Pocket Ninjas is a 1994 action film

Action film

Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...

 starring Robert Z'Dar

Robert Z'Dar

Robert J. Zdarsky , better known as Robert Z’Dar, is an American actor and film producer, perhaps best known for his role as Matt Cordell in the cult horror film Maniac Cop and its two sequels. Due to his unusual facial structure, he is often referred to as "The Chin".-Early life:Born in Chicago,...

, Richard Rabago

Richard Rabago

Richard Rabago is an Japanese-American martial artist, instructor, and expert in Okinawan kobudō.-Early life:Rabago was born in Oahu, Hawaii. Growing up in the Hawaiian Islands, Rabago had the opportunity to experience and study many different forms of martial arts. Rabago's martial studies...

, and Gary Daniels

Gary Daniels

Gary Edward Daniels is a British kickboxer and martial arts actor. Daniels appears mostly in action-oriented B-movies. Daniels has been in over 50 films since his start as an extra in an episode of the 1980s television series Miami Vice. He is best known for playing Kenshiro in the live-action...

. Based on a screenplay by Mark Williams, the film was directed by Donald G. Jackson

Donald G. Jackson

Donald G. Jackson was an American filmmaker who is often referred to in the media as the Ed Wood of the video age...

, David Huey, and Dave Eddy.

Development

Pocket Ninjas was originally entitled Skate Dragons and the original screenplay was by Mark Williams. The film was made by Cine Excel Entertainment, who also made Future War

Future War

Future War is a 1997 direct-to-video American science fiction film about an escaped human slave fleeing his cyborg masters and seeking refuge on Earth. It was lampooned in a 1999 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.- Plot :...

. The film was intended to be a children's version of The Roller Blade Seven

The Roller Blade Seven

The Roller Blade Seven is a 1991 cult martial arts film directed by Donald G. Jackson and starring Scott Shaw .-Plot:The Roller Blade Seven follows Hawk Goodman , who is sent on a mission by Reverend Donald , to rescue Sister Sparrow from the clutches of the evil overlord Pharaoh , in the...

that would showcase Jacksons' "Roller Cam" cinematography and "Zen Film-making" style. However, Jackson was replaced when executive producer Huey felt the "Zen Film-making" style was not working. Eddy was brought in to create a wrap around for the Jackson and Huey footage.

I was financed by a company who wanted children's films. So, what I did, was give them the Donald G. Jackson version of a children's film - weird. These films were all script based. I would come up with the story and they were written by Mark Williams.
~Donald G. Jackson

Release history

Pocket Ninjas was first released to the foreign markets in 1994. It was released on VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 in the United States in 1997 by Screen Pix Home Video. The DVD was released by Simitar Entertainment

Simitar Entertainment

Simitar Entertainment, Inc. was a media company that sold music, videos, DVDs, and computer software. They specialized in compilation albums, special interest video, and urban. Simitar distributed its own label. They were affiliated with Beast, Beast Retro, Pickwick, Plum, and Revival...

 in 1999 and re-released by Universal Music and Video Distribution in 2004.

Reviews

Pocket Ninjas gained enough notoriety to make it to the IMDb

Internet Movie Database

Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...

's Bottom 100 as one of the worst movies ever made.

External links

• parody/comedy Review at Somethingawful.com
  Something Awful
  Something Awful, often abbreviated to SA, is a comedy website housing a variety of content, including blog entries, forums, feature articles, digitally edited pictures, and humorous media reviews. It was created by Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka in 1999 as a largely personal website, but as it grew, so...
  
  
• Review at Monster Hunter
• Review at wearemoviegeeks.com