Ninjago: Crystalized facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ninjago: Crystalized
Crystalized poster
Starring	Sam Vincent Vincent Tong Michael Adamthwaite Paul Dobson Brent Miller Andrew Francis Kelly Metzger Jennifer Hayward
Country of origin	Canada
No. of episodes	30
Release
Original release	May 20, 2022 (2022-05-20) – present
List of Ninjago episodes

Crystalized is the fifteenth season of the computer-animated Ninjago television series. The series was created by Michael Hegner and Tommy Andreasen. It follows the adventures of six teenage ninja, who are also Elemental Masters and each possess individual elemental powers. The storyline directly follows on from the preceding season Seabound, which involves the water ninja Nya becoming one with the sea and being lost to the ninja team. Crystalized centres on the ninja attempting to save Nya by restoring her to her human form and facing a mysterious antagonist called the Crystal King. Following the passing of Kirby Morrow, the season is the first in the series to feature Andrew Francis as the new voice actor of Cole.

Voice cast

Main

• Sam Vincent as Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja
• Vincent Tong as Kai, the red ninja and Elemental Master of Fire
• Michael Adamthwaite as Jay, the blue ninja and Elemental Master of Lightning
• Brent Miller as Zane, the white ninja and Elemental Master of Ice
• Andrew Francis as Cole, the black ninja and Elemental Master of Earth
• Kelly Metzger as Nya, the Elemental Master of Water and Kai's sister
• Paul Dobson as Sensei Wu, the wise teacher of the ninja
• Jennifer Hayward as P.I.X.A.L. a female nindroid

Supporting

• Erin Mathews as Miss Demeanor
• Kelly Sheridan as Gayle Gossip
• Michael Donovan as Police Commissioner
• Alan Marriott as Dareth
• Michael Dobson as Pythor P. Chumsworth
• Heather Doerksen as Skylor
• Paul Dobson as Warden Noble
• Adrian Petriw as Fugi-Dove
• Michael Antonakos as Mechanic
• Brian Drummond as Twitchy Tim
• Deven Mack as King Vangelis
• Britt McKillip as Harumi

Casting

The season features the return of the main cast, who have voiced the ninja characters across the series, excluding Kirby Morrow as the character Cole. Crystalized was the first season to feature Andrew Francis as the character's voice actor. Francis was cast in the role following the loss of Morrow, who had previously voiced the character since the beginning of the series. Series co-creator Tommy Andreasen released an open letter to fans explaining the decision to recast the part of Cole. He stated that several options had been considered regarding the character's future, including retiring the character, using existing dialogue from previous seasons to retain Morrow's voice in the series, creating a story where Cole does not speak, or recasting. The Ninjago team made the ultimate decision to recast the part. Andreasen explained, "We must remain true to the character Kirby shaped. Cole is crucial in the 2022 story and the World and Ninjago need Cole. So, recasting it was! And a very hard and emotional one at that."

Andreasen revealed on Twitter that a new actor voicing a new character would be introduced in the season, which he described as, "one of the weirdest and wonderful ones [the writers] have ever come up with." He also revealed that the character Jake would return in the season, voiced by Nicholas Holmes, and that the character Kai would have, "much love and romance in the year to come."

Release

In January 2021,Tommy Andreasen mentioned the script for the season on Twitter and said that fans would have to wait until 2022 before the season was released. The Lego Group released several preview clips on its official YouTube channel leading up to the season's release, including an official teaser on 29 April 2022, and an official trailer on 20 May 2022. In a France TV Pro press release for the season, which was released in May 2022, an official season poster was revealed that drew comparisons to the design of the theatrical release poster for Avengers: Endgame. The season was scheduled to premiere in France on 6 June 2022. The first twelve English episodes were released online on The Lego Group's YouTube channel on 20 May 2022, with viewing restricted by region but were removed three days later with no explanation, but were made public again on June 1, 2022. On the same day, they were also released on Netflix. It also debuted on CITV in the United Kingdom on 6 June 2022. A trailer for the second half of the season was revealed during the Lego Con 2022 live show on 18 June 2022.

Plot

One year after the fate of Nya, a group called the New Ninja appear in Ninjago City, fighting criminals who are smuggling Vengestone. The ninja have lost faith; Zane has switched off his emotion, Kai is teaching students to fight, Lloyd is working as a window cleaner, and Jay is living alone at the Lighthouse Island. Nya roams the Endless Sea in her aqueous form as a water dragon and saves a sailor who has fallen overboard. She begins to recover her memories of her past life and meets another water elemental in the depths of the sea named Nyad, who helps her to find her way back home. Meanwhile, the ninja explore a subway tunnel and uncover a secret shipment of vengestone. They are forced to fight against Miss Demeanor and her thugs, but are humiliated when the New Ninja defeat the villains.

Nya manages to return to the monastery, but she cannot take human form, so Zane freezes her to maintain her shape. The team decide that the only way to save Nya and return her physical form is to break Aspheera out of Kryptarium prison and steal her staff so that Aspheera can drain Nya's elemental power and return her back to her human form. Skylor helps the ninja by using her elemental powers to keep Nya frozen while they retrieve Aspheera and the staff.

While attempting to collect the staff from a convoy, the ninja are forced to fight the New Ninja. Aspheera makes a deal that she will help Lloyd to save Nya using the power of her staff if he lets her escape. The New Ninja turn up at the monastery and Aspheera successfully returns Nya to her human form by draining her elemental power, before escaping. As a result, the ninja are convicted and sentenced to five years in Kryptarium prison. Aspheera is subsequently recruited by a mysterious messenger to join the council of the Crystal King.

While serving their time in prison, the ninja find themselves surrounded by their old enemies, including Pythor. Lloyd is visited by the Crystal King's messenger, who warns him that the Crystal King is gathering Lloyd's enemies against him. In Shintaro Kingdom, King Vangelis is visited by the Crystal King's messenger and invited to join his council. Pythor is also recruited by the messenger and attempts to escape the prison. The ninja try to stop him but fail, pursued by prison guards. Nya, disguised as Samurai X, helps the ninja to escape from a prison van and they go on the run, accompanied by Fugi-Dove and Dareth.

On the road they are picked up by a young singer who is making her way to Ninjago City. They help her to understand that she should return home and Zane learns about the benefits of emotions. The ninja reunite at Twitchy Tim's gas station and after fleeing from sheriff HoundDog McBrag decide to infiltrate the council of the Crystal King. Lloyd tracks down the Mechanic in his lair and infiltrates the council of the Crystal King in the guise of the Mechanic but his identity is soon discovered. Lloyd tries to escape, but is beaten by the council. The Crystal King's messenger then reveals herself to be Harumi.

Episodes

See also

• Lego Ninjago