Checkered Ninja 2
| Checkered Ninja 2 | |
|---|---|
| Danish | Ternet Ninja 2 |
| Directed by | Thorbjørn Christoffersen Anders Matthesen |
| Screenplay by | Anders Matthesen |
| Based on | Checkered Ninja 2 by Anders Matthesen |
| Produced by | Anders Mastrup Trine Heidegaard Cemille Matthesen |
| Starring | Louis Næss-Schmidt Emma Sehested Høeg Anders Matthesen |
| Cinematography | Niels Grønlykke |
| Edited by | Kristian Håskjold |
| Music by | Christian Vinten |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Nordisk Film (Scandinavia) LevelK (rest of the world) |
Release date | 19 August 2021 (Denmark) |
Running time | 86 min. |
| Country | Denmark |
| Languages | Danish English |
| Box office | $1,351,199[1] |
Checkered Ninja 2 (Danish: Ternet Ninja 2) is a 2021 Danish computer-animated action comedy film directed by Anders Matthesen and Thorbjørn Christoffersen.[2] It is a sequel to Checkered Ninja (2018), and based on Matthesen’s 2019 book Ternet Ninja 2.
The film was released on August 19, 2021, to positive response and box office success.
The film was dubbed to English in 2022, with an Irish cast by Moetion Films who also dubbed the previous film to English as with the international sales of the film being handled by LevelK Film.
Plot[edit]
Some time after framing Phillip Eberfrø for drug possession,[a] Aske Stenstrøm becomes a vigilante, securing his neighbourhood in Albertslund, Copenhagen. Aske’s stepfather, Jørn, has made a breakthrough at work after creating a digestion app which earns him a cheque of 150,000 kroner. He decides to use this to treat Aske’s family to a vacation and that they should vote the destination. Aske, meanwhile, has been less in touch with his girlfriend Jessica. When visiting her, she tells him that she is going to a party with older kids. He also hears Jessica’s friends, Mie and Fie, talking about a boy named Marco whom they call a “bad boy”, upsetting Aske who thinks that the type of person he is isn’t enough.
On Aske’s way home, a lightning bolt strikes a hedgehog which possesses it with the spirit of Taiko Nakamura, happily reuniting the two. Nakamura informs Aske that he has returned due to a negative feeling of their mission. Aske finds out that Eberfrø is being released from his prison in Thailand the following week due to lack of evidence (his corrupt lawyer, Carsten Nokken Gahn destroyed the previous ninja doll which contained the cocaine and killed the child labour factory owner to retrieve a list of the children who witnessed Eberfrø murder Quang[a]). This prompts Aske to convince his mother, Sirene, to vote for Thailand and also to make Nakamura a new ninja doll body. Thailand ultimately wins the vacation vote, upsetting Aske’s stepbrother Sune who wanted to go to Spain. Nakamura possesses the newly made ninja doll body and is angered due to its feminine appearance. In Bangkok, Aske and the Ninja sneak away to the prison just in time to see Eberfrø being released. They follow him and Carsten to a cafe where they hear them discussing meeting up later that night at the strip club that Carsten owns, the Lucky Fucky Club, to give Eberfrø the list of children and their locations. Aske’s friend Odysseus informs him that Jessica has been cheating on him with Marco, shocking him.
That night, Aske gets the family to eat at the restaurant across from the club and sneaks off. Jessica calls Aske and breaks up with him due to him not being the “bad boy” type, angering him. In the club, Carsten gives Eberfrø the list; they find Aske whom Eberfrø recognises from the cafe and takes off with the list. Nakamura abandons Aske to retrieve the list but fails. Aske is about to be tortured by Carsten but is saved by his Uncle Stewart Stardust who is on shore leave. Aske takes Stewart to the family, much to Jørn’s dismay. Earlier on, Aske heard the first name on the list of children: a girl named Honey Bee Tessanie who lives on an island near Bangkok called Koh Ho-Ann. Aske uses this as a way Jørn can get away from Stewart. The family leaves for the ferry the next morning but Stewart tags along anyway as there was one ticket left (he was made aware of this after Sirene called him when she was drunk). This also apparently cancels Eberfrø’s to get to the island as well.
Arriving in Koh Ho-Ann, Aske searches for Honey Bee but fails. During the search, he meets a man named Jeppe who owns the diving centre and is Eberfrø’s interpreter who also witnessed Quang’s murder[a]. Jeppe arranged to meet up with Aske again later when he finds Honey Bee’s location. Returning to his cabin, Aske and Nakamura are caught by Sune taking to each other. Instead of snitching however, Sune offers to help and Aske allows him to accompany them to their meeting with Jeppe. Arriving at the diving centre, Aske and Nakamura are ambushed by Eberfrø and Carsten after being sold out by Jeppe. Carsten traps Aske, Nakamura and Jeppe in the storage room and puts a gas tank on a boiler to blow up the diving centre. Sune arrives and saves the three before the diving centre blows up and they see Eberfrø and Carsten driving to the restaurant where Honey Bee lives; they give chase on a scooter. Arriving at the restaurant, Aske and Sune distract Eberfrø but Carsten sabotages the lights and kidnaps Honey Bee. Honey Bee mangages to run away into a shed containing cobras with Aske and Eberfrø following whilst Sune and Nakamura deal with Carsten. In the shed, Eberfrø corners Aske and Honey Bee but is distracted by Sune allowing Aske to knock the gun out of his hand. Eberfrø attempts to kill Aske but is beaten by Honey Bee. He tries to kill them again but is apparently killed[b] when he falls into a cage full of cobras.
Sune reveals that he live-streamed Aske fighting Eberfrø on the internet, revealing Eberfrø’s true nature. Aske gets a call from Jessica who saw the video and says that he was like a “bad boy”. Aske realises that there is nothing wrong with the way he is and he was just being the way he has always been and dumps Jessica. The next day, Aske and his family are treated to a dinner with Honey Bee and her family for rescuing her. Aske finds out that Nakamura hasn’t yet left his ninja doll body in which he asks to stay with Aske for a while as the two have become close over time. Aske happily obliges and presents Nakamura with a new and more slick-looking ninja doll body which possesses and tells Aske to bring on any enemy he has.
Cast[edit]
| Role | Danish | English[3] |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Stenstrøm (Aske Stenstrøm) | Louis Næss-Schmidt | |
| Matthew Whelan | ||
| Jessica Eppermynt (Jessica Eberfrö) | Emma Sehested Høeg | |
| Ava Connolly | ||
| Taiko Nakamura / Checkered Ninja (Ternet Ninja) | Anders Matthesen | |
| Luke Griffin | ||
| John (Jørn) | ||
| Philip Eppermint (Phillip Eberfrø) | ||
| Tina (Mie) | ||
| Gina (Fie) | ||
| Sean (Sune) | Paul Tylak | |
| Stewart Stardust | ||
| Jasper (Jeppe) | ||
| Sirena Stenstrøm (Sirene Stenstrøm) | Doireann Ní Chorragáin | |
| Jimmy Wonta Gana (Carsten Nokken Gahn) | Jonathan Ryan | |
| Odysseus | Emmet Ryan | |
| Eppermynt (Eberfrö) | Brendan McDonald | |
| Parkour Coach | ||
| Perry (Pelle) | Eoin Daly | |
| Honey Bee | Siun Alexander |
Reception[edit]
Dagbladet Information stated that the sequel "live(d) up to its predecessor, both in terms of roughness, tension and message"[4] Ekkofilm also praised the film.[5] "Anders Matthesen is not afraid to place scenes of interrogatory and shemales into an animated family film" noted B.T. [6]
Music[edit]
| Checkered Ninja 2 (Ternet Ninja 2) | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 2021 |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Label | Sony Music |
| Producer | Christian Vinten |
| Singles from Checkered Ninja 2 | |
| |
Music for the film was composed by Christian Vinten who composed the score from the first movie, while eight original songs were written and performed by Anders Matthesen.[7] The single "Bad Boy" was also released independently. According to the English credits, the English versions of the songs were sung by Gisli Gislason ("Next Level" and "Honey Bee") and songwriter Jimmy Antony ("Three Dots" and "Away We Go"). The latter performed some of the songs from the first movie. Paul Tylak provides the English vocals for Stewart Stardust in the song "Cook It Up Ála Thai". Tylak previously provided the singing vocals for the character in the first film.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Next Level" | 1:37 |
| 2. | "Three Dots (Tre Prikker)" | 2:41 |
| 3. | "Bad Boy" | 2:56 |
| 4. | "Gluten Free (Glutenfri)" | 4:27 |
| 5. | "Away We Go (På Vej)" | 2:17 |
| 6. | "Halli Halløj 2,0" | 2:32 |
| 7. | "Honey Bee" | 1:05 |
| 8. | "Cook It Up Ála Thai (Gi’ Den Lidt Thai)" | 3:29 |
Sequel[edit]
A third film, Checkered Ninja 3 (Ternet Ninja 3) was announced in 2023 with Anders Matthesen and Thorbjørn Christoffersen returning as directors and Trine Heidegaard and Anders Mastrup returning as producers.[8] The film is planned to be released in Denmark on August 21, 2025.[9]
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c As depicted in Checkered Ninja (2018)
- ^ He is revealed to be alive in Checkered Ninja 3 (2025)
References[edit]
- ^ "Checkered Ninja 2" – via Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "TERNET NINJA 2 slår vild publikumsrekord og afblæser biografkrisen!". www.nordiskfilm.com. Archived from the original on 2023-11-24. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
- ^ "Checkered Ninja 2". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ "'Ternet Ninja 2' lever op til sin forgænger, både hvad grovhed, spænding og budskab angår". Information (in Danish). 2021-08-18. Archived from the original on 2024-03-02. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
- ^ "Ternet Ninja 2". www.ekkofilm.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2023-11-24. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
- ^ Nygaard, Kristian Dam (2021-08-18). "Anmeldelse: Anders Matthesen gør det igen! Derfor bliver du nødt til at se 'Ternet Ninja 2'". www.bt.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-03-02.
- ^ "Ternet Ninja 2 (Soundtrack)". Spotify.
- ^ Mitchell, Wendy (2023-10-31). "LevelK strikes with 'Checkered Ninja 3' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ Pham, Annika (2023-10-31). "Levelk and TrustNordisk bring top Nordic animation projects to the AFM". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved February 10, 2024.