Ninja Kid

I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting *Ninja Kid* to hit me with actual *feels* between the ninja battles and toilet humor, but here we are. Christopher Gebauer’s performance is the secret weapon—his Nelson sounds like a real, dorky 10-year-old, voice cracking with excitement when he discovers his powers, then deflating into a mumble when his crush ignores him. The production is clean and lively, with just enough sound effects (a *whoosh* here, a *thud* there) to enhance the action without overwhelming the storytelling. My favorite bit? The way Gebauer nails Grandma’s dry, unimpressed tone; she’s the straight woman to Nelson’s chaos, and their dynamic is gold. That said, the pacing *almost* trips over itself in the first 10 minutes—Do crams a lot of setup into a small space, and if you blink, you might miss why Nelson’s powers manifest *now*. And while the humor lands 90% of the time, a few jokes (especially the fart gags) feel like they’re aiming *just* a beat too young for the upper end of the target age range. But these are quibbles. The fight scenes are vividly described, the emotional beats (like Nelson’s fear of disappointing his dad) sneak up on you, and the ending leaves room for more adventures without feeling like a cheap cliffhanger. If you’ve got a kid who’s into *Dog Man* but ready for something with a little more heart—or if you’re just nostalgic for the days when a birthday could change *everything*—this is 53 minutes well spent.