Checkered Ninja

Anders Matthesen really did a good job with his new animated movie. Everything is well done, the animation and the story especially impressed me.

The right amount of his own kind of humour was added and is guaranteed to make laugh a lot, because many of the jokes are actually not just low brow jokes or mean-spirited stereo typing, but clever satire on different pop culture elements.

The ninja himself quickly became my favourite, because without spoiling anything I can tell you that he has many funny abilities and a great backstory. The other characters are mostly created as satire on different personalities similar to the ones from his earlier work, Terkel I Knibe, but still enjoyable.

Speaking of which, people who are familiar with that movie will get many cameos from different characters from that movie, most notably Onkel Stewart. Even though it feels pointless to have so many cameos and give Stewart so much screen time whe Matthesen clearly has stated that he won't make another Terkel movie, it is still filled with laughter and is enjoyable. What Stewart's relation to the main character? Maybe I didn't get it.

But one thing which was really delightful was how much better the animation had become. Terkel I Knibe was pretty ugly to look at, but Ternet Ninja had got some really promising animators to work on it and their hard work impressed me and even overwhelmed me at times.

The story presented to us in Ternet Ninja is basically about achieving your goals instead of just being a whiny loser. It was shown and acted pretty well and did also convey a heart-warming message and a social commentary. I guess it's still not for the youngest viewers, but it is more watchable and has much more heart to it than Terkel I Knibe.

It is a very good and interesting Danish animated film; the plot is decent and full of hilarious moments; I do not recommend it to children.

.. But still a good animated movie with True facts (children slavery, drag dealing, bullying).

First and MOST IMPORTANT thing to be said about this film is that, if you are a Dane you know this, there are some big cultural differences between (Denmark as well as many other (mostly western) European countries) and a lot of the rest of the world, Im'ma just assume you're American. What I'm talking about specifically is that, there people are way more casual about exposing their children to the realities of such things as listed above. There this would be onside red a family/kids movie. If you are not from there though or are otherwise not comfortable sharing this movie with younger children, don't... share it with younger children.

When I first saw it when I was visiting Denmark (I was born there and am a dual citizen (US/Denmark) I watched it with my Aunt and uncle, their kids, and my 10-year-old brother. My brother was not born there and is generally not as accustomed to their culture/society, and... well he left after the first 10-20 mini. At least there's no gore or anything... 😬

Just like to remind you that despite these things Denmark has officially ranked 2nd happiest country in the world more than once.

Other than all that, it's a GREAT movie. Really funny, has a good engaging plot, and has given the world one of the greatest songs ever.... "PESTO"! Worth watching for sure.

Anders Matthesen has abillities like few other comedians in the world. His diverse cast of eccentric characters that function as caricatures on the stereotypical personalities we encounter are both obnoxious, hilarious and likable at the same time. With his infallible and characteristic voicing talent he makes flawless use of danish slang and culture to poke good-hearted fun at the current generation of youths, parents, teachers and even musicians.

The best part is that all the above functions as a scaffold on which a quite unique and captivating tale is told, whereas his previous movie "Terkel i Knibe" was a more two-dimensional collection of crude albeit funny gags. I won't spoil any details though. This time Matthesen has opted to have the main character be voiced by someone other than himself. This gives the feeling that the boy is trying to navigate in Matthesen's unpredictable universe, and one can't help but root for him.

In spite of crude humor and an especially brutal scene early on, the movie as a whole ends up being heartwarming, and when the credits roll you realize that you've been fully attentive and entertained for the duration of the film. Matthesen is one of the most, if not THE most iconic danish comedians which he certainly establishes with this achievement. I hope the title will reach a wider audience as it certainly deserves more attention and recognition.

9/10