Let’s keep this short and sweet. 3 Ninjas doesn’t proclaim itself to be the most ingenious and original martial arts movie. It borrows a lot of elements from other movies, namely Home Alone and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (as evident on the cover).
It is exactly that that makes it memorable. You are accustomed to this before. And perhaps that’s exactly why they made this movie. Because it’s a proven formula for mainstream success. There isn’t much to say about 3 Ninjas other than the fact that it’s a highly entertaining, guilty pleasure of mine, in a sort of cheesy-not-to-be-taken-seriously kind of way. Despite unfavorable reviews from IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, this movie will forever have a place in my heart that only 90s kids would understand. As a grown up today, 3 Ninjas still retains that nostalgic charm I could never possibly forget.
It must’ve been one of my daily visits to K-mart as a youngster along with my mom and siblings that I acquired this piece of gem that is 3 Ninjas, still in old school VHS format. What sold me was probably the eye-popping neon orange colored box, depicting the 3 ninjas opening a can of whoop ass, which I instantly fell in love and henceforth secretly wished to be a part of. Released a year prior to my arrival in New York, I’ve watched 3 Ninjas countless times to the point where subtle white and black lines would appear on the TV screen.
3 Ninjas revolves around three kids, nicknamed Rocky, Colt and Tum Tum. Their grandfather, Mori Tanaka, is a ninjutsu master, who over the years taught the kids the ways of ninjutsu. A brief description as to why they are called as such.
Rocky – solid and cool as granite rock.
Colt – fast and free, a spirit of a young wild horse.
Tum Tum – ambition begins and ends with his tummy.
The father Sam Douglas, who is an FBI agent, ironically is in the midst of hunting and capturing Hugo Snyder — who happens to be one of grandpa Mori’s former pupils back in the day — now turned to a life of crime. Snyder sends his ninja minions to grandpa’s home as a warning to Douglas that interfering with Snyder’s activities will bring dire consequences.
However, grandpa and the kids defeat the ninjas with the way of the ninjutsu. Defeated, Snyder thus decides to kidnap the kids, hiring three incompetent buffoons to do the job. With a somewhat comedic Home Alone-esque antics, the three goons eventually get their ass whooped. Despite so, they still get captured by Snyder’s right hand thugs. Kidnapped and brought to a shipping dock, Grandpa comes to their aid and this is where the action and showdown begins!
Considering that throughout the plot, they fight against an army of highly trained ninjas, which in all likelihood they wouldn’t have survived even the first 3 minutes into the movie of encountering their opponents. It wasn’t just about fighting the bad guy, it was about following a moral code, improvising and utilizing your surroundings and blending seamlessly into your environment. A ninja doesn’t necessarily have to be the strongest of them all, it also takes brains and improvisation in combating and overcoming the bad guys.
The 3 Ninjas was released in 1992, directed by Jon Turteltaub, who also made Cool Runnings the following year, as well as National Treasure one and two.
