Cineglobe VHS Synopsis: Fighting against evil, the Seven Ninja Kids join with thirty of their friends to defend their royal birthright and their lives! A fantastic fun-filled battle of the little good guys against the big bad guys! (93 Mins)

 

Views: It's video cover, which sports the fantastic gang from Lucky Seven (1986) along with the tag line 'Your favourite 7 kids, plus 30 friends!' should be your first warning when you approach a film such as 37 Ninja Kids. Nothing else on the cover connects to that much more entertaining and superior movie, nor does anything in the film itself represent a modern day setting. There are no ninja kids – or ninjas as a matter of fact – I do believe the original title, 36 Super Kids or 36 Kids From Shaolin Temple, should have been kept with this release. It might have helped critics and viewers like myself be a little kinder when it came to reviewing this odd little movie...

 

While not the worst film in the world, its original English dub (on this copy) is highly annoying. The bad guys look like they just stepped out of a pantomime and the overall drive of the film is pretty boring. I read one review where someone described it as Daddy Day Care (2003) meets 18 Bronze Girls Of Shaolin (1983) but it's nowhere near as entertaining as that! It features a number of orphaned kids who (we eventually find out) are hiding in Shaolin Temple to learn kung-fu and steer clear of the evil Manchu's who want them dead. They are taught by one monk – which, in regards to one adult to 30 kids, would be hugely frowned upon in today's working environment. He treats them quite harshly, constantly putting them through rigorous training just in case one day they made need to fend for themselves – yet at the same time, he can be quite fatherly in showing some compassion and care to the younger ones. A silent kitchen hand gives the kids a little extra training tips on the side before revealing that, he too lost someone to the Manchu's many years ago. Naturally, the majority of the film focuses on plenty of training scenes mixed with terrible attempts at comedy, and a ridiculous plot that all boils down to a grand finale – similar in style to that seen in 18 Bronze Girls Of Shaolin (1983). I mean, its so crazy it has to be seen to be believed!

 

The film was directed by the little known Sun Jung Fa, whose only other credits are The Frogman (1980) and Cycle Of Mystery (1983), but you can understand why he never delivered anything special. Sonny Yue, from Raiders Of The Shaolin Temple (1983) and Shanghai 13 (1984) stars as the silent kitchen worker, while Taiwanese star Heung Wan Pang stars as the head monk. Star of over 40 films, including titles such as The Hero Tattoo With Nine Dragons (1977), Tai Chi Shadow Boxing (1980), The Dynamite Trio (1982), Challenge Of The Lady Ninja (1983) and Gangland Brothers (1989) alongside Leung Kar Yan and Mark Long. Bruce Lee bad boy Paul Wei Ping Ao, from Fist Of Fury (1972) and The Way Of The Dragon (1972), joins in the fun while the prolific crew of Ma Chang, Chu Ben Ke, Chang Hung Chi, and Ko Yu Min help flesh out the cast – entertaining as always in roles they've often pulled off. Heung Wan Pang and Sonny Yue do deliver some half decent kung-fu fight action. The fights are handled by action director and prolific actor Su Chen Ping who handled the action in classics such as Everlasting Chivalry (1979), A Hero's Tears (1979), and Matching Escort (1982), and when the adults do get to move they do entertain. The trouble is, for some, those fight scenes may just come a little too late. The finale I mentioned, of course, features the big bad guy attacking the kids in a huge stone spinning top with blades and weapons sticking out the sides. Thankfully, the kids had trained long enough in the art of the stone stool, which is what they use to defeat him before Sonny Yue somehow manages to blow the thing to bits. Absolute madness!

 

Overall: Probably just one for completists, 37 Ninja Kids isn't completely terrible, but it's worth watching for the outrageous fight action!