Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Sweep all the legs of this sprawling franchise ahead of ‘Karate Kid: Legends’
Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

At 41 years old, The Karate Kid franchise has reached middle age. 

Is it showing its age? That’s for you to decide. Coming off the heels of a bones to pick, sure, but we thought with the new movie Karate Kid: Legends opening Friday that a retrospective was in order. And so, we’ve collected facts that span the franchise. 

Which movie do we dislike the most? Well, you’ll have to make it to the end for that. And it’s not just us that thinks it sucks either. Not even Ralph Macchio likes it.

On the Heels of ‘Cobra Kai’...

The New Movie Is The Sixth Installment In The Franchise It (1986) VZ The Karate Karate Kid Kid Part (1984) III (1989) . . The Karate The Trid (1994) The Karate Kid (2010) CRACKED

...The New Movie Nods to It

Karate Kid: Legends Features Two Senseis: Mr. Han & & Daniel LaRusso In a nod to the Cobra Kai streaming series, there's a sensei team-up. CRACKED

Early Reviews Like Him in the Role

Ben Wang Plays The Lead Character Не previously starred in American Born Chinese with Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. CRACKED

We don't want to tell you too much more except to expect usual Karate Kid fare: training montages, fun fight sequences and probably some very corny jokes. Now let's move on to franchise trivia.

See the Actual O.G. Installment

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Ralph Macchio Trots This Fact Out on Talk Shows Now and Then

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Kinda Appropriate That Johnny’s Return Was Born in A Hot Tub

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Deep Cut Easter Egg and Wine ment

The Kamen Estates Wines in Cobra Kai season 4 is kind of an homage. KAMEN Silver kicks a bottle from Kamen Estates in his cellar at the end of the season's first episode - and that's a real vineyard, that happens to be owned by The Karate Kid screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen. CRACKED.COM

Kudos to ‘The Karate Kid Part II’

CRACKED.COM THE KARATE KID PART II IT'S THE FIRST MAJOR MOVIE TO ACKNOWLEDGE U.S. CAMPS FOR JAPANESE AMERICANS. While fighting in WWII, Miyagi's wife and newborn son died in the Manzanar camp. Ralph Macchio proudly argues that acknowledging this dark chapter of history is quite a feat for a popcorn movie.

And They Carted Him Off in A Body Bag

COBRA KAI TOMMY DIED FOR REAL. In Season 2, we see Rob Garrison as Tommy, whom we last saw at the beginning of the 1986 sequel. Не gets to spend a final night with his buddies before dying. In real life, Garrison died a few months later. CRACKED.COM

They Did A Good Job Not Putting Her and Daniel Together...

ELISABETH SHUE IN COBRA KAI The actress from the original The Karate Kid was persuaded to appear in the series by The Boys director Dan Trachtenberg. Trachtenberg is a huge fan of the show and couldn't stop telling Shue how she just had to take the role while they were working on set together. CRACKED.COM

We Found Out Later That Will Is Totally Cobra Kai

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

It Gets Real

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Another Easter Egg Deep Cut

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Save the Crane Kick for Halloween

The CRANE KICK was created by Darryl Vidal for THE KARATE KID. It is widely considered by martial artists to be a move too impractical to be used in real life. UFC UFC UFC avidson.com CHARLES NUM Jenn TP UILA FIO That didn't stop LYOTO MACHIDA, a mixed martial artist, from using it to ко Randy Couture in a fight. The Karate Kid CRACKED COM

Johnny Stuck With It

Billy Zabka got into martial arts because of The Karate Kid. Не didn't know any martial arts going into the movie, and he kept training karate for five years with Pat Johnson, its martial arts choreographer, after filming wrapped up. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

Didn’t Hear Anybody Complaining When It Came Out in ‘84

Plot Holes CRACKED The Karate Kid Daniel manages to beat his rival Johnny Lawrence with a kick to the head, even though they had agreed at the beginning of the fight that no head shots were allowed.

Macchio Says Keep Your Sprite Out of the Dojo

CRACKED.COM THE KARATE KID RALPH MACCHIO DIDN'T LIKE THE PRODUCT PLACEMENT. In one scene, he covered the Sprite logo with his hand as a form of protest. When told not to do that, he exposed the logo for as little time as he could.

What Would the Studio Know?

THE KARATE KID THE STUDIO WANTED TO CUT DRUNK MIYAGI MOURNING HIS WIFE AND CHILD. Director John G. Avildsen fought to keep the scene, which he later thought was probably the reason Pat Morita was nominated for an Oscar. CRACKED.COM

Glad They Didn’t Waste A Banger on Silly ‘Rocky III’

CRACKED.COM THE KARATE KID THE MONTAGE SONG WAS INTENDED FOR ROCKY III. Joe Esposito's You're the Best, used in The Karate Kid's montage, was going to be used in Rocky III before they chose Eye of the Tiger instead. (Also, both songs are stuck in your head now.)

So He Got A Car AND A Headband Out of the Deal...

The Karate Kid Ralph Macchio swiped Daniel LaRusso' headband. Karate Kid's iconic headband was stolen! Granted, the thief came out about it on live television, and no one cared given it was the Karate Kid himself, Ralph Macchio.

Once Again, the Studio

2010's The Karate Kid The title refers to the wrong martial art. Sony execs wanted to name this remake Kung Fu Kid, but producer Jerry Weintraub (who was also behind the original movie) insisted on keeping the traditional title. As a result, there's a movie called The Karate Kid with no karate at all.

Quite the Nepo Baby Dojo

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Nice to Know That Complex Is Forever

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Because of His Laugh Riot Character on ‘Happy Days’?

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Deep Cut Easter Egg Part III

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

The ‘Karate Kid’/‘Happy Gilmore’ Axis Is Confirmed

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

And , They Didn’t Want Him in the First Place

Everything You Need to Know About the Old ‘Karate Kid’ to Crane-Kick the New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Movie Right in the Face

Jackie Chan As A Bully Really, Really Doesn’t Add Up

Jackie Chan was a very naughty boy. While being interviewed at the premiere of The Karate Kid, the actor revealed that he bullied a fellow child whe

‘The Karate Kid Part III’ Is Really, Really Awful

CRACKED.COM THE KARATE KID PART III RALPH MACCHIO DISLIKES THE MOVE AS MUCH AS EVERYONE. Macchio has denounced the script for having had too many rewrites and ultimately being slapdash. Director John G. Avildsen agrees, adding that it's a cheap imitation of the 1984 original, and that it just confuses those who never saw it and insults those

And It Almost Was Much Worse

THE KARATE KID PART III RALPH MACCHIO NIXED THE ROMANCE ANGLE. Played by Robyn Lively, Jessica simply befriends Daniel, but in the original script they were supposed to be romantically involved. Macchio objected to this, because while his character was supposed to be 18, Macchio himself was 27 while Lively was 16, and he was not comfortable with the ickiness of it all. CRACKED.COM

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