There will come a day when anything you have ever loved will be available in LEGO form. There is a LEGO Batman movie actually coming to theatres. There are sets based on Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and even Doctor Who. LEGO Dimensions is a video game that lets me play as Homer Simpson fighting Lord Sauron on top of a Dalek spaceship. What a time to be alive. And now, we have LEGO American Ninja Warrior.
Interestingly, this collaboration is built around not only the invention of a typically-cheeky LEGO version of the American Ninja Warrior TV series. Instead, LEGO American Ninja Warrior is a mash-up of the series with LEGO’s own Ninjago play theme. The videos is also done in stop-motion using real LEGO bricks rather than the CGI of The Lego Movie. The look reminds me a lot of stop-motion videos I’ve seen on YouTube for years where people simply take their LEGO sets and let their imaginations run wild. While this video also has a little more professional polish than that, the fact that American Ninja Warrior and Ninjago are playing together is a reminder that LEGO is something anybody can enjoy. It’s perfect for the format of an online series.
Today’s release is the second of four videos in this unexpected mash-up series, the first released June 1st on LEGO’s YouTube channel. American Ninja Warrior co-host Kristine Leahy recorded the voiceover for the second video in the series which features minifigure versions of popular contestants including Ian Dory, Geoff Britten, Kevin Bull, Brian Arnold, Meagan Martin and Isaac Caldiero. A standalone full-length feature film based around LEGO Ninjago itself is planned for 2017.
Check out both #LEGOANW videos below! Two more are still on the way.