The Karate Kid is a thirteen episode animated series which debuted on NBC's Saturday morning lineup. It starred Joey Dedio, Robert Ito, and Janice Kawaye. It is based on the popular Karate Kid series of films. Hoping to build from the franchise's popularity, DiC Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television premiered an animated Karate Kid on NBC's 1989 Saturday morning schedule. It was produced in association with: Saban Entertainment.
[edit] Overview
The show retains apprentice Daniel LaRusso (voiced by Joey Dedio) and his mentor Mr. Miyagi (voiced by Robert Ito) but abandoned the karate tournament motif for an adventure/quest setting. A miniature shrine with healing powers had been taken from its resting place on Okinawa, and it was up to Miyagi and Daniel to recover it. Together with Okinawan girl Taki (voiced by Janice Kawaye), the karatekas searched the globe and, naturally, encountered several opportunities to chop and kick their way out of trouble.
[edit] Episode formula
The episodes typically followed a similar formula: Mr. Miyagi would obtain a lead on the shrine's location in some exotic corner of the world. Daniel and Taki would follow up on it, and in the process encounter some villains who had either obtained or were seeking to obtain the shrine for their own evil purposes. After engaging, and of course, defeating the villains, Daniel would come within a hair's breadth of retrieving the shrine, only to have it escape from his grasp by random chance (for example, drifting away after being tied to a bunch of balloons, or being swept into the ocean) thus ensuring that the search would continue into the next episode.
[edit] Syndication
As of May 2009, the show can be purchased on iTunes, and can be streamed for free in the US on Netflix, Internet Movie Database, Hulu, and Minisodes are available on Crackle.
[edit] Episode titles
| episode# |
Title |
Air Date |
Synopsis |
| 1 |
My Brother's Keeper |
September 9, 1989 |
In South America, a diffident teenager from a Shuar tribe finds the shrine and believes it can give him the confidence and strength to pass his tests of manhood. Miyagi shows him that confidence does not come from the shrine but from within, and Daniel works with the boy in a series of physical tests to prepare for the warrior rites. |
| 2 |
The Greatest Victory |
September 16, 1989 |
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| 3 |
The Homecoming |
September 23, 1989 |
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| 4 |
The Tomorrow Man |
September 30, 1989 |
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| 5 |
All the World His Stage |
October 14, 1989 |
While in London, United Kingdom, the trio get hired on a movie set about King Arthur, where Miyagi finds the power of the shrine has been drained into a prop sword, which is used by the film's leading man who then cannot separate reality from fantasy and thinks Taki is his actual bride, and Daniel is threatening him. |
| 6 |
The Paper Hero |
October 21, 1989 |
The trio is in Tijuana, Mexico, where Daniel runs into his Uncle Jack, an FBI employee. Daniel is enthralled with his uncle's FBI work until he admits his job was to file reports, and that he is investigating a case of small-time banditos threatening villages along the Mexico-US border, and are now abusing the shrine to go from minor offenses to commit major crimes as supervillians. Daniel has a problem with the sandstorms blinding him, and Miyagi teaches him to use his other four senses to fight. Daniel's uncle Jack learns there is no shame in having his current FBI job. |
| 7 |
Over the Rainbow |
October 28, 1989 |
In Mongolia, the shrine is in a mountain spring, which has caused the waters to reverse the aging process. In the nearby village, the council of elders used the waters to become young again in order to fill a generation gap, but now the village has become focused on partying instead of working hard. When a snowstorm threatens the village, the unrenovated houses and lack of preparedness could doom them. |
| 8 |
The Return of the Shrine |
November 4, 1989 |
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| 9 |
Walkabout |
November 11, 1989 |
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| 10 |
East Meets West |
November 18, 1989 |
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| 11 |
The Hunt |
December 2, 1989 |
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| 12 |
The Gray Ghosts |
December 9, 1989 |
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| 13 |
A Little World of His Own |
December 16, 1989 |
Once again in Daniel's birthplace of New Jersey, the shrine has come under possession of a shy black boy named Walter, who uses the power of the shrine to shrink actual items such as railroad cars and add them to his model collection. In doing so Walter accidentally uses the shrine to shrink the trio. A tiny Daniel and Miyagi must work to give Walter a confidence boost to ask a girl out to a party in the hopes of reverting back to their proper sizes. However, Walter is using the shrine for more than just scale models, as he also uses it for revenge on two bullies; and Miyagi warns that not only is such overuse damaging the shrine; vengenance is unhealthy. |
[edit] Additional voices
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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The Karate Kid series
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