THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE
Find the Lovin’ Ninja Within Ya — a heartfelt family adventure.
Should You Watch It?
You should. The LEGO Ninjago Movie is funny, colorful, and full of creative action, but its real strength is its story about a broken family finding its way toward reconciliation. Lloyd must face the father who abandoned him, and that relationship becomes the key to healing more than one wounded heart.
The movie also handles its superhero premise with a welcome moral center. Power is not finally found in weapons or martial-arts skill, but in forgiveness, family unity, and learning to work together. The action can be intense for some younger children, though it is usually playful, silly, and not super-intense.
If your family enjoys fast-moving animated comedy with a strong pro-family message, this is worth the trip.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESIn the island city of Ninjago, the Green Ninja and his mechanized teammates defend their home from the attacks of the evil warlord Garmadon. The team’s wise teacher is Master Wu.
But the Green Ninja has a secret: he is Lloyd, a teenage boy whose father is Garmadon. When Lloyd uses an ultimate weapon against him, a dangerous creature is unleashed. Lloyd, his friends, and eventually his father must find a way to save the city.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is one of the better family movies in the source review’s judgment. It is nonstop ninja nuttiness, with colorful action, funny moments, and several creative twists. The movie remains entertaining throughout, balancing martial-arts superhero antics with heartfelt family drama.
The action is strong but often funny, adorable, and not super-intense. The film’s most memorable emotional material grows out of Lloyd’s relationship with his father, while the humor keeps the reconciliation story light enough for a broad family audience.
The Worldview
The film’s strongest message is that families can be healed. Lloyd’s deepest victory is not defeating his father with an ultimate weapon, but reconciling with him, helping bring his family back together, and learning to unify his friends. Garmadon’s softened heart and redemption reinforce the movie’s strong pro-family outlook.
The film begins with a shop owner telling a child that true power comes from within. That idea is presented ambiguously, and the movie includes light occult elements involving superpowers associated with lightning or water. Still, the story ultimately places its greatest emphasis on reconciliation, forgiveness, cooperation, and the redemption of a father who has gone astray.
Compared with the Eastern mysticism and occult elements associated with other Ninjago television and toy incarnations, this movie seems relatively free of that problematic material. Its moral center is family restoration rather than mystical power.
The movie’s longing for reconciliation points toward Scripture’s call to restored relationships: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Very strong moral, pro-family worldview with strong redemptive elements promoting family reconciliation, forgiveness, redemption of a father who’s gone astray, and a symbolic death and resurrection, some light occult elements regarding superpowers associated with things like lightning or water and ambiguous statements about “the power is inside you,” but the greatest superpower in the movie is the power of the hero to reconcile and unify his family and connect the good guys with one another so they will be better able to fight, stop and overcome evil or any problems that come their way; several uses of the word “butt” in a potentially objectionable way; strong action cartoon violence but often funny and not super-intense, such as villains threaten city and its people, flying machines resembling dragons crash, laser-type and projectile weapons are fired, a few buildings are knocked down by one creature who frightens people, but the scenes are also pretty funny and even adorable, some martial arts fighting, mentor falls from a great height into water and is presumed dead, and LEGO character’s arm falls off but it’s put back into the hole in the character’s side; no sex; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, some miscellaneous immorality such as father abandoned the hero and his mother, son has some harsh words toward the father who abandoned him, and father is self-absorbed and obsessed with being a bad guy, but everything works out all right in the end.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Lloyd wants his father to change, but he also has to face his own harsh words and choices. What does forgiveness look like when someone has genuinely caused harm?
Ephesians 4:32 · Colossians 3:13Master Wu teaches the young ninjas about power within, but the movie makes family reconciliation its greatest power. Where does Scripture say our strength comes from?
Psalm 46:1 · 2 Corinthians 12:9Lloyd’s friends must become a unified team before they can overcome the danger facing their city. What helps a group move from individual talent to shared purpose?
Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 · Philippians 2:2–4Garmadon is obsessed with being a bad guy, yet the story leaves room for his redemption. How does the Bible describe God’s willingness to redeem people who have gone astray?
Luke 15:11–24 · 2 Peter 3:9The Final Word
With colorful action, nonstop humor, and a heartfelt story of family reconciliation, The LEGO Ninjago Movie gives your family plenty to enjoy and discuss. Younger children may need help with the cartoon violence, but the movie’s moral center is strongly pro-family. WORTH THE TRIP.
