It seems like just yesterday when we were sitting along with young Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) as he’s waxing off cars for Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). Two sequels, two remakes, action figures, a video game, a music video spoof starring some of the film’s original cast members and an animated NBC television series later, “The Karate Kid” has turned 30, becoming a permanent fixture in the cultural lexicon. (Just three years ago, Chris Brown released the single, “Look At Me Now” — where he references “The Karate Kid.”)
Macchio, Billy Zabka and Martin Rove reunited for the film’s 30th anniversary at New York Comic Con last Sunday.
“30 years how did this happen?” – Billy Zabka #KK30th #NYCC pic.twitter.com/KMLKxVlXor
— Michael Rothman (@TheRealRothman) October 12, 2014
In case you haven’t seen John G. Avildsen’s (who also directed “Rocky”) 1984 film, “The Karate Kid” is about Daniel, the new kid who’s just moved to California from New Jersey.
Macchio’s Daniel (who starred as Johnny Cade in “The Outsiders” a year earlier) is like the main characters in S. E. Hinton’s coming-of-age novel, “The Outsiders.” Like the Greasers, Daniel is from the wrong side of the tracks, bullied by a rival gang when he goes after a girl.
While he’s on the beach, he meets a pretty blond named Ali (played by the beautiful Elisabeth Shue). When Daniel inserts himself into a fight between Ali and her ex-boyfriend Johnny Lawrence (Zabka), Johnny starts to bully Daniel at school. His building’s handyman/gardener, Mr. Miyagi, takes pity on Daniel and starts teaching him martial arts self-defense courses.
“He was the human Yoda to my Luke Skywalker.” -@ralphmacchio about the late Pat Morita. #KarateKid #NYCC14 #NYCC — Kimberly Price (@KimberlyAnneR) October 12, 2014
This training cultivates into a martial arts tournament where Johnny agrees to stop bullying if Daniel wins.
Although “The Karate Kid” was released 30 years ago, the film still resonates with modern audiences. Avildsen’s film follows a tried-and-true trajectory that we saw with Avildsen’s “Rocky” and J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” novels. “The Karate Kid” is about a boy overcoming obstacles. It’s the classic David vs. Goliath story and we love the underdog. So much in fact, that Zabka reveals that fans of the movie threatened to beat him up.
“Yeah my friend told me an actual karate gang from the Valley wants to beat you up” after ‘Karate Kid’ #KK30th pic.twitter.com/MMITCysB3d — Michael Rothman (@TheRealRothman) October 12, 2014
Fans of “The Karate Kid” lined up more than an hour just to see Macchio, Rove and Zabka at New York Comic Con last Sunday.
“The Karate Kid” was directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen.
Qina Liu was at New York Comic Con last weekend. To read more about New York Comic Con, visit her blog at: http://passthepopcornreviews.wordpress.com
