Ninjago: Tournament of Elements

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Ninjago: Tournament of Elements
Tournament of Elements poster.jpg
Tournament of Elements poster
Starring
Country of originDenmark
No. of episodes10
Release
Original networkCartoon Network
Original releaseFebruary 23 (2015-02-23) –
April 3, 2015 (2015-04-03)
Season chronology
← Previous
Rebooted
Next →
Possession
List of episodes

Tournament of Elements is the fourth season of the computer-animated television series Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu (titled Ninjago from the eleventh season onward). The series was created by Michael Hegner and Tommy Andreasen. The season aired from 23 February 2015 to 3 April 2015, following the third season titled Rebooted. It is succeeded by the fifth season, titled Possession.

The fourth season follows the storyline of the ninja searching for Zane by competing in Master Chen's Tournament of Elements. The season introduces Master Chen as the main antagonist and also several Elemental Masters into the series, who each have individual elemental powers, such as amber, shadow and smoke.[1] The season marked the first time that two seasons were released in one year, replacing the previous schedule of one season released per year.[2]

Voice cast[]

See also: List of Ninjago characters

Main[]

Supporting[]

Production[]

Development[]

Writers Dan and Kevin Hageman have stated that the season was inspired by the 1973 martial arts film Enter the Dragon.[36] The director of the film Robert Clouse was also the inspiration for the character Clouse, an antagonist in the season.[37]

Animation[]

The animation for the fourth season was produced at Wil Film ApS in Denmark.[38]

Direction[]

The Tournament of Elements episodes were directed by Jens Møller, Michael Helmuth Hansen, Peter Hausner, Per Düring Risager and Trylle Vilstrup.[38]

Release[]

The season premiered on Cartoon Network on 23 February 2015 with the release of The Invitation. The subsequent episodes were released across March and April 2015 until the release of the season finale titled The Corridor of Elders on 3 April 2015.[39]

Plot[]

Following the loss of Zane, the team splits apart, but Lloyd seeks to rebuild it. The ninja are reunited at Chen's Noodle House, where they discover that Zane is alive and are invited to compete in a tournament by Master Chen. Garmadon and the ninja join a group of Elemental Masters and Chen's second-in-command, Clouse, on board a ferry. On Chen's island, Zane is being held prisoner and is now the Titanium Ninja.[N 1] Upon arrival, Kai falls in love with Skylor, the Elemental Master of Amber, and tries to impress her. The competitors compete to obtain Jade Blades to remain in the contest, while the losers are dropped into trap doors. The ninja discover a secret tunnel which reveals Chen's Cultist Warriors.[N 2] When Jay and Cole are forced to compete against each other, Cole allows Jay to win, and the two end their debate over Nya for good.[N 3] He is put to work in Chen's Noodle Factory, but plans to escape.

The ninja gain the trust of the Elemental Masters during a race between Lloyd and Chamille, the Elemental Master of Form. When Lloyd wins the race, Chen tries to change the results, but the ninja are supported by the Elemental Masters.[N 4] Chen attempts to weaken the alliance by claiming that the winner will obtain the Staff of Elements, which he is secretly using to absorb their elemental powers. Dareth and Nya infiltrate the tournament, with Nya disguised as a kabuki, while Cole finds Zane and releases him. The ninja realise that one of the Elemental Masters is a spy for Chen. It is later revealed that Skylor is not only the spy, but Chen's daughter.[N 5]

In the next contest, Chen sends the contestants to a jungle island to capture Nya. In the jungle, Kai and Skylor team up, but Skylor reveals herself as Chen's daughter and everyone aside from Garmadon, Lloyd, and Nya are captured.[N 6] Chen offers Kai greater power if he betrays the ninja and Kai pretends to switch sides. When Lloyd is captured, Kai uses an opportune moment to take the Staff of Elements, which begins to corrupt him, but he manages to destroy it, which restores all of the elemental powers.[N 7] In the jungle, Clouse and Garmadon fight, resulting in Garmadon throwing Clouse into a portal to the Cursed Realm. Chen and his army escape from the island but are pursued by the ninja and Elemental Masters riding on their elemental dragons.[N 8]

When Chen performs a spell to transform his army into Anacondrai warriors, he realises that to make the spell permanent, he needs the essence of a true Anacondrai. As Pythor is the last remaining Anacondrai, he is captured by Chen, who uses his sweat to complete the spell. Chen and his army then wage war against Ninjago.[N 9] A battle takes place at the Corridor of Elders, between the ninja alliance and Chen's army. Pythor reveals to Garmadon that the only way to defeat Chen's army is for Garmadon to banish himself to the Cursed Realm to bring back the original Anacondrai generals. Garmadon accepts, resulting in the spirits of the Anacondrai generals banishing Chen and his army to the Cursed Realm. A single spirit flies out of the portal to the Cursed Realm, uttering the name "Morro".[N 10]

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Ninjago episodes
Tournament of Elements episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
351"The Invitation"Trylle VilstrupDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanFebruary 23, 2015 (2015-02-23)N/A
The Ninja team breaks up and goes their separate ways after the loss of Zane. Lloyd reunites them. Shortly after reuniting, however, they receive a message that Zane is alive and the Ninja must compete in evil Master Chen's Tournament of Elements if they wish to see him again. Sensei Garmadon accompanies them onto Chen's ship, where they discover they aren't the only ones with elemental powers, as there are other descendants of elemental masters such as speed, nature, gravity, mind etc. etc.
362"Only One Can Remain"Michael Helmuth HansenDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanMarch 2, 2015 (2015-03-02)1.43[40]
After the ninja arrive at Chen's island, Garmadon tells them he used to train under Chen. When inside, Chen himself greets the Elemental Masters, and tells them about the Tournament of Elements and the Jade Blades. In the end, Karlof becomes the first Elemental Master to lose. While the ninja are searching for Zane, they accidentally stumble into a secret gathering of Chen and his cultists just in time to see Chen steal Karlof's powers.
373"Versus"Jens MøllerDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanMarch 9, 2015 (2015-03-09)N/A
Zane has lost his memory, but regains it after meeting P.I.X.A.L. in another room. He discovers P.I.X.A.L. has been scraped but Zane puts her hard-drive inside himself, becoming compatible with her. However, Clouse catches and tasers him. Meanwhile, Gravis has to fight Griffin, Bolobo has to fight Neuro, and Kai has to fight Ash. The winners Griffin, Neuro, and Kai advance in the tournament. Clouse gets revenge on the Ninja by having Jay and Cole fight each other. The Ninja try to get help from Neuro, but he fails to break into Chen's quarters. Cole and Jay fight each other and eventually, Cole gives up the Jade Blade to Jay, saying, "She's yours, Jay," and gets knocked out of the tournament. This ends their long rivalry over Nya for good.
384"Ninja Roll"Peter HausnerDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanMarch 16, 2015 (2015-03-16)N/A
After Jacob loses to Skylor, he is brought to Chen's underground factory, where Cole, now powerless, tries to find a way of escaping. Clouse catches Jacob trying to escape and makes him an example and feeding him to his serpent, the second-largest snake in Ninjago. Cole sees Zane locked up and promises to release him. Nya uses her new vehicle to locate and follow the Ninja on Chen's island, but Dareth ends up coming along as well. Meanwhile, Master Chen stages an event called "Thunderblade" (In which two contestants wear roller skates and attempt to make as many laps as possible while carrying a Jade Blade, and the others can help either side) as a contest between Lloyd and Camille, Master of Form. The ninja spread the news about the staff and everybody changes to their side to overwhelm Camille. At the last moment, they tie but Camille dropped her Jade Blade. Against overwhelming odds, Lloyd and the ninja win and earn the trust of several other contestants.
395"Spy For a Spy"Trylle VilstrupDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanMarch 23, 2015 (2015-03-23)N/A
The Ninja form an alliance with the Elemental Masters after convincing them of Chen's true plan. Chen responds by spreading the rumor that he has a spy within and the Elemental Masters interrogate each other with no results, weakening the alliance. Meanwhile, Nya enters Chen's palace, disguised as a Kabuki, and steals Clouse's spell (a transformation spell on pg. 139) which is revealed to turn Chen's followers into Anacondrai. Cole and Zane manage to break out of Chen's factory.
406"Spellbound"Michael Helmuth HansenDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanMarch 30, 2015 (2015-03-30)N/A
After Nya stole Clouse's spell, Chen states that whoever finds Nya wins the tournament altogether. Lloyd learns how to create a dragon without his Golden Power and, along with his father, stumbles upon the place where a great battle between the Elemental Masters and the Anacondrai took place, and Garmadon tells Lloyd the story of how Master Chen convinced both sides to declare war. In the war's aftermath, the Anacondrai Generals were banished to the Cursed Realm while the remaining Serpentine were locked in tombs. Meanwhile, Chen reveals his true goals, capturing all the Elemental Masters except for Lloyd (Lloyd did not take any "gift" from Chen). Skylor is also revealed to be Chen's spy and daughter.
417"The Forgotten Element"Jens MøllerDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanMarch 31, 2015 (2015-03-31)N/A
Master Chen drains all the Elemental Masters' powers except Lloyd's. Cole, Zane, and Karlof lead the imprisoned Elemental Masters into escaping the factory. Chen has Kai betray Lloyd and trick him into battling, where Chen uses all the other Elemental Powers on Lloyd and wins, obtaining the Ninja's element. However, Kai and Skylor take Chen's staff and destroy it, releasing the powers back to the Elemental Masters.
428"Day of the Dragon"Peter HausnerDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanApril 1, 2015 (2015-04-01)N/A
Although all the Masters have escaped, Clouse discovers that Skylor's Amber can still be used to gain all the Elemental Powers. Skylor and Kai attempt to escape, but are captured. Clouse battles Garmadon and tries to banish him to the Cursed Realm, but Garmadon escapes and Clouse gets banished instead. Chen manages to complete Clouse's spell without him, turning himself, his followers, and everyone who has the Anacondrai symbol on their back (even Skylor and Garmadon but both of them never turn out to be evil) into Anacondrai. Then, he sends his army by air back to Ninjago. Meanwhile, Kai and Skylor escape. The Elemental Masters learn that they have the power to create their own dragon and follow Chen and his army.
439"The Greatest Fear of All"Per During RisagerDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanApril 2, 2015 (2015-04-02)N/A
With Chen's Anacondrai army on the loose, the Ninja visit Kryptarium Prison, where they meet shrunken Pythor and ask for his assistance. Coincidentally, Master Chen has learned the spell has temporary effects and only an essence of a true Anacondrai can make it permanent and goes to the prison to capture Pythor. Then, he sends all of his army with trucks at various locations, and the Elemental Masters follow them, but it turns out to be a huge trap, as Chen is already attacking Ninjago with his full force.
4410"The Corridor of Elders"Trylle VilstrupDan Hageman & Kevin HagemanApril 3, 2015 (2015-04-03)N/A
The Elemental Masters discover there's a strategic location called the Corridor of Elders where they can make their last stand against Chen's Anacondrai army. Pythor escapes Chen's clutches and discovers there is a spell in Clouse's spellbook that could stop the war, but at a serious cost. Garmadon banishes himself to the Cursed Realm in order to release the spirits of the Anacondrai Generals, who banish Chen and his army as well. Skylor, who's no longer an Anacondrai, decides to run her father's noodle business. The Ninja burn the Spellbook and pay tribute to Garmadon. They build Garmadon's statue on the Corridor Of Elders. At the end of the episode, Morro escapes from the Cursed Realm, foreshadowing the following season.

Reception[]

Ratings[]

Tournament of Elements continued the popularity of the preceding seasons of Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. Its Monday 6.30pm time slot was the top telecast of the day among boys aged 2-11 and 6-11, and it was the top telecast in its time period among children aged 2-11, 6-11 and all boys.[41]

Critical reception[]

Reviewer Melissa Camacho for Common Sense Media gave Tournament of Elements a 3 out of 5 star rating and noted that the season contains "lots of action-packed fantasy violence". The reviewer opined, "This colorful, fast-paced action series features the teen Ninja making sense of loss as they continue to learn lessons about loyalty and teamwork. It also highlights the importance of fighting with a sense of morality behind it, which is an interesting angle for an animated show based on toys."[42]

Other media[]

An associated action game titled Lego Ninjago: Tournament was released on 23 January 2015 for IOS, which was developed by The Lego Group.[43]

Five mini-movies were released in June and July 2015 on the Lego YouTube channel to accompany the season, which focus on the main antagonist, Master Chen. The mini-movies were produced by Wil Film ApS and were titled Chairful What You Wish For, Chen's New Chair, Chair Play Chen, Chair Up Chen and Bad Chair Day.[44][45][46][47][48][49]

See also[]

References[]

Primary[]

  1. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 1 "The Invitation"
  2. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 2 "Only One Can Remain"
  3. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 3 "Versus"
  4. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 4 "Ninja Roll"
  5. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 5 "Spy for a Spy"
  6. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 6 "Spellbound"
  7. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 7 "The Forgotten Element"
  8. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 8 "The Day of the Dragon"
  9. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 9 "The Greatest Fear of All"
  10. ^ Ninjago, Season 4, Episode 10 "The Corridor of Elders"

Secondary[]

  1. ^ Yates, Jack (2020-12-28). "The complete history of LEGO NINJAGO Elemental Master minifigures". Brick Fanatics. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  2. ^ Yates, Jack (2021-01-24). "LEGO NINJAGO from thought to theme: elements and apparitions". Brick Fanatics. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  3. ^ "Lloyd". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  4. ^ "Kai". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  5. ^ "Jay". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  6. ^ "Zane". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  7. ^ "Cole". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  8. ^ "Nya". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  9. ^ "Sensei Wu". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  10. ^ "Lord Garmadon". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  11. ^ "P.I.X.A.L." Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  12. ^ "Master Chen". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  13. ^ "Skylor". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  14. ^ "Karloff". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  15. ^ "Turner". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  16. ^ "Paleman". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  17. ^ "Neuro". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  18. ^ "Shadow". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  19. ^ "Clouse Voices (LEGO Ninjago)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  20. ^ "Misako Voices (LEGO Ninjago)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  21. ^ "Mystake". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  22. ^ "Pythor". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  23. ^ "Bolobo". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  24. ^ "Ash". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  25. ^ "Gravis". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  26. ^ "Jacob". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  27. ^ "Cyrus Borg". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  28. ^ "Brian Drummond (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  29. ^ "Darreth". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  30. ^ "General Arcturus". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  31. ^ "Maryke Hendrikse (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  32. ^ "Kapow". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  33. ^ "Chope". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  34. ^ "Eyezor". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  35. ^ "Sumo Zumo". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  36. ^ Hageman, Dan & Kevin (22 January 2018). "That season was inspired by Enter the Dragon". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-05-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  37. ^ Hageman, Dan & Kevin (16 January 2017). "Clouse is one of our favorite characters". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-05-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. ^ a b "TV series". Wil Film - Production company and animation studio. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  39. ^ "Shows A-Z - ninjago: masters of spinjitzu on cartoon | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  40. ^ Pucci, Douglas (March 6, 2015). "Monday Final Nationals: Fox's 'The Following' Returns with Mixed Results". TV Media Insights. Cross MediaWorks. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  41. ^ "Ratings - Turner Broadcasting's TBS and Adult Swim Score Top 5 Primetime Rankings Among Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49 in Primetime | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  42. ^ "Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu: The Tournament of Elements - TV Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  43. ^ "LEGO Ninjago Tournament". Metacritic. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  44. ^ Chairful What You Wish For - LEGO Ninjago - (filler), retrieved 2021-05-18
  45. ^ Chen's New Chair - LEGO Ninjago - (filler), retrieved 2021-05-18
  46. ^ Chair Play Chen - LEGO Ninjago - (filler), retrieved 2021-05-18
  47. ^ Chair Up Chen - LEGO Ninjago - (filler), retrieved 2021-05-18
  48. ^ Bad Chair Day - LEGO Ninjago - (filler), retrieved 2021-05-18
  49. ^ Andreasen, Tommy (4 Jun 2020). "Master Chen appreciation tweet!". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-05-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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