THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE
*CUT TO THE CHASE*
NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy
A young boy (Kaan Guldur) enters an old antique shop. As he looks around, he is startled by the shop's owner, Mr. Liu (Jackie Chan). He asks the boy why he isn't outside with his friends, and his lack of response suggests he has no friends. The boy pulls out a small, worn-out Lego of a warrior named Lloyd. Mr. Liu takes Lloyd and waves his hand to give him a ninja costume. He proceeds to tell the boy an old legend.
We move to the Lego city of Ninjago which is always under watch of the evil Lord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), who frequently terrorizes the city. Lego versions of Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan report on Garmadon's sinister deeds while also mentioning the team of ninjas that always fight him. There's Kai, the Fire Ninja (Michael Pena); his sister Nya, the Water Ninja (Abbi Jacobson); Cole, the Earth Ninja (Fred Armisen); Zane, the Ice Ninja who is also a robot believing he is a regular teenager (Zach Woods); Jay, the Lightning Ninja (Kumail Nanjiani); and Lloyd, the Green Ninja (Dave Franco).
Lloyd lives with his mother Koko (Olivia Munn). He is hated by almost everyone in the city because he is Garmadon's son. His only friends are those on the ninja squad. On the day of Lloyd's birthday, Garmadon attacks the city, prompting Lloyd and his friends to spring into action as the ninjas. Using their super-mechs, they battle Garmadon and his minions throughout the city. Lloyd catches up to Garmadon and uses an insane "mega missile attack" against his evil dad. Lloyd tries to confront Garmadon over his parental abandonment, but he is clearly dancing around the issues without realizing what Lloyd is talking about. Garmadon and his minions retreat to their volcanic lair while the ninjas head to their own spot.
Garmadon plots his next plan of attack and consults his generals for ideas. When he rejects their ideas, he literally fires them from the volcano. He ultimately lands on one particular idea.
The ninjas arrive at their hideout as their sensei, Master Wu (also Jackie Chan), returns from a trip. Wu is also Lloyd's uncle/Garmadon's brother. He wants his students to harness their elements, but Lloyd is disappointed that his element is just "green" and he doesn't know what to do with it. Wu talks about the "Ultimate Weapon" to defeat Garmadon, but it is dangerous and should not be used.
The next day, Garmadon unleashes another attack upon Ninjago using a colossal mech that is immune to the ninjas' attacks. After his mech is destroyed, Lloyd returns with the Ultimate Weapon (a laser pointer) before revealing his identity to Garmadon. When he turns it on, it summons the gigantic Meowthra (Mr. Liu's cat). Although the citizens of Ninjago find her cute at first, Meowthra then knocks over a building, causing everyone to flee in terror. After being blamed for bringing Meowthra to the city, Garmadon takes the laser pointer and uses it on the other ninjas, leading Meowthra to attack them and destroy their mechs. Lloyd escapes before Garmadon can get him, but not before telling Garmadon he wishes he weren't his father.
The ninjas reunite but are mad at Lloyd for getting them beaten. Wu scolds the ninjas but then tells them that they must find the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon hidden in an old temple. The ninjas set off to find it.
Garmadon is having a party celebrating his victory, but he can't shake what Lloyd said to him. Koko goes to confront him over what she thinks he's done to Lloyd. He denies doing anything to him and shows that he's still very much in love with Koko.
The ninjas travel through the Forest of Dangers on their way to find the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon. As they prepare to cross the bridge, they are ambushed by Garmadon, who found out where they were headed. Wu battles his brother and traps him in a cage, but Garmadon throws off Wu's balance using butterflies. Wu falls off the bridge and is swept away by the river as the other ninjas are helpless to save him. Before he disappears, Wu tells Lloyd he must find his "inner peace". Knowing they can't proceed on their own, the ninjas reluctantly bring the caged Garmadon with them.
As they proceed on their journey, Garmadon charms the other ninjas by telling silly stories about how he grew two extra arms and what he can do with them, but Lloyd is annoyed to have his dad come along. The ninjas come upon the Canyon of Death where they find Garmadon's fired generals, all angry and vengeful. The ninjas proceed to build something to help them fight and escape, but Lloyd sucks at throwing stuff at them. Garmadon then bonds with his son by showing him how to throw properly. Together, they build a helicopter to escape.
The ninjas arrive at the Temple of Fragile Foundations where the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon rests. Garmadon reveals it was his childhood home, and he finds the key to open the door. Lloyd sees a portrait of Garmadon with Koko in battle armor. Garmadon says she was known as Lady Iron Dragon, and she was the fiercest warrior he had ever seen. He tells Lloyd how he was ravaging a village with his army when Koko showed up to fight back. Instead of fighting each other, they fell in love. After Lloyd was born, Garmadon had plans to conquer Ninjago with his wife and child, but Koko didn't want that life for Lloyd, so she took him and left Garmadon. Garmadon regrets not changing for them. Moments later, the ninjas find a chest containing the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon. They are small Lego pieces representing each of their elements, but Lloyd's "green" piece makes no sense to him. Garmadon then tries to get Lloyd to join him as his general in conquering the city, but Lloyd refuses, heartbroken that Garmadon deceived him. Garmadon then steals the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon and makes off as the temple starts to crumble.
The ninjas try to escape the temple. Lloyd comes to realize that Wu's comment about "inner peace" meant that their elemental powers were inside them all along. The ninjas harness their elements to make it out, but they fall off a cliff until they are rescued by Wu in his ship. They then head off to save Ninjago.
Garmadon and his army arrive in the city. He approaches Meowthra in an attempt to conquer her with the Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon, but they don't work for him and she just eats him. The ninjas arrive and fight Garmadon's minions. Lloyd then walks toward Meowthra and takes off his mask to reveal his identity to the whole city. He speaks to Meowthra but is actually talking to Garmadon. He forgives his father and says he knows he's not really a bad guy. Garmadon cries fire tears, causing Meowthra to spit him out. He reconciles with his son, and the city is saved.
Wu then tells us what happened later on: Garmadon gave up being a villain and rejoined Lloyd and Koko. Meowthra became the city's mascot after it was rebuilt from the destruction. Koko and Nya opened a training school for aspiring ninjas. Lloyd and his friends have become the heroes they always wanted to be.
Back in the shop, the boy's spirit is invigorated after hearing Liu's story. After showing off some reflexes and ninja potential, Liu tells the boy that his training begins in the morning. The boy asks if they can bring the cat, but Liu says no.
