The Karate Kid (franchise)

src: i.ytimg.com

The Karate Kid is an American martial arts drama multi-media franchise created by screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen. It began in 1984 with The Karate Kid, and was followed by three sequels, a remake and two TV series: The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), The Next Karate Kid (1994), The Karate Kid (2010), The Karate Kid (TV series) (1989), and Cobra Kai (2018)

The first three films in the series follow Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), who learns to harness karate for good through the eccentric mentorship of a janitor named Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). In the fourth and final film of the original series, Mr. Miyagi becomes the caretaker of his friend's granddaughter in attempt to steer her away from trouble. The fifth film is a remake of the original film's premise without maintaining any of the original character names and replacing karate with kung fu. Cobra Kai, a 30 minute, 10 episode series for subscription service YouTube Red, debuted in 2018. The series takes place 34 years after the original film, and revolves around a down and out Johnny (once again played by William Zabka), who seeks redemption, reopening the infamous Cobra Kai dojo. This reignites his rivalry with a now-successful Daniel (played once again by Ralph Macchio), who has been struggling to maintain balance in his life without the guidance of his mentor, Mr. Miyagi.

While the first film garnered critical acclaim, critics were less enthusiastic about its sequels. Furthermore, the series has also had a lasting influence on both karate culture and teen film narratives in America.

Video The Karate Kid (franchise)

Films

• The Karate Kid (1984)
• The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
• The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
• The Next Karate Kid (1994)
• The Karate Kid (2010)

Maps The Karate Kid (franchise)

Television series

• The Karate Kid (1989)
• Cobra Kai (2018)

src: www.theamericanrose.net

Characters

src: media.comicbook.com

Crew

src: i.ytimg.com

Reception

Box office performance

Critical response

src: assets.nydailynews.com

Music

• "You're the Best"
• "Glory of Love"
• "Never Say Never"

src: digitalspyuk.cdnds.net

Merchandise

The film spawned a franchise of related items and memorabilia such as action figures, head bands, posters, T-shirts, and a video game. A novelization was made by B.B. Hiller and published in 1984. The novel had a scene that was in the rehearsal when Daniel encounters Johnny during school at lunch. Also at the end, there was a battle between Miyagi and Kreese in the parking lot after the tournament which was the original ending for the film and used as the beginning of The Karate Kid Part II.

The music video for the song "Sweep the Leg" by No More Kings stars William Zabka (who also directed the video) as a caricature of himself and features references to The Karate Kid, including cameo appearances by Zabka's former Karate Kid co-stars.

In 2015, toy company Funko revived The Karate Kid action figures. Two versions of character Daniel Larusso, a version of character Johnny Lawrence and a version of Mr. Miyagi were part of the line. The toys were spotted at retailers Target and Amazon.com.

src: 1.bp.blogspot.com

References

src: cdn.ebaumsworld.com

External links

• The Karate Kid on IMDb
• The Karate Kid Part II on IMDb
• The Karate Kid Part III on IMDb
• The Karate Kid (TV series) on IMDb
• The Next Karate Kid on IMDb
• The Karate Kid (2010) on IMDb

Source of the article : Wikipedia