While everyone in the world is dreading the remake of The Karate Kid, I have learned new information today that has me at least a little excited: the redo will retain the original title, despite the fact that it will be set in China and involve kung fu, not karate. Why is this exciting? Because it reminds me of my favorite bad movie, Bob Clark’s The Karate Dog, of course (check out this clip for martial arts insanity featuring a talking pooch and Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight). Despite the title of that atrocious family film, the canine protagonist was a master of kung fu.

Okay, so the news that the remake won’t actually be titled Kung Fu Kid isn’t really that cool. In fact, it’s annoying and potentially racist. But if Will Smith, as producer, can slip in some sort of reference to that other mistakenly titled movie, either by casting Voight or (please, please, please) giving Jackie Chan’s Mr. Miyagi Mr. Han a pet named Cho-Cho (with or without the voice of Chevy Chase), I might actually decide to see it. At least on YouTube, anyway, which is the only place I’ve watched scenes from Karate Dog.

In case you’re interested in anything pertaining to this Karate Kid remake — instead of seeking out more Karate Dog clips, that is — Clint Morris at Moviehole shares the exclusive synopsis details today. And reactions (i.e. complaints) from the blogosphere can be found after the jump:

• Clint has an opinion of the project in the intro to his synopsis post, so let’s quote from him first:
  

  I’m about as excited by the idea of a “Karate Kid” remake as I am of contracting the Swine Flu - but nevertheless I’m curious about the film…I think what’s intriguing about this one - and this could work in it’s favour, I guess - is that producer Will Smith seems intent on not remaking John G.Avildsen’s 1984 classic but simply ‘getting jigging with’ it’s template; sort of making a film that plays eerily similar to the Pat Morita-classic, but not that close.

• If you’re too lazy to read all of the synopsis over at Moviehole, Mark at I Watch Stuff has the abridged version:
  

  * Instead of moving from Jersey to Reseda, The Karate Kid moves from the United States to China.
  * The Karate Kid’s name is now Dre.
  * Everything else is the same.

• John at The Movie Blog itemizes his complaints with the synopsis:
  

  A FRICKING LOVE INTEREST?!?!?! For a 10 year old?!?!?!

  Daniel is now called “Dre”???

  It’s in China?

  Did I mention Jaden Smith is the lead?

  I’m searching through some mathamatics websites now to find out if there is a numerical value less than zero to describe my hope and anticipation for this film. I’ll pass thanks.

• Cole Abaius at Film School Rejects comments on the remake’s change of setting:
  

  Normally, movie franchises wait until the second or third film to place their characters in an Asian setting, but this movie is going for the gusto by heading there early. The culture shock of moving from Jersey to The San Fernando Valley has nothing on not being able to speak Chinese.

• Dustin Rowles at Pajiba doesn’t really see much of a difference with this version:
  

  Basically, the same movie with some minor details changed, which is to say it’s like almost every other remake. So yeah: Stop selling us this “it’s not a remake” bullshit. It’s called Karate Kid. It stars a bullied kid who learns martial arts from an older mentor and fights in a martial-arts competition. You can change the setting, the names, and the style of martial arts, but it’s still a remake. It’s probably hard to understand that, however, while you’re having your cake and eating it, too.

  I hope someone chokes on it.

• Vince Mancini at Film Drunk somehow sees a change I missed:
  

  And instead of a karate tournament, later in the film, Mr. Han helps Dre get a job with the government, where he’s on the front lines of a brutal crackdown on Li Quan Ha’s pro-democracy demonstration.  In the climactic scene, Dre crack’s open Quan’s skull with a “crane stick.”  Take that, bully.

• Nix at Beyond Hollywood thinks the remake is a bad idea even if it’s not the same:
  

  So there you have it. The more things change, the more they stay the same. So why remake it, then? Probably cause Will Smith thinks it’d be cool if his son became a movie star. Oh, to have a famous father who can indulge in nepotism with impunity…

• Ross Miller at Screen Rant thinks the remake will be bad regardless of whatever title they ultimately decide on:
  

  we’ll still have the original there if the remake ends up being bad, but it may lead a whole generation of movie goers to think of this movie when the name “Karate Kid” gets brought up.

  Of course, the reported name change to the Kung Fu Kid may remedy that, but that then removes a lot of the name recognition it would have had if they had just kept it as The Karate Kid. To me it’s a lose-lose situation and I see little about it that defines it as worthwhile.

• Mark Pollard at Kung Fu Cinema demands some kind of clarification:
  

  What I want to know at this point is what kind of martial arts, specifically will Mr. Han be teaching Dre? Will a distinction be made, be it contemporary wushu, southern Shaolin, drunken boxing (without the booze), or will it just be some generic Jackie Chan-style screen fighting?

  I’m going to assume that the film title will be changed eventually. I would hope so. It would be an insult to Chan, China, Japan, and audiences not to.