Checkered Ninja
| Checkered Ninja | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Danish | Ternet Ninja |
| Directed by | Thorbjørn Christoffersen Anders Matthesen |
| Screenplay by | Anders Matthesen |
| Based on | Checkered Ninja by Anders Matthesen |
| Produced by | Anders Mastrup Trine Heidegaard Cemille Matthesen |
| Starring | Anders Matthesen Alfred Bjerre Larsen Emma Sehested Høeg |
| Cinematography | Niels Grønlykke |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Christian Vinten |
Production companies | A. Film Pop Up Production Sudoku ApS |
| Distributed by | Nordisk Film (Scandinavia) LevelK (rest of the world) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 min. |
| Country | Denmark |
| Languages | Danish English |
| Box office | $2,040,520[1] |
Checkered Ninja (Danish: Ternet Ninja) is a 2018 Danish computer-animated comedy-drama film, directed by Anders Matthesen, and , and based on Matthesen's 2016 novel Ternet Ninja. It stars Anders Matthesen and .
The film was released on December 25, 2018, to positive response and box office success.
The film was dubbed to English in 2019, with an Irish cast, and the dubbed version was released on Amazon Prime and iTunes. The international sales of the film has been handled by LevelK Film while the dubbing was done by Moetion Films.
Plot[]
In Thailand, Danish businessman Philip Eberfrø arrives to check out his new factory. As a boy accidentally uses his scarf to create a checkered ninja doll, Eberfrø brutally beats him to death. In the same moment a lightning strikes, causing the doll to be possessed by the spirit of Taiko Nakamura. As the ninja ends up on a Danish cargo ship, he is picked up by Stewart Stardust, who gives him as a birthday present to his nephew Aske (Alex in the English dub). After the ninja defends Aske's friend from a bully named Glenn, Aske find out the doll is alive, and the two strike a friendship, as the Checkered Ninja promises to help Aske, in exchange for revenge against Eberfrø (Eppermint in the English dub).
Aske and the ninja challenge Glenn to a fight, which Aske wins, causing Aske's love interest Jessica to invite him to her party. However, as the ninja believes they should move on with the mission, Aske joins him unwillingly, and they arrive at Eberfrø's house where the ninja attempts to kill him. Eberfrø escapes, and as Aske becomes angry with the ninja for bring too brutal, the ninja makes Aske seem insane, causing him to be imprisoned in an asylum. While in the asylum they strike a deal to defeat Eberfrø. They insert a packet of cocaine into the ninja doll, and proceed to the airport. As Eberfrø arrives in Thailand, the ninja jumps onto him, the police find the cocaine, and Eberfrø is arrested.
Cast[]
| Role | Danish | English[2] |
|---|---|---|
| Aske Stenstrøm | Alfred Bjerre Larsen | Alex Stenstrøm |
| Cameron Simpson | ||
| Taiko Nakamura/ Checkered Ninja | Anders Matthesen | Luke Griffin |
| Jessica Eberfrö | Emma Sehested | Jessica Eppermynt |
| Ava Connolly | ||
| John | Anders Matthesen | Luke Griffin |
| Philip Eberfø | Anders Matthesen | Phillip Eppermint |
| Luke Griffin | ||
| Sirene Stenstrøm | Sirena Stenstrøm | |
| Doireann Ní Chorragáin | ||
| Stewart Stardust | Anders Matthesen | Michael Glenn Murphy |
| Sean | Anders Matthesen | Paul Tylak |
| Glenn | Anders Matthesen | Paul Tylak |
| Odysseus | Anders Matthesen | Emmet Ryan |
| Tina | Anders Matthesen | Luke Griffin |
| Gina | Anders Matthesen | Luke Griffin |
| Jasper | Anders Matthesen | Paul Tylak |
| Hugin | Anders Matthesen | Paul Tylak |
| Principal | Anders Matthesen | Paul Tylak |
| Security guard | Anders Matthesen | Paul Tylak |
| Munin | Anders Matthesen | Emmet Ryan |
| Scooter Scotty | Anders Matthesen | Brendan McDonald |
| Philip Eberfrö | Anders Matthesen | Phillip Eppermynt |
| Brendan McDonald | ||
| Siberius | Anders Matthesen | Brendan McDonald |
| Carsten | Anders Matthesen | Brendan McDonald |
| Dr. Warming | Anders Matthesen | Brendan McDonald |
| Perry | Anders Matthesen | Eoin Daly |
| Boys | Anders Matthesen | Eoin Daly |
Reception[]
The film currently have an 87% audience response on Rotten Tomatoes.[3] Jordan Mintzner of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, summarising it as "Clever and a bit crude".[4] The film also sold over 1 million tickets in Denmark, making it the highest-grossing Danish film since from 1986.[5]
The film won three Robert Awards,[6] for best children's film, best adapted screenplay, and best original song (Skubber det sne). It was also nominated for the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film.[7]
Music[]
| Checkered Ninja | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 2019 |
| Recorded | 2018 |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Label | Sony Music |
| Producer | Kewan Padré |
| Singles from Checkered Ninja | |
| |
Music for the film was composed by , while six original songs were written and performed by Anders Matthesen, and produced by Kewan Padré.[8] The singles "Pesto" and "Pushing the Snow" was also released independently. The English versions of the songs were sung by the Danish hip-hop singer Waqas Qadri according to the credits of the English dub version of the film.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Checkered Theme" | |
| 2. | "Jessica's Song" | 1:00 |
| 3. | "Pesto" | 2:56 |
| 4. | "Taiko Nakamura" | 3:36 |
| 5. | "World's Best" | 1:23 |
| 6. | "Pushing the Snow" | 2:54 |
| 7. | "Aske's Goodbye Song" | 1:25 |
Sequel[]
A sequel, Checkered Ninja 2 (Ternet Ninja 2) is in the works, based on Anders Matthesen's sequel to the original novel which was published in 2019. The film was released on August 19, 2021, and will see Anders Matthesen and Thorbjørn Christoffersen return as directors.[9] The film went into production in late 2019 with a budget of 8,000,000 DKK (1,319,108.80 US dollars) provided by the Danish Film Institute.[10]
References[]
- ^ "Checkered Ninja" – via Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "Checkered Ninja". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
- ^ "Checkered Ninja (Ternet Ninja) (2018)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ Mintzner, Jordan (2019-06-14). "'Checkered Ninja' ('Ternet Ninja'): Film Review | Annecy 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Checkered Ninja hits the 900,000 mark". www.dfi.dk.
- ^ "Ternet Ninja vinder tre priser til årets Robert prisuddeling". February 3, 2019.
- ^ "Bodilprisen: "Ternet Ninja" nomineret til årets bedste film". Filmz. January 11, 2019.
- ^ "Ternet Ninja (Soundtrack)". Spotify.
- ^ Hartvig Nielsen, Daniel. "EKSKLUSIVT: TERNET NINJA 2 FÅR PREMIEREDATO (EXCLUSIVE: CHECKERED NINJA 2 GETS RELEASE DATE)".. Kino.dk May 2019. (Danish)
- ^ Hoff, Frederik. "Otte millioner til Ternet Ninja 2 (Eight million to Checkered Ninja 2)".. Ekko Film Magazine. November 1, 2019. (Danish)
External links[]
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- 2018 films
- Danish films
- Danish animated films
- Danish film stubs