3 Ninjas

Three brothers, Samuel Jr., Jeffrey and Michael Douglas, spend their summers at their grandfather Mori's ranch, where he trains them in martial arts and ninjutsu and gives them the ninja names Rocky, Colt and Tum Tum. Their father is an FBI agent pursuing the arms dealer Snyder, who responds by having the boys kidnapped. Snyder's men underestimate them: the children have years of training behind them.

Jon Turteltaub directed this 1992 family action film, his first feature, followed in the coming years by Cool Runnings, While You Were Sleeping and Phenomenon. Edward Emanuel wrote the screenplay, and Victor Wong plays Grandpa, with Michael Treanor, Max Elliott Slade and Chad Power as the three brothers. Rand Kingsley appears as Snyder and Alan McRae as the boys' father, among a credited cast of twenty. It was made for about seven million dollars and took in roughly twenty-nine million worldwide, a solid return for a modestly budgeted release. On IMDb and TMDB, audience ratings sit at 5.8 out of 10 from several hundred votes, while a critics' rating of 4.4 out of 10 from twenty-three reviews places professional notices below the milder audience response. The film runs ninety-six minutes and mixes action with comedy for a family audience.