depth to their story—one that’ll remind us that standing for good is always better than relenting to evil.
Two newspaper delivery people argue when one of them decides to quit for another job, and they find themselves caught up in the middle of a city-wide battle for an amulet.
In a blink-and-miss-it scene, two men in a rowboat kiss. We also see a rainbow LGBT pride-themed sidewalk.
Ninjago City is attacked by Mermen, causing buildings to catch on fire, cars to flip over and explosions to occur. The ninja attack the Mermen. Two newspaper delivery people, Nelson and Antonia, dodge projectile lasers shot from tridents. Nelson performs CPR to resurrect a drowned Kai. Nelson is knocked over by a stack of newspapers being thrown at him.
A year after Nya’s disappearance, many of the ninja have abandoned their teachings. However, they come back together in order to investigate a concerning rumor.
Goons are systematically taken down by a group calling themselves the “new ninja.” Ninja recruits destroy a cardboard enemy. Jay discusses a spiritual connection between Nya and the ocean. We hear two uses of “darn.”
Concerned that his students have gotten soft from relaxing too long after a victory, Master Wu sets up traps to help the ninja get back into their groove.
Zane has a prophetic dream. In it, a dragon freezes people with its icy breath. The ninja relax in a hot tub made out of the “Sacred Bell of Divinity.” We hear flatulence and burps. A chicken electrocutes the ninja. Wu and his ninja students fight.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Shape Island may charm little viewers and won’t bend their parents out of shape. But the show can also feel surprisingly flat.
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