Ok call me emboldened from my last post on Ninjago and Dreamzzz and how the former’s flourishing is unfairly used to claim the latter is doing poorly (also how trying to make direct comparisons between the two is, for the most part, unfair), but I’ve really been thinking a lot more today about how a lot of the criticisms levied against Dreamzzz as proof the theme is doomed to failure (or, if not that, on the downward) are also criticisms that could EASILY be applied to early Ninjago.
Occasionally clunky dialogue and delivery? Early Ninjago was absolutely riddled with it (also in Dreamzzz’s case at least three of the five main characters’ VAs have little to no credits I could find outside of Dreamzzz- they are FRESH).
Characters retracing arcs/lessons because the writers said so? How many times did Kai learn “punch first, ask questions later” isn’t a good mentality? Or Jaya constantly flipping between being fine and healthy or on the rocks for because plot?
Sets being largely good but having some noticeable duds in the mix with objectively not the best builds, particularly in the lower price range of sets? As fun as they were as a kid, Ninjago did have its duds, like any theme.
All this to say, to add onto my earlier point: I think Dreamzzz is finding its footing and thus is going to have hiccups along the way, but, if the theme is given time, those hiccups can be fixed and polished. Ninjago’s had 14 years to buff out its dents because that’s just what happens with time, you improve. And, if Dreamzzz’s second year and season is anything to go by, it’s improving too, finding its unique identity and place among other Lego themes. Also I feel like there might be a biiiiiiit of nostalgia blindness in terms of early Ninjago and what problems it contained (I’m guilty of it too), as well as the prevalence of those issues.
Not to mention, as I said in my last post on the matter, both themes stated in VERY different eras of media consumption. Ninjago was in the tail end of the cable era, while Dreamzzz is peak streaming wars. Thusly, in the time of Ninjago’s early days (almost 14 years ago oh my GOD- /lh), the norm was a much slower forming of opinion about a given thing due to the way both shows and sets were released. Hype could be built much easier because of the slowly building anticipation for the next episode and Lego’s announcement of the new sets. But now? It’s a lot more common to form a snap judgement of a thing, oftentimes based solely on the opinions of someone else or initial impressions from a brief clip as opposed to engaging with the thing and forming your own judgement. This isn’t any one person’s fault and I’m guilty of the some thing! It’s just unfortunately the current culture around media consumption.
So that’s Angel Talks About Why Dreamzzz vs Ninjago Is An Unfair Comparison 2: Electric Boogaloo (see: Jay).
Also, before I close out: can I say how absolutely UNFAIR it was that Dreamzzz’s show premiered two weeks before Dragons Rising season 1 did? Because that was unfair as hell! Like- I know it was probably just a bad call/mistake on some Lego employee’s part, but holy hell whose idea was it to debut the show for your new theme you’ve invested four years and a LOT of money into making TWO WEEKS before the long awaited and anticipated sequel series to what one could argue is one of, if not the most beloved and recognizable Lego themes?? Dreamzzz was being (unintentionally overshadowed from that start, man- /lh /hj
Once again, none of this is in bad faith and I in no way intend to stir up issues or hurt anyone (if I did), these are my own thoughts/observations that I’m putting on my Tumblr for all to see!
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