The Karate Kid is marketed towards kids, preteens, and young teenagers, and its marketing doesn’t disappoint. Thanks to my kid sister and her group of friends, I now know why this movie is a success on more than one front:
Kids love Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan is a crowd favorite. He won over adults with Drunken Master, Rumble in the Bronx, and the Rush Hour movies, but he caught kids’ attention when he starred in his cartoon show, The Jackie Chan Adventures and movies such as The Spy Next Door. If you put Jackie Chan in a movie, whether it’s a kids movie or an adult-oriented film, people will come.
The rise of pan-Asian influence in pop-culture
Of course, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li are part of our American film culture, but Asian culture in general (China, India, and Japan) has become a lot more popular in the states in recent years, partly due to the influx of Japanese anime. Later, with the Beijing Olympics, Slumdog Millionaire, cartoons such as The Jackie Chan Adventures and Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the numerous Asian dance groups who have won America’s Best Dance Crew, pan-Asian culture has not only become more lucrative, but also has begun to erase stereotypes and has made many Americans–in particular, children–more interested in learning about Asia. The original Karate Kid made kids want to learn Karate and Japanese culture; the new Karate Kid will want to make kids learn more about Kung-Fu and China.
Jaden Smith needs an audience
Kids in between the 10-16 age range really don’t have any kid superstars to root for. The Twilight cast is too old for most kids, and the Harry Potter crew, who kids have grown up with, are pretty much finished with their “kid actor” career, progressing to bigger and more adult things. Jaden Smith has come in right at the right time. Not only is he a cute kid, but he seems to have absorbed his father Will’s acting talent. This movie will act as an anchor for the rest of Jaden’s career, which will hopefully include the kids who watched The Karate Kid becoming fans and following Jaden throughout the rest of his acting career. The show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was his dad’s anchor which allowed his fans to follow him from Independence Day all the way to Seven Pounds. Hopefully The Karate Kid will be the same jumpstart for Jaden.
I wonder why some film reviewers have taken issue with the kiss scene in the Karate Kid remake with Jaden Smith. I guess it is because some reviewers feel his age is too young or something, but it seems like these people are forgetting that almost 20 years ago in the film My Girl 11-year-olds Anna Chlumsky and Macaluy Culkin also had a kiss scene and no one complained then. Seems these two films are getting separate treatment as far as the presence of romantic relationships in films between preteens. Shirley Temple I think also had a kiss scene in a film she was in and I don’t think anyone complained about that either. Guess people’s attitudes have changed with time.