THE KARATE KID

If you told the Dads in 1984 that this film would birth a cinematic universe of interlocking properties... well, we probably would have been like "COOOL!" Your mileage might vary, but it remains surprising that this weirdly soulful story of a deepening relationship between a high school loser and his apartment complex's senior citizen handyman became one of the most durable IPs in Hollywood. Credit to Ralph Macchio, Elisabeth Shue, Billy Zabka, director John Avildsen (ROCKY), and especially Pat Morita who transcended the Orientalist trappings of the screenplay to deliver a truly indelible performance (becoming the first Asian-American to be nominated for an Academy Award in the process). Mr. Miyagi also enters the Dad movie HOF as one of the most complete portrayals of fatherhood in a movie defined by missing fathers and lost children. So I guess it wasn't that surprising that Hollywood went back to this well; the Dads arecontent to hang here in 1984 with you all, so step onto the mat and enjoy our deep Dad dive into THE KARATE KID.