Checkered Ninja 3 (Danish: Ternet Ninja 3) is a Danish animated film from 2025, directed by Anders Matthesen and Thorbjørn Christoffersen.[1] It is the third and final film in the series about Aske and his checkered ninja doll, following Checkered Ninja in 2018 and Checkered Ninja 2 in 2021. It is also based on the book Checkered Ninja 3, which Anders Matthesen published in 2024.[2] The film received positive reviews in the Danish media.
| Checkered Ninja 3 | |
|---|---|
| Ternet Ninja 3 | |
| Directed by | Anders Matthesen Thorbjørn Christoffersen |
| Written by | Anders Matthesen |
| Produced by | Trine Heidegaard Anders Mastrup |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | Danish |
The two previous Checkered Ninja films are among the most popular Danish films in recent times, with approximately 900,000 tickets sold each.[3][4][5]
Plot
editAske has gradually become less interested in ninja missions and would rather spend time with his friends. Checkered Ninja therefore feels left out and starts seeking new missions on his own. As a result, Aske inadvertently gets into conflict with Jessica's bad-boy boyfriend Marco and his gangster friends. They set fire to the garden shed, and suddenly Aske is entangled in a new conflict he never asked for. Matters are not helped by the fact that Jessica, who is still in love with Aske, becomes very jealous when Aske befriends Emily, a newly arrived girl. Finally, Aske's stepfather Jørn has begun taking his fatherly role a bit too literally for Aske's liking.[1]
Cast
edit- Louis Næss-Schmidt as Aske[6]
- Flora Ofelia Hofman Lindahl as Emily
- Emma Sehested Høeg as Jessica
- Anders Matthesen as Checkered Ninja, Marco, and several other characters
Production
editThe YouTube channel Spørge Jørgen, run by Jørgen Bjørn Hansen and Kristina Iskov, followed the development of Checkered Ninja 3 for seven months and visited A. Film to speak with Anders Matthesen and the animators about the film.[7] In addition, Spørge Jørgen also visited Nordisk Film, where the dialogue was recorded.[8] Art Director Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen uploaded a video showing the film's character models on his YouTube channel in December 2025.[9]
Reception
editBox office
editAccording to a tally in mid-December 2025, the film had reached nearly 775,000 tickets sold and was at that time the highest-grossing film in Danish cinemas that year.[10]
Reviews
editFilmmagasinet Ekko awarded the film four out of six stars. Reviewer Frederik Hoff argued that Danes were fortunate that Checkered Ninja, as the most successful business venture in Danish cinema, was at the same time an original and deeply personal story, even if some of the film's jokes felt somewhat dated and not all of its voice performances were equally convincing. Hoff was also highly impressed by the animation, which he considered the highest quality yet seen in Denmark and at times astonishingly photorealistic.[11]
In Politiken, Joakim Grundahl awarded the entire trilogy the maximum six hearts, arguing that the three films together formed a perfectly shaped coming-of-age story and stood as a unique masterpiece in Danish film history because of their complex characters, provocative humor, and sensitive tenderness.[12]
Berlingske reviewer Birgitte Borup awarded five stars and wrote that the film was simultaneously for children and adults, a coming-of-age story, a critique of the spirit of the age, a thriller, and at times a laugh-out-loud comedy.[13]
In Information, Lone Nikolajsen argued that the success of the three Checkered Ninja films was well deserved and encouraging. She praised the concluding film for its fast pace and abundance of ideas, for having a story that made sense within its own absurd framework, and for an ending frightening enough to make a 43-year-old film critic shiver. She also noted that the film spent most of its time heading in unexpected directions rather than predictable ones. Nikolajsen further praised the film for its accurate depiction of the Vestegnen environment in which Aske and his blended family live, a setting otherwise underrepresented in Danish children's fiction.[14]
References
edit- 1 2 Checkered Ninja 3. Entry at kino.dk, accessed 26 May 2025.
- ↑ Is it funny? Or does his universe increasingly exude reactionary uncle humor? Both. Review at politiken.dk, 17 June 2024.
- ↑ Checkered Ninja reaches 900,000 tickets. News article at dfi.dk, 5 March 2019.
- ↑ The highlight Checkered Ninja 2, the superb Flee, and the low point Centervagt: The Danish film year 2021. Article at information.dk, 23 December 2021.
- ↑ Autumn holiday cinema figures 2021. News article at dfi.dk, 27 October 2021.
- ↑ Checkered Ninja 3. Entry at danskefilmstemmer.dk, accessed 18 August 2025.
- ↑ "We followed the CHECKERED NINJA 3 team for 7 months! 🥷🏁". YouTube. Spørge Jørgen. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Behind CHECKERED NINJA 3: Voice acting and gala premiere 🥷🏁". YouTube. Spørge Jørgen. 11 October 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen Checkered Ninja 3 character reel". YouTube. Kresten Andersen. 12 December 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Thomas Prakash; Astrid Simone Kjær (15 December 2025). "'Gyldent år' for dansk film handler ikke kun om Ternet Ninja og Den Sidste Viking". DR Nyheder (in Danish). Wikidata Q137431177.
- ↑ Frederik Hoff: Checkered Ninja 3. Review at ekkofilm.dk, 18 August 2025.
- ↑ Joakim Grundahl: Uncle Stewart should stand as a statue in front of every teacher-training college. Review at politiken.dk, 20 August 2025.
- ↑ Birgitte Borup: It is difficult to find the right superlative—so let's just call Anders Matthesen a genius. Review at berlingske.dk, 20 August 2025.
- ↑ Lone Nikolajsen: As a supporter of the cinema as a temple of collective screen time, one must rejoice in Checkered Ninja. Review at information.dk, 20 August 2025.