Ninja Express is a cartoon produced by Frog Box Productions and Creative Conspiracy and distributed by Hasbro's Entertainment One focusing on a trio of miniature ninjas who deliver anything, any time.
Tropes found in Ninja Express:
- Ambiguously Human: The three ninjas look human, but one has the ability to do Mental Time Travel and his eyes glow red with spinning clocks shown when he time travels mentally, which raises questions about what they really are. Similarly, The Giant in one episode that parodies Jack and the Beanstalk may or may not be human, but it's never stated outright.
- Anachronism Stew: Justified, since the Ninjas time travel; one episode features a Viking using a modern-day DJ set on a boat.
- Comic-Book Time: While the ninjas' ages are never stated, they don't seem to age either.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: Although never really evil per se, Erik the Red's oarsmen seemed to be happier partying with the blonde Vikings (the heroes of one episode). In the same episode, we see the supposed targets of the Vikings partying with them!
- Gratuitous Ninja: The situations themselves could stand alone as stories on their own, but this is done as much for Rule of Funny as Rule of Cool.
- Horny Vikings: Historical accuracy isn't this show's strong suit anyway, but then again, this is about the comedy from the situation.
- ManChild: Zig-zagged. On one hand, they do show some signs of being childish, but one of the trio treats it as a business that has to be managed day in day out, but reconstructed in that they are adults with slightly childish, eccentric personalities, and they seem to be accepted well by their clients.
- No Antagonist: Zig-zagged; there's no Big Bad, but the closest things to villains in some episodes are just obnoxious people, and even then, the obnoxiousness goes at the end of the episode.
- No Name Given: None of the Ninjas' names are given at all.
- Race Against the Clock: Every episode they have to get a delivery within a very short timespan... and it gets more difficult as things go on.
- Status Quo Is God: The only constants are the ninjas running a delivery service in the city center; other than that, no matter what injuries befall them or time period they go back to, it returns to normal next episode.
- The Unintelligible: The ninjas don't speak that well, it's gibberish that sounds like squeaks.
- Time Travel: Integral to the plot, since the Ninjas have to travel via a black hole to other time periods to get whatever the client wants!
- Timey-Wimey Ball: It's never stated outright how the Time Travel method works, apart from a black hole being created.
- Vague Age: How old are the ninjas anyway? It's not stated on-screen, and they seem child-sized but one acts very adult at times, making it confusing at times.
- Woman Of A Thousand Voices: Beth Chalmers, voice of Big Finish Doctor Who characters, voices one of the ninjas (the small one who does mental time travel) many of the female characters and occasionally a male character now and then. Interestingly, she's credited as her real name, and not like in American productions, under an alias.
