The Kung Fu Kids

Three boys grow up with their grandfather in the mountains and learn martial arts from him. The grandfather trains them the old way; the boys spend their days in exercises. When they have to go down to the city, the world they meet there resembles nothing they were taught: crowds, swindlers, money and people who laugh at them. What they learned turns out to be useful, but not in the way they expected. This Taiwanese production started the run of children's martial arts comedies that were very popular in East Asia in the mid-eighties, and a long series followed. The mould is simple: small children, real fighting ability, comedy and a little sentiment. The appeal comes from the child performers being able to fight for real, with limited use of doubles in the scenes. Familiar as the story feels now, it is remembered as one of the works that established the kung fu film with child heroes.