Myths & Masters.
LEGO NINJAGO
NINJAGO, one of LEGO’s most successful properties, began development in 2009. Having left LEGO in 2007, I became a full-time Creative Consultant with their Front End Group in 2008. This small team of five designers worked tirelessly to develop new ideas for LEGO’s “big bang” properties—major themes with the potential to support expansive multi-media campaigns, including TV shows, social games, and movies. The video below provides a brief overview of my contributions to the world of NINJAGO. Fun fact: During the development of NINJAGO, I sported a rather lengthy braided beard. In the image gallery below, see if you can spot how many concepts I managed to sneak it into!
NINJAGO IP OVERVIEW
IP & STORY DEVELOPMENT
The Front End Group was an intense department, marked by late nights and constant deadlines. Each year, dozens of themes were created, tested, and refined with the goal of developing the next major LEGO IP. My contributions to NINJAGO were diverse, ranging from character and story ideation, concept art, scriptwriting, and part visualization to creating animatics and posters. The gallery below features a glimpse into the child test boards and story art processes that helped shape the world of NINJAGO.
Complete with my own bad voice acting and sound effects, I created the story pitch animatic below over two late nights in preparation for a major child test group in June 2009. At this stage in early development, the concept was simply called "NINJA", and many elements—such as characters, names, and themes—were constantly evolving. This animatic pitch was our first time presenting the story in this fashion and the overwhelmingly positive feedback would help pave the way for our team’s further refinements.
FIRST NINJAGO STORY TEST | June 2009 Animatic + SFX: Brian Ellis
ANIMATED TV SERIES
Before the second season of the NINJAGO animated series premiered, there was a brief hiatus that allowed for the creation of mini episodes. I was invited to write one of these episodes and eagerly accepted. Among the themes offered, I was immediately drawn to the idea of a showdown between Wu and Garmadon. Although the final animated episode ended up being only two minutes long, I had so much fun with the characters and themes that I submitted a six-page script full of action—much of which had to be cut. In the end, I’m really pleased with how the script was adapted and was very grateful for the opportunity to revisit the world of NINJAGO. The final episode along with my original script are featured below for your viewing pleasure.
BATTLE BETWEEN BROTHERS | 2011 Written by: Brian Ellis
NINJAGO COMMERCIALS
In 2014, I had the incredible opportunity to return to the world of NINJAGO through animated commercials for LEGO’s toy lines. Collaborating with Sweden-based Sir Lancelot Animation Studios, I directed hundreds of animated spots over the years, including commercials for The LEGO NINJAGO Movie in 2017. To streamline the animation pipeline, I reviewed and edited scripts, broke down shots, and created timed-out animatics for each project. The sample video below, from The LEGO NINJAGO Movie, features a side-by-side comparison of my original animatic and the final two-minute commercial animation.
3D/ANIMATIC COMPARISON| 2017 Director + Animatics: Brian Ellis 3D Animation: Sir Lancelot Studio
SPINJITZU SPINNERS
The spinners were a natural extension of the NINJAGO theme, quickly becoming a key element of the property's social game aspect. This hybrid approach allowed NINJAGO to transcend traditional mediums—moving from toys and television into a unique arena of competitive play that combined physical battles with a card-based game. I explored various concepts for the spinners, considering features like lighting effects, how figures would eject, and whether there could be upgradeable weapons or badges to enhance the spinner's power and showcase a player's winning streak. Watching children during early testing was truly special—there was an electric, competitive energy and a sense of social bonding that unfolded before our eyes.
BADDIES
One of the most enjoyable aspects of working on NINJAGO was exploring the main villains, as a hero is only as strong as their enemy. The gallery below showcases a variety of snake villains and vehicles that never made it to toy or screen. I had a blast creating these characters, each with their own unique personalities and traits.
