The Karate Kid is a 1984 American drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue. It is a martial arts film and an underdog story in the mold of a previous Avildsen success, the 1976 boxing film Rocky. It was a commercial success upon first release. It had favorable critical attention, earning Pat Morita an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Plot

High school senior Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) moves with his mother (Randee Heller) from Newark, New Jersey to Reseda, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Their apartment's handyman is an eccentric but kindly and humble Okinawan immigrant named Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita).

Daniel meets a girl, Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue), a high school cheerleader; but earns the enmity of her ex-boyfriend, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), a karate student. Johnny is the best student at the Cobra Kai dojo, where he is taught an unethical, vicious form of martial arts. Daniel knows some karate from books and the YMCA, but is the victim of repeated beatings from Johnny and his friends.