New Lego Short ‘The Master’ to Debut Before ‘Storks’

The short is based on the Lego Ninjago series and will feature some of the same voice talent that has committed to the upcoming Lego Ninjago feature.Warner Animation Group has created a comedic animated short, based on its Lego franchise, that will play in theaters ahead of its animated feature Storks, which opens Sept. 23.

The Master: A Lego Ninjago Short is based on the Lego Ninjago series and features Master Wu, voiced by Jackie Chan, who gets into a conflict with Chicken, voiced by Abbi Jacobson. Justin Theroux narrates the story.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and WAG, in association with Lego System A/S, the five-minute short was directed by Jon Saunders, from a screenplay by Saunders and Ross Evans and story by Saunders, Evans, Carey Yost and Remington D. Donovan. Ryan Halprin produced.

The short announcement follows news that Chan, Jacobson and Theroux have all joined the voice cast for The Lego Ninjago Movie, which will also feature Chan voicing Wu and Jacobson voicing a ninja. Theroux will play Garmadon in The Lego Ninjago Movie, which has a Sept. 22, 2017, release date.

Following the success of 2014’s The Lego Movie, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who are executive producers of Storks, The Master and The Lego Ninjago Movie), WAG also intends to release spinoff feature The Lego Batman Movie, also planned for a 2017 release, as well as a Lego Movie sequel, slated for 2019.

The Lego Movie was the first feature produced through WAG and Storks is the first to also be conceived, as well as produced, under the banner.

In Storks, the storks are out of the baby-delivery business and have found a more lucrative use of their skills in delivering mobile phones and other packages for Cornerstore.com. But when Junior (Andy Samberg) is poised for a big promotion, the business accidently produces a baby and he must deliver it before anyone finds out or risk losing his new job. The film comes from writer-director Nicholas Stoller; director Doug Sweetland, a Pixar alum who directed its animated short Presto; and producer Brad Lewis, a Pixar alum, who produced Ratatouille and co-directed Cars 2 with John Lasseter.