Checkered Ninja 2
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (August 2024) |
| Checkered Ninja 2 | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Danish | Ternet Ninja 2 |
| English | Checkered 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 |
|
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 adult 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 Eppermint for cocaine possession,[a] Alex Stenstrøm becomes a vigilante, securing his neighbourhood in Albertslund, Copenhagen. Alex's stepfather, John, has made a breakthrough at work after creating a digestion app, earning him 150,000 kroner, which he decides to spend on Alex's family's vacation. Meanwhile, Alex had been less in touch with his girlfriend Jessica, who tells him that she is going to a party with older kids. He also hears Jessica’s friends, Tina and Gina, talking about a boy named Marco whom they call a “bad boy”, upsetting Alex.
On Alex’s way home, a lightning bolt strikes a hedgehog, possessing it with the spirit of Taiko Nakamura, happily reuniting the two. Nakamura informs Alex that he has returned having a negative premonition. Alex finds out that Eppermint is being released from his prison in Thailand the following week due to lack of evidence, as his corrupt lawyer, Jimmy Wonta Gana destroyed the previous ninja doll containing the cocaine and killed the child labour factory owner to retrieve a list of the children who witnessed Eppermint murder Quang[a]. They intend to use this list to kill every child witness and prevent his arrest. This prompts Alex to convince his mother, Sirena, to head Thailand and also to make Nakamura a new ninja doll body, upsetting Alex’s stepbrother Sean who wanted to go to Spain. Nakamura possesses the newly made ninja doll body and is angered due to its feminine appearance. In Bangkok, Alex and Nakamura sneak away to the prison just in time to see Eppermint's release. They follow him and Jimmy to a cafe where they overhear them discussing a meet up that night at the Lucky Fucky Club, a strip club Jimmy operates, to give Eppermint the list of children and their locations. Alex’s friend Odysseus informs him that Jessica has been cheating on him with Marco, shocking him.
That night, Alex gets the family to eat at the restaurant located across the club and sneaks off. Jessica calls Alex and breaks up with him due to him not being the “bad boy” type, angering him. In the club, Jimmy gives Eppermint the list; they find Alex whom Eppermint recognises from the cafe and takes off with the list. Nakamura abandons Alex to retrieve the list but fails. Alex is about to be tortured by Jimmy but is saved by his uncle, Stewart Stardust who is on shore leave. Alex takes Stewart to the family, much to John’s dismay. Earlier on, Alex hears the first name on the list of children: a girl named Honey Bee who lives on an island near Bangkok called Koh Ho-Ann. Alex uses this to take John away from Stewart. The family left for the ferry the next morning, but Stewart tags along anyway, as there was one ticket left, which Sirena informed him of when she was drunk, apparently preventing Eppermint from reaching the island as well.
Arriving in Koh Ho-Ann, Alex fails to search for Honey Bee. He meets a man named Jasper who owns the diving centre and is Eppermint’s interpreter who also witnessed Quang’s murder. Jasper arranges to meet up with Alex again when he finds Honey Bee’s location. Returning to his cabin, Alex and Nakamura are caught by Sean talking to each other. Though instead of snitching, Sean offers to help and Alex asks him to accompany them during their meeting with Jasper. Arriving at the diving centre, Alex and Nakamura are ambushed by Eppermint and Jimmy afterwards. Jimmy traps Alex, Nakamura and Jasper in the storage room and puts a gas tank on a boiler to blow up the diving centre. Sean saves the three before the diving centre explodes and pursues Eppermint and Jimmy who are going to the restaurant where Honey Bee lives. Arriving at the restaurant, Alex and Sean distract Eppermint but Jimmy sabotages the lights and kidnaps Honey Bee. Honey Bee manages to run into a shed of cobras with Alex and Eppermint following whilst Sean and Nakamura fight Jimmy. In the shed, Eppermint corners Alex and Honey Bee but is distracted by Sean, allowing Alex to knock away his gun. Eppermint attempts to kill Alex but is beaten by Honey Bee. He tries to kill them again but falls into the cage of cobras.
Sean reveals that he live-streamed Alex fighting Eppermint on the internet, revealing his true nature. Alex gets a call from Jessica who saw the video and says that he was like a “bad boy”. Realizing that there is nothing wrong with how he is, Alex dumps Jessica. The next day, Alex and his family are treated to a dinner with Honey Bee and her family for saving her. Alex finds out that Nakamura hasn’t left his ninja doll body. He asks to stay with Alex for a while as the two have become close over time. Alex happily obliges and presents Nakamura with a newer ninja doll body for him and tells Alex 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 | ||
| Checkered Ninja/Taiko Nakamura (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 Nokken Gahn (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 |
|
| 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 was released in Denmark on August 21, 2025.[9]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b As depicted in Checkered Ninja (2018)
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. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. 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. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ 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. Archived from the original on 2024-03-17. Retrieved February 10, 2024.