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1. #MORE THAN MIYAGI THE PAT MORITA STORY FULL#
2. #MORE THAN MIYAGI THE PAT MORITA STORY PROFESSIONAL#
3. #MORE THAN MIYAGI THE PAT MORITA STORY TV#

There are, thankfully, no surprises there. His words during old interviews, and in-depth anecdotes from his co-stars, do all the legwork. More Than Miyagi doesn’t have to work too hard to elevate Morita. Eventually, he fought his way into the Miyagi role (amazingly, producers resisted casting him because he was too funny on TV) and graduated to legend status. That endeavor didn’t last long, but he was a trailblazer in that way.

#MORE THAN MIYAGI THE PAT MORITA STORY TV#

He guest-starred on countless TV shows and eventually became the first Asian-American leading man on television. He quietly endured barriers of institutional and casual racism, even while bringing his beloved Happy Days cook to life. (At least the MCU’s making strides by authentically casting movies like Shang-Chi, but that move comes after a relevant Doctor Strange whitewashing controversy.) In the case of Morita’s career, he began on the stand-up circuit, where he once found himself stunned to gaze into an audience of Pearl Harbor survivors in Hawaii. I’d like to say that times have changed on that last note, but it’s only been a few years since Scarlett Johansson starred in Ghost in the Shell. Watching this happen in retrospect is sobering, for Morita pushed through an industry where Asian roles including Genghis Khan and Fu Manchu went to John Wayne, Christopher Lee, and Boris Karloff. He then did what he had to do to make it in Hollywood, even though that meant working with a prescribed toolbox of Asian stereotypes. Those tough times include recovering from a debilitating, years-long struggle with spinal tuberculosis and being shipped off (as a Japanese American) to Internment camps during World War II.

#MORE THAN MIYAGI THE PAT MORITA STORY PROFESSIONAL#

Morita’s often-comical, early-to-mid professional exterior fueled itself through extreme self-deprecation, which helped to mask the challenges he faced. Shades of Robin Williams and Dana Carvey appear when it becomes apparent that the “Tears Of A Clown” pitfall is all too true here. That’s the point where the audience shall begin to realize that Morita’s early life filled itself with sadness, and he turned to comedy while resolving to bring people happiness during his career. And one surely can’t neglect presences like Tommy Chong, who relates memories from the legend’s stand-up days. Obviously, things are weighted to give a lot of facetime to the Karate Kid crowd (Macchio, William Zabka, Martin Kove, and uh, Hilary Swank), but one receives a hefty revisiting of Morita’s breakthrough role on Happy Days when Henry Winkler comes to town, and other familiar faces guide us through Morita’s other TV roles. We get the traditional splicing of old interviews and home footage and a huge focus on the path that led to Miyagi.

Instead, there’s an impressive assembling of Morita’s well-known co-stars, all of whom express nothing but love and respect for an icon. Viewers receive exactly what the title promises, and there’s no flashy filmmaking to be found.

#MORE THAN MIYAGI THE PAT MORITA STORY FULL#

More Than Miyagi comes full circle like that, while being chock full of revelations like Macchio’s admission, without delving into sensationalism, and there’s something very refreshing about the documentary’s straightforward format.

In other words, settle down, Daniel LaRusso, because the man who played your mentor came by the role more than honestly. In turn, the film shows us how one would be hard-pressed to find a stronger Hollywood underdog story than that of Pat Morita. He was Oscar-nominated for the first film, and as Ralph Macchio reveals in More Than Miyagi (a new Love Project Films documentary), his one Morita-centered regret is not being able to walk the awards red carpet with his friend. Well, those The Karate Kid films would never have translated with a lesser Miyagi actor than Noriyuki “Pat” Morita. Anyone who watched this season felt the hard-hitting significance of that scene, which really drove home how special those original movies were, and how wonderfully they rendered an underdog story while managing to be invigorating and forgivably embracing the power of underdog clichés. Miyagi, loomed larger than ever in the newest Cobra Kai season, which included a better-than-it-should-be scene of Daniel-san gaining access to his in mentor’s letters. The ghost of The Karate Kid‘s superior sensei, Mr.