Here is the opening scene:
The music playing in the background represents this Otherness that is weaved into the movie. Hear the flute and the chimes – they’re there to exoticize the “ninja” fighting.
The fighting technique they use is moreso like Korea’s Taekwondo or Japan’s Karate. Also, their “high yaaaahs” are over done and glamorized just for the big screen.
I’m not sure where the masks fit into Ninjitsu culture, but it just represents how the boys are “ninjas” when they have them on, and “just your average kids” when they take them off.
When Tum Tum fights Grandpa, who is just decked out in “ninja gear,” slapstick humor seems to follow: he pinches his grandson’s nose while a blooper noise accompanies.
And lastly, low and behold, Grandpa leaves a smoke bomb and disappears into the trees while the flute and chimes ring out again! It’s all just so sensationalized and so inaccurate. It happens to also play on the idea of Asians being mysterious, exotic, etc.
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