Line #13 Film/SurfNinjas


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5	[[quoteright:205:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SurfNinjas.JPG]]
6	[[caption-width-right:205: Kwansu, dudes!]]
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8	''Surf Ninjas'' is a family film directed by Neal Israel from a screenplay by Israel and Dan Gordon. It was released on August 20, 1993.
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10	Johnny (Creator/ErnieReyesJr) and Adam (Creator/NicolasCowan) were perfectly ordinary brothers, surfing afternoons and weekends while attending school during the day. Then comes a mysterious stranger named Zatch (Creator/ErnieReyesSr) with an EyepatchOfPower and news of an unbelievable heritage. Adventure ensues as the brothers journey to obtain their birthright from the villainous Colonel Chi (Creator/LeslieNielsen).
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12	The film also stars Creator/KellyHu as Ro-May, Creator/ToneLoc as Lieutenant Spence, Creator/RobSchneider as Iggy, and John Karlen as Mac.
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15	!!This film provides examples of:
16	* TheNineties: Surfing, UsefulNotes/GameGear, gratuitous ninja. It dates the movie permanently in the 90's.
17	* AbdicateTheThrone: [[spoiler:Johnny's first act as king is to dissolve the monarchy and return the government to its people.]]
18	* AbsurdlyLongStairway: There's one on Colonel Chi's island and one mook is repeatedly pushed down those stairs. He manages to return after the bad guys have lost. He throws himself back down them in defeat upon this news.
19	%%* ActionGirl: Ro-May
20	* AndStarring: The opening cast roll ends with "and Creator/LeslieNielsen as Colonel Chi".
21	* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Taken to the point of lampshading in the final assault.
22	-->'''Mac:''' You can't go after [Colonel Chi] alone, Johnny.\
23	'''Adam and Iggy:''' ''[[[SpeakInUnison in unison]]]'' He can if it's his destiny.
24	* BigBad: Colonel Chi has been a warlord for a long time and is the one keeping Johnny from reclaiming the throne and freeing his country.
25	* BinocularShot: Spoofed with Zatch, who only has one eye and his POV shot is half obscured.
26	* BreakingTheFourthWall: When the one-eyed Zatch notes he wants to quit smoking, Iggy suggests "you get the patch." He then looks to the camera to note who he's talking to.
27	* BrickJoke: "Baba Ram" returns just before the ending credits after Johnny gives him an embarrassing concert at the beginning of the movie. The Baba Ram finds it ActuallyPrettyFunny.
28	%%* CaneFu
29	%%* CarChase
30	* CoolCrown: Johnny, Adam, and Ro-May all wear one [[spoiler:at Johnny's coronation/abdication though Johnny does admit that he likes the crown before he resigns ]]
31	* CrazyPrepared: Spence surprises everyone by showing up after being handcuffed below.
32	-->'''Spence:''' I had a key.\
33	'''Johnny:''' Where? We searched you.\
34	'''Spence:''' I swallowed it last Tuesday.\
35	'''Johnny:''' How'd you know you were going to need it?\
36	'''Spence:''' I swallow it every Tuesday.
37	* DangerousSixteenthBirthday: Johnny's father Mac gets kidnapped two weeks before the former's 16th birthday.
38	* DontExplainTheJoke: Iggy, particularly in the scene where Johnny's future bride is introduced, wearing a veil. Johnny and Adam both make snarky comments hinting about why she might be wearing a veil. Iggy says it flat out because he can't find a rhyme.
39	* DramaticSlip: Colonel Chi is knocked down and stepped on by an elephant, necessitating cybernetic replacements for much of his body. However, he has a good three seconds of hammily screaming to the camera during which he easily could have avoided the elephant's foot.
40	* ExtremeSportsPlot: Colonel Chi's island does not have an easy assault method. Adam realizes they could quickly construct surfboards to attack by sea.
41	* ExactWords: Just before the infiltration of Colonel Chi's island by surfboards, Iggy reveals to Johnny and Adam that he has never surfed a day in his life. Which they already knew anyway. But then Johnny says "But what if you could? The ability is within you." Obviously he wasn't talking about Iggy's non-existent "What If" power.
42	* EyepatchOfPower: Zatch has an eye patch after receiving a wound from Colonel Chi. This does not slow him down.
43	* GrievousHarmWithABody: Threatened by an Irish "very distant" relative. To whit: Don't make me come down there and beat yew wi' tha leg o' mine tha' no longer works, cause AH'LL DO IT!
44	* GroinAttack: Adam uses his Game Gear to control Colonel Chi's mechanical arm and make him squeeze his balls painfully.
45	* HeirClubForMen: The young princes of Patusan are spirited to safety during a RulingFamilyMassacre so that they can return and liberate the country once they grow up (although this may be due to specific prophecies about their skills). An older girl who appears to be their sister is left behind, makes no effort to flee, and is KilledOffScreen.
46	* HighlyVisibleNinja: Most of Colonel Chi's forces, which elicits a sarcastic remark from Iggy.
47	* HoneyTrap: Ro-May uses her looks and a quick phrase in Patusani to entice two armed guards into some dense foliage so Johnny can quickly beat them up.
48	* InstantExpert: Seems to be one of Adam's powers.
49	* {{Kiai}}: Everybody. Even the elephant.
50	* KillItWithWater: Towards the end of the FinalBattle, [[spoiler:Johnny sends Colonel Chi into a pool of water near the palace, electrocuting him for good]].
51	* LiteralMinded: Iggy finds a crate of dynamite sticks. Johnny tells him to throw one at a truck that's chasing them. Iggy throws one at them without lighting it and hits the driver's head, causing the bad guys to crash.
52	* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler:Zatch is Johnny and Adam's uncle. He tells them after he got injured.]]
53	* MartialArtsHeadband: Johnny, Adam, and Iggy all get one, though Iggy's receipt is played for laughs.
54	* McNinja: There are many ninjas in this movie, none of whom are Japanese.
55	* MondegreenGag: The "Baba Ram" receives a ceremonial concert from Johnny at his high school. The ceremony is the song "Barbara Ann" by the Beach Boys.
56	* NeverBringAGunToAKnifeFight: Colonel Chi uses a machine gun against Johnny in their fight. Needless to say, it proves ineffective against Johnny, who [[ImplausibleFencingPowers parries several bullets]] with his sword.
57	* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight: Colonel Chi [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this after losing his machine gun, saying that now that because Johnny still has his sword but he doesn't have his gun, it's no longer a fair fight. Amazingly enough, in what can only be a strange combination of GenreSavvy and HonorBeforeReason, Johnny actually agrees with this self-serving argument and puts away his sword. The two of them finish the battle unarmed, allowing for a resolution that [[BloodlessCarnage doesn't involve someone's skin getting punctured]].
58	* PrecisionFStrike: At least a "F" as a PG movie will allow.
59	-->'''Johnny:''' Adam, you're driving!\
60	'''Adam:''' Ain't it bitchin'?
61	* ProductPlacement:
62	** Adam uses a UsefulNotes/GameGear to predict the future and control people. And he does this by playing a game called "Surf Ninjas". That's right, he predicts the future by [[BreakingTheFourthWall playing the video game adaptation of the movie he's a character in]] (and there really was a "Surf Ninjas" game for the Game Gear).
63	** While the boys get ready for school at the start of the film, a box of Kellogg's Froot Loops cereal sits in plain sight on the kitchen table.
64	* ReallyRoyaltyReveal: What kicks off the plot. Johnny and Adam discover that they are the long lost crown princes of a remote island called Patu San.
65	* RedRightHand: Colonel Chi uses a mechanical left arm to replace the one he lost to a local elephant.
66	* RoyaltySuperpower: Apparently, being in the royal family makes you a [[InstantExpert peerless warrior with no training]] or able to see the future.
67	* RuleOfFunny: In the restaurant fight, Adam is 'playing' the fight on his Game Gear, and selecting how things will go. When the time comes to choose weapons to fight off ninjas, he selects the funniest ones, and gets more points for it.
68	* RulingFamilyMassacre: It's mentioned that when Colonel Chi took over he murdered the entire royal family except for the two young princes [[spoiler: and their uncle Zatch. ]]
69	* ShoutOut:
70	** Johnny, the first time he uses a blade, refers to ''Franchise/{{Zorro}}''.
71	** Zatch mentions a man named Gum-Bey. Johnny quips that it must be [[WesternAnimation/{{Gumby}} Po-Key's friend]].
72	* SpareAMessenger: There are about a dozen survivors, mostly senior citizens and children, in a village Colonel Chi razed, so they can tell other villages to be afraid.
73	* StoutStrength: Mac has a small pot belly and is a decent fistfighter, even if he gets kidnapped pretty quickly.
74	* SurferDude: Both Johnny and Adam take surfing really seriously. Iggy's pretends he is and it's played for laughs.
75	* SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat: Both the brothers are told they have tremendous skill. They don't believe this until push comes to shove and they suddenly do have tremendous skill.
76	* SwallowTheKey: The heroes lock Lt. Spence up with his own handcuffs on the boat to Patusan. When they ask where he got the key, he mentioned that he swallowed it on Tuesday. When asked how he knew that he was going to need it, he states simply that [[ButForMeItWasTuesday he swallows it EVERY Tuesday]].
77	* TemptingFate:
78	** A stuntman assures Miss Hu that he could take her kicking him in the nuts. He can't.
79	** Iggy reminds the others that the gas in their house was left on, and says "What if our house blows up?" It immediately does. Iggy then proceeds to blame himself for having caused the explosion by TemptingFate, and concludes that he must have TemptingFate as a ''superpower'':
80	--->'''Iggy:''' Something happened, I don't know what it is, but now every time I say WHAT IF about something it comes true, and back there I said "What if the the house blows up", and it blew up!\
81	''[beat]''\
82	'''Iggy:''' Wow, I have this [[ComesGreatResponsibility tremendous responsibility]]! What if I lose this power?\
83	''[beat]''\
84	'''Iggy:''' Oh my gosh... I just said "What if I lose this power?" Damn it, I had it, then I lost it!
85	* TheGoodKingdom: Patu San was described as being such for thousands of years before Colonel Chi overthrew the royal family.
86	* ThousandYearReign: It is mentioned that Patu Sans royal family has ruled the island for four thousand years. [[note]] that would mean they took power somewhere around 2000 B.C.E is real life the longest reigning monarchy unbroken by being overthrown or dying out is the Japanese royal family which, depending on the source is believed to have ruled since somewhere in between 600 B.C.E to 300 C.E. [[/note]]
87	* TokenMinority: Lieutenant Spence, played by Tone Loc, is the sole black person in the movie. However, the protagonist Johnny's actor has Filipino heritage.
88	-->'''Spence:''' Brothers don't surf!
89	* TwoFaced: Colonel Chi's face was repaired with cybernetics after he gets partially crushed by the elephant.
90	* WaifProphet: Adam predicts the future and sees solutions to problems without having any downsides to this trope.
91	* WarriorPrince: Johnny is expressly called this and given a headband meant for Patu Sani Warrior Princes to mark him as such. They also mention Patu San has been ruled by these for four-thousand years
92	* WeaksauceWeakness: Because of his cybernetics, Colonel Chi can't touch water.

Context Film / SurfNinjas