Why not the KungFu Kid....

MBuzzy

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Oooo boy. Not sure how I feel about this. I agree with you, there is nothing Karate about this movie...........
 

Jimi

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I understand too, but american audiences would not recognize Wu Shu by name. Kung Fu Kid would be appropriate but I think producers wanted to cash in on the recognizability of the title KARATE KID. Thaty will get Moms to spend money on kids at movies alright.

Love the fact they got Jackie, and Will Smiths Son was Damned Lucky to work with Jackie. I will likely see it even though I share the disappointment in the title in relation to the art profiled.

How about Judo Junior!? Nah, lol
 

Chris Parker

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... well, if we take the original character "kara" meaning China, making karate "China hand", then...

Okay, it's still a stretch. But if you believe hard enough, and clap your hands...
 

dosk3n

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I think that looks brilliant!! I know this sort of thing isnt "real" and should have a different title but that I enjoy this kind of movie.
 

blindsage

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There was a lot of controversy about the name when this was first announced and while it was in production. I thought I read that they decided to change the name to "Kung Fu Kid", I guess not.

EDIT*
IMDB actually has "Kung Fu Kid" listed as the US working title, I guess they changed their minds back.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155076/
 

girlbug2

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I'll wait for the Rotten Tomatoes consensus. If it's at least 50%, I'll probably go see it...hating myself all the while because there's so much I disagree with about this film...but it's like a train wreck. I just can't stop myself from looking :D.
 
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Brand recognition. No sense trying to cultivate a fan base from the ground up.
I guess so. But everyone (not just martial artists) knows that karate is not Chinese. Well I guess we can exclude the current day 5 year olds.

My thinking is that if they want a classic like the original Karate Kid, they would not do something like this. It will be looked back on as just wrong, thus losing its credibility and hurting its cult classic ability also hurting the brand.

It's like trying to brand Ford as a Jaguar. Where is the Jags car status now?
 

Xue Sheng

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Is'nt Karate Japanese?

Yes

But everyone (not just martial artists) knows that karate is not Chinese.

Nope, many are clueless that there is a difference between Chinese and Japanese people and even more clueless as to where Karate or Kung Fu come from or what they actually are. For example; very few know that Kung Fu is not a style (actually it is not truly what the Chinese called martial arts).

My thinking is that if they want a classic like the original Karate Kid, they would not do something like this. It will be looked back on as just wrong, thus losing its credibility and hurting its cult classic ability also hurting the brand.

It's like trying to brand Ford as a Jaguar. Where is the Jags car status now?

Ironically form 1990 to 2008 Ford owned Jaguar…. Now their an Indian car company

But I tend to go with the whole New Karate Kid movie as being just wrong on so many levels
 

Omar B

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Pat Morita beating on 17-18 year olds is one thing. But Jackie Chan beating the crap out of 10 year olds? How's that gonna play? Personally I wish they kept the ages like the original with older teens rather than almost toddlers ... you can't really root for a child to get his stuff pushed in.
 

Bill Mattocks

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I'm diggin' the song that goes with the trailer. Apparently, it's Fort Minor, "Remember the Name." Cool.
 
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ATC

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Nope, many are clueless that there is a difference between Chinese and Japanese people and even more clueless as to where Karate or Kung Fu come from or what they actually are. For example; very few know that Kung Fu is not a style (actually it is not truly what the Chinese called martial arts).
Yeah, I try to explain this to quite a few people from time to time. I tell them that they have good Kung Fu and they look at me like I am crazy. I then try to tell them that Kung Fu is a term that can be used for anything that they do well. A great programmer, the skill of a master chef, and so on. But they just think it means a Kung Fu fighter.
 

Gordon Nore

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Pat Morita beating on 17-18 year olds is one thing. But Jackie Chan beating the crap out of 10 year olds? How's that gonna play? Personally I wish they kept the ages like the original with older teens rather than almost toddlers ... you can't really root for a child to get his stuff pushed in.

Good point. On top of being teen bullies, the Cobra Kai crowd just looked like a bunch of spoiled frat boys who were getting life handed to them. Very easy to root for them getting taught a lesson.

All of which goes to show that the purpose of this film is yet another vehicle for Jaden Smith. The redeeming part is Jackie is in it, actually looking his age, so that could be interesting.

Apart from the Kung Fu / Karate debate, it might be pertinent to note that apart from stage fighting in the opera school, Jackie Chan's first art that he trained in was Hapkido -- under Ing-Sik Whang -- not Kung Fu.
 

Omar B

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Good point. On top of being teen bullies, the Cobra Kai crowd just looked like a bunch of spoiled frat boys who were getting life handed to them. Very easy to root for them getting taught a lesson.

All of which goes to show that the purpose of this film is yet another vehicle for Jaden Smith. The redeeming part is Jackie is in it, actually looking his age, so that could be interesting.

Apart from the Kung Fu / Karate debate, it might be pertinent to note that apart from stage fighting in the opera school, Jackie Chan's first art that he trained in was Hapkido -- under Ing-Sik Whang -- not Kung Fu.

Yeah man, even now his kicks tend to have a hapkido flavor.
 

Gordon Nore

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Yeah man, even now his kicks tend to have a hapkido flavor.

If you get a chance, check out the movie,
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He qi dao (1972)
aka Hapkido - Hong Kong (English title).It was distributed in the early seventies as Lady Kung Fu in North America. The cast included...

I believe Wong and Mao were both students of Ing-Sik Whang, who was a student of Han Jae Ji. Again, this was a film that prominently featured HKD, but sold to North Americans with Kung Fu in the title.
 

ralphmcpherson

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I really think the general public have no idea whatsoever the differences between karate , kung fu, tkd etc . I started martial arts in my 30's and even with access to the internet me and my mate that I started with thought that basically all martial arts are the same but just with different names. We chose tkd (which Im glad we did as we both love it) and I was a blue belt before I found out that tkd was a "kicking art" , we both just thought our instructor had a thing for kicking.
 

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