3 Ninjas

3 Ninjas
Directed by	Jon Turteltaub (1) Charles T. Kanganis (2) Simon S. Sheen (3) Sean McNamara (4)
Produced by	Martha Chang James Kang
Written by	3 Ninjas: Kenny Kim Edward Emanuel Kick Back: Sang-ok Shin Mark Saltzman Knuckle Up: Alex S. Kim High Noon at Mega Mountain: Sean McNamara Jeff Phillips
Starring	Victor Wong
Music by	Richard Marvin (1 & 2) Gary Stevan Scott Louis Febre (3) John Coda (4)
Cinematography	Richard Michalak (1) Christopher Faloona (2) Eugene Shluglet (3) Blake T. Evans (4)
Edited by	David Rennie (1) David Rennie Jeffrey Reiner (2) Pam Choules (3) Annamaria Szanto (4)
Production company	Sheen Productions (2-4)
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures (1) TriStar Pictures (2-4)
Release dates	August 7, 1992 (3 Ninjas) May 6, 1994 (Kick Back) April 7, 1995 (Knuckle Up) April 10, 1998 (High Noon)
Running time	355 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$26.5 million (First two films)
Box office	$41.6 million

3 Ninjas is a series of action comedy films directed towards the pre-teen audience about the adventures of three young brothers who are trained by their Japanese grandfather in the art of Ninjutsu. Victor Wong is the only cast member to appear in all four films.

Film series

3 Ninjas (1992)

Each summer, Samuel, Jeffrey, and Michael, three suburban California brothers, visit their grandfather Mori Tanaka's cabin in the desert to train to become ninjas. Given the 'ninja-names' Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum, the boys witness a confrontation between their grandfather and Hugo Snyder, ex-student/partner of Tanaka and a criminal who is being pursued by the boys' father, FBI agent Sam Douglas, on their last day of summer vacation. Snyder plans to kidnap the boys with the help from his assistant Mr. Brown, who employs his irresponsible nephew Fester and his friends Hammer and Marcus to abduct them. After a failed attempt at kidnapping foiled by the three boys outsmarting the three men while their parents are out, Mr. Brown along with heavyweight fighter "Rushmore" appear and they easily capture the trio, leaving a note with Rocky's girlfriend Emily, telling Sam that Snyder has kidnapped his children for his constant attempts to arrest him. Mori arrives at the house and Sam reluctantly agrees to give him one hour to rescue the children. Mori tracks the children to a ship at the docks where Snyder is training an army of ninjas and begins searching for the boys and Snyder. Meanwhile, the boys escape their containment cell using the training bestowed upon them by their Grandfather and begin fighting their way out of the ship, leading up to a final confrontation between Snyder and Mori. Mori wins despite Snyder's foul play and Sam ambushes the ship with a slew of FBI agents, wounding Snyder and foiling his evil organization.

3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994)

During a championship baseball game, Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum have to decide to go to Japan to help their grandfather Mori Tanaka. They are faced with a decision to stay for a baseball game, or go to Japan and deliver a golden dagger to him. On the way they meet Miyo who Rocky is very fond of. When Koga gets the dagger and sword he tries to open the cave of gold. After that Koga and Mori become friends and Miyo gets the dagger. On their whole Japan adventure they learned a lot of important skills and life lessons that helps them win the final baseball game of their season. In the end Colt hits a home run and the 3 ninjas end up winning the game along with Miyo. A poor sport of the opposing team picks on the boys and Miyo after the game. He attempts to attack the girl Miyo, but he ends up getting knocked unconscious during one of the final scenes.

3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995)

Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum must battle an evil wealthy toxic waste dumper in order to save a local Indian tribe and their friend Jo. The 3 Ninjas must help find Jo's father and find a secret disk that contains evidence that could stop the toxic landfill that is destroying the Indian community. However the town is owned by the wealth toxic waste dumper, and he controls the police and the mayor. The 3 Ninjas must fight a motorcycle gang and renegade cowboys, retrieve the secret disk, and expose the wealthy baron of his misdeeds.

3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998)

Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum-along with their neighbor friend, computer whiz Amanda-are visiting Mega Mountain amusement park when it is invaded by an army of ninjas led by master criminal Mary Ann "Medusa" Rogers. Now the ninjas have to break Medusa's vicious plans and liberate Mega Mountain.

Cast

Character	Film
	3 Ninjas	3 Ninjas Kick Back	3 Ninjas Knuckle Up	3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain
Mori Tanaka	Victor Wong
Samuel 'Rocky' Douglas Jr.	Michael Treanor	Sean Fox	Michael Treanor	Mathew Botuchis
Jeffrey 'Colt' Douglas	Max Elliott Slade			Michael O'Laskey II
Michael 'Tum Tum' Douglas	Chad Power	J. Evan Bonifant	Chad Power	James 'JP' Paul Roeske II
Samuel Douglas Sr.	Alan McRae			Alan McRae
Jessica Douglas	Margarita Franco			Margarita Franco
Emily	Kate Sargeant
Hugo Snyder	Rand Kingsley
Rushmore	Professor Toru Tanaka
Mr. Brown	Joel Swetow
Miyo		Caroline Junko King
Koga		Sab Shimono
Glam		Dustin Nguyen[1]
Jo			Crystle Lightning
Charlie			Donald L. Shanks
Jack Harding			Charles Napier
J.J.			Patrick Kilpatrick
Dave Dragon				Hulk Hogan
Medusa				Loni Anderson
Lothar Zogg				Jim Varney
C.J.				Dwayne Carrington
Carl				Kirk Baily
Buelow				Travis McKenna
Zed				Brendan O'Brian
Jennifer				Lindsay Felton
Amanda				Chelsey Earlywine

Release

Critical reception

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	IMDb
3 Ninjas	29%[2]	5.1/10[3]
3 Ninjas Kick Back	15%[4]	4.3/10[5]
3 Ninjas Knuckle Up	40% (audience score)[6]	4.1/10[7]
3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain	29% (audience score)[8]	2.7/10[9]

Box office performance

While the first 3 Ninjas film was a box office office success it was the only film in the franchise to be released by Disney under the Touchstone Pictures banner. Disney gave the rights of the 3 Ninjas franchise to Tristar Pictures.The 3 Ninjas sequels 3 Ninjas Kick Back,3 Ninjas Knuckle Up, and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain were Box office bombs. The First film gained a cult Following and Disney Released The first 3 Ninjas film on DVD on June 3 2003.

Film	Release date	Budget	Gross
3 Ninjas	August 7, 1992	$6.5 million	$29,000,301
3 Ninjas Kick Back	May 6, 1994	$20 million	$11,798,854
3 Ninjas Knuckle Up	April 7, 1995	N/A	$413,479
3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain	April 10, 1998	N/A	$375,805
Total		$26.5 million	$41,588,439

References

1. "Taking a Big Leap From `Jump Street' After finding success in the '80s on the police show, Dustin Nguyen is moving into films and `seaQuest' while sharpening his martial arts skills. Series: FAST TRACK: Up and Comers in Arts and Entertainment * One in a Series". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
2. "3 Ninjas".
3. "3 Ninjas (1992)".
4. "3 Ninjas Kick Back".
5. "3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994)".
6. "3 Ninjas Knuckle Up".
7. "3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995)".
8. "3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain".
9. "3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998)".