Ninjago: Tournament of Elements facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ninjago: Tournament of Elements |
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Tournament of Elements poster
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| Country of origin | Denmark |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
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| Original network | Cartoon Network |
| Original release | February 23 – April 3, 2015 |
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. The season marked the first time that two seasons were released in one year, replacing the previous schedule of one season released per year.
Contents
Voice cast
Main
- Jillian Michaels 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/titanium ninja and Elemental Master of Ice
- Kirby Morrow as Cole, the black ninja and Elemental Master of Earth
- Kelly Metzger as Nya, Kai's sister
- Paul Dobson as Sensei Wu, the wise teacher of the ninja
- Mark Oliver as Sensei Garmadon
- Jennifer Hayward as P.I.X.A.L. a female nindroid
- Ian James Corlett as Master Chen/Tox
Supporting
- Heather Doerksen as Skylor
- Scott McNeil as Karlof/General Arcturus
- Doron Bell Jr. as Griffin Turner
- Kirby Morrow as Paleman/Gravis (episode 37)
- Andrew Francis as Shade (Shadow)
- Scott McNeil as Clouse
- Kathleen Barr as Misako
- Mark Oliver as Mistaké/Gravis
- Michael Dobson as Pythor P. Chumsworth
- Michael Adamthwaite as Bolobo
- Brent Miller as Ash
- Paul Dobson as Jacob Pevsner/Warden Noble/Rufus McCallister/Neuro
- Lee Tockar as Cyrus Borg
- Brian Drummond as Nuckal/Kruncha
- Alan Marriott as Dareth/Captain Soto
- Maryke Handrikese as Camille
- Alessandro Juliani as Kapau
- Ian Hanlin as Chope
- Michael Donovan as Eyezor
- Brian Dobson as Sumo Zumo
Production
Development
Writers Dan and Kevin Hageman have stated that the season was inspired by the 1973 martial arts film Enter the Dragon. The director of the film Robert Clouse was also the inspiration for the character Clouse, an antagonist in the season.
Animation
The animation for the fourth season was produced at Wil Film ApS in Denmark.
Direction
The Tournament of Elements episodes were directed by Jens Møller, Michael Helmuth Hansen, Peter Hausner, Per Düring Risager and Trylle Vilstrup.
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.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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".
Episodes
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 1 | "The Invitation" | Trylle Vilstrup | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | February 23, 2015 | 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 Master Chen's sinister Tournament of Elements if they wish to see him again. Sensei Garmadon, having a feeling that Chen is up to something, accompanies the Ninja on their journey to Chen's island. On Chen's ship, the ninja discover that they aren't the only ones with elemental powers, as there are other descendants of elemental masters such as speed, metal, smoke, nature, gravity, mind, light, etc. | ||||||
| 36 | 2 | "Only One Can Remain" | Michael Helmuth Hansen | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | March 2, 2015 | 1.43 |
| After the ninja arrive at Chen's island, Garmadon tells them he used to train under Chen before they became enemies. When inside, Chen himself greets the Elemental Masters, and explains the rules of the Tournament of Elements: obtain a Jade Blade to move on. In the end, Karlof becomes the first Elemental Master to lose. Later, as the ninja search for Zane, they accidentally stumble into a secret gathering of Chen and his cultists just in time to see Chen steal Karlof's powers. They end up learning that the tournament is about Chen stealing everyone's elemental powers. | ||||||
| 37 | 3 | "Versus" | Jens Møller | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | March 9, 2015 | N/A |
| Zane, who is now titanium, 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 scrapped but Zane puts her hard-drive inside his head, becoming compatible with her. However, Clouse catches and tasers him. Meanwhile, the tournament continues: Griffin against Gravis, Neuro against Bolobo, and Kai against Ash. Griffin, Neuro, and Kai move on. Clouse pits Jay and Cole against each other in a fight. The Ninja try to get help from Neuro, but he fails to break into Chen's quarters. Luckily, he discovers that Chen is planning to steal everyone's powers for a spell. Cole and Jay fight each other and eventually, Cole gives up the Jade Blade to Jay and loses, getting kicked out of the tournament. This ends their long rivalry over Nya for good. | ||||||
| 38 | 4 | "Ninja Roll" | Peter Hausner | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | March 16, 2015 | N/A |
| After Jacob, the Master of Sound, loses to Skylor, he is brought to Chen's underground factory, where Cole, who is now powerless, tries to find a way to escape. Clouse catches Jacob trying to escape and makes him an example of feeding him to his serpent, the second-largest snake in Ninjago. Meanwhile Cole finds Zane locked up and promises to get them both out. In the meantime, Nya uses her new vehicle to locate Chen's island to find the ninja, but Dareth ends up coming along. Meanwhile, Master Chen stages an event called Thunderblade, where two contestants wear roller skates and attempt to make as many laps as possible while carrying a Jade Blade, while the others can help either side. Lloyd and Camille, Master of Form, are pitted against each other for the event. The ninja spread the news about Chen's staff and everybody switches to Lloyd's side to overwhelm Camille. At the last moment, Camille crosses the finish line before Lloyd, but ends up dropping her Jade Blade. Against overwhelming odds, Lloyd and the ninja win and earn the trust of several other contestants. | ||||||
| 39 | 5 | "Spy For a Spy" | Trylle Vilstrup | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | March 23, 2015 | 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 page 149 from Clouse's spell book, which is revealed to turn Chen's followers into Anacondrai. During this time, Cole and Zane attempt to break out of Chen's factory. | ||||||
| 40 | 6 | "Spellbound" | Michael Helmuth Hansen | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | March 30, 2015 | N/A |
| With Clouse's spell page in Nya's possession, Chen discovers her on the island. He explains to the fighters 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. | ||||||
| 41 | 7 | "The Forgotten Element" | Jens Møller | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | March 31, 2015 | N/A |
| With the Elemental Masters except Lloyd captured, Chen steals their powers and now needs Lloyd's power to complete the spell. Skylor tells Chen about Kai and Chen spares him, while Jay and the other fighters are taken to the factory. Meanwhile, Cole, Zane, and Karlof lead the imprisoned Elemental Masters into escaping the factory by building a Roto Jet. Chen has Kai betray Lloyd and trick him into battling Chen, where he uses all the other Elemental Powers against Lloyd, defeating the Green Ninja and stealing his powers. However, Kai and Skylor take Chen's staff and destroy it, giving the powers back to the Elemental Masters. | ||||||
| 42 | 8 | "The Day of the Dragon" | Peter Hausner | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | April 1, 2015 | N/A |
| Although all the Masters have their powers back, Clouse discovers that Skylor's power of Amber can still be used for the spell. Garmadon, Nya, and the Ninja go to find Skylor. Kai manages to find her and help her escape, but they get 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) into Anacondrai. Then, he sends his army by air back to Ninjago. Meanwhile, Kai and Skylor escape. The Elemental Masters learn from Zane that they have the power to create their own dragon and follow Chen and his army. | ||||||
| 43 | 9 | "The Greatest Fear of All" | Per During Risager | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | April 2, 2015 | N/A |
| With Chen's Anacondrai army on the loose, the Ninja visit Kryptarium Prison, where they meet Pythor, who is still mini-sized and ask for his assistance. Coincidentally, Master Chen has learned the spell has temporary effects and only the 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 noodle trucks at various locations, and the Elemental Masters follow them to stop them. However, it turns out to be a huge trap, as Chen is already attacking Ninjago with his full force. | ||||||
| 44 | 10 | "The Corridor of Elders" | Trylle Vilstrup | Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | April 3, 2015 | 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 to release the spirits of the Anacondrai Generals from the Cursed Realm and end the war. However, this must be done at a serious cost. Garmadon banishes himself to the Cursed Realm in order to release the spirits, and they banish Chen and his army as well. Skylor, who turns back to normal, 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. | ||||||
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.
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.
See also
- Lloyd Garmadon
