Outside of Quentin Tarantino, it’s hard to think of a group of filmmakers more devoted to genre movies — and messing with their conventions — than the folks behind the LEGO animated movies.
The brick-based franchise’s third outing, “The LEGO Ninjago Movie,” mixes Hong Kong-style martial arts and Japanese kaiju monster traditions into a smartly funny adventure that will have kids and adults laughing in equal measure.
Following the lead of LEGO’s toy line and animated TV series, “Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu,” the movie follows the exploits of six high-school kids who are mostly shunned by the popular kids. None is shunned more than Lloyd (voiced by Dave Franco), because he’s known all around as the son of Lord Garmadon (voiced by Justin Theroux), the Vaderesque baddie who regularly tries to destroy the city of Ninjago (pronounced nin-JAH-go).
The six teens — besides Lloyd, there are Cole (voiced by Fred Armisen), Jay (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani), Kai (voiced by Michael Peña), Zane (voiced by Zack Woods) and Nya (voiced by Abbi Jacobsen) — also have secret identities as ninja warriors who command “Power Rangers”-like mechanical vehicles to battle Garmadon every time he attacks. The six train under Master Wu, who is voiced by Jackie Chan, who also appears in the movie’s live-action framing story.
As Lloyd tries to reconcile how his mom, Koko (voiced by Olivia Munn), could have ever fallen in love with “the worst guy ever,” he also becomes more determined to defeat Garmadon once and for all. But his impetuousness becomes the ninja’s downfall, and he lets Master Wu’s “ultimate weapon” fall into Garmadon’s four hands.
With the city in peril, albeit the cutest peril imaginable, Master Wu sends his young ninja on a quest for “the ultimate, ultimate weapon.” Garmadon follows the ninjas, and soon he and Lloyd are forced to cooperate to survive in the green-brick jungle.
Directors Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher and Bob Logan — overseeing a team of nine credited writers and probably more not listed — throw jokes with the speed and accuracy of ninja stars. Whether it’s sight gags or pop-culture references (like having minifigure versions of Michael Strahan and Robin Roberts hosting “Good Morning Ninjago”), the inventiveness of the humor is boundless.
For fans of old-school Asian cinema, there are plenty of throwaway references that diehards will love. (Example: The opening Warner Bros. logo emulates that of the legendary Hong Kong studio Shaw Brothers — a shield that was modeled after the WB logo.)
The storyline of “The LEGO Ninjago Movie” is more conventional than either “The LEGO Movie” or “The LEGO Batman Movie” were, and sometimes the jokes give way to sappy moments of father-son conflict and reconciliation. But then one remembers these are 2-inch-high plastic figures (or computer-animated simulations of them) having their emotional breakthroughs, and one starts laughing all over again.
* * * 1/2<br>’The LEGO Ninjago Movie’<br>Two-inch-high ninja warriors battle an evil warlord, and intergenerational conflict, in this hilarious animated take on classic Asian cinema.<br>Where • Theaters everywhere.<br>When • Opens Friday, Sept. 22.<br>Rating • PG for some mild action and rude humor.<br>Running time • 101 minutes.