In the 1980s and 1990s, when video halls and discs were prevalent, there was one type of film that was also popular, and it was children's martial arts films.
Children's martial arts films, as the name suggests, are martial arts action movies featuring child stars, mainly telling the story of little heroes punishing evil and promoting good. This kind of movie is mainly funny and martial arts, suitable for all ages, children especially love, and therefore have accompanied the growth of countless people.
I. Fashion children's martial arts film "Good Boy"
In 1985, Taiwanese director Zhang Meijun directed the children's martial arts film "Good Boy", after his death from liver cancer, the film was taken over by Zhu Yanping, the film was a sensation after its release, setting off a frenzy of kung fu films in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and other Southeast Asian regions, and also became the pioneering work of children's martial arts films.
"Good Boy" mainly tells the story of three martial arts children in the deep mountains, Ah Guo, Xiao Hu and Xiao Fat, who come to the bustling city to punish adultery and eliminate evil. After the film was released, it was all the rage, and the three small stars Yan Zhengguo, Zuo Xiaohu and Chen Chongrong also became popular because of this, becoming the hottest child stars at that time.
"Good Boy" has constructed a basic template for this subsequent children's martial arts films, and since then, most of the children's martial arts films of all genres have innovated in this mode.
First of all, the protagonist must be a child with high martial arts. Children who are small and ghostly maintain their innocent nature, which conflicts with the chaotic world, and they use their superb martial arts to defeat powerful opponents, which is very ornamental and interesting, which makes people addicted.
Secondly, the film must be funny, and this funny element is also based on the innocent nature of children. The lively and active children in life themselves will make people laugh because of "curiosity" and "ignorance", and the integration of these elements into children's martial arts films also makes the audience have a familiar sense of intimacy in laughter.
"Good Boy" achieved a good box office after its release, and then the three young stars starred in a number of sequels in a row, and the "Good Boy" series of movies also shot more than a dozen before and after. Its stories include both the warm "Wanderings of the Bitter Child", the "Cross-Time And Space Boy" of the cross-section, and the "Universal Athlete" of the sports section, and the "New Seven Little Blessings" of the Fanwai chapter are also quite ... Although the pattern is similar, it also has a unique flavor.
Although the "Good Boy" series made Yan Zhengguo, Zuo Xiaohu and Chen Chongrong popular, it also brought them a heavy burden under the scenery, and several child stars have different fates since then, and the hottest Yan Zhengguo is even imprisoned, which is really lamentable.
2. Special effects children's martial arts film: "Momotaro"
In 1980, the famous Taiwanese director Chen Junliang decided to bring "Journey to the West" to the screen, and the project was officially launched in September 1981 after a year of preparation, and was named "New Journey to the West".
Originally, Chen Junliang planned to shoot the film in the form of live-action combined animation, but because the technology was not yet mature, he finally chose the method of live-action shooting, waited until the shooting was completed, and then went to Japan to make special effects screens.
Sun Wukong in the film is played by the handsome young student Liu Shangqian, and the other leading actors are Liang Xiushen, Yang Huishan, Mao Ying, Chen Guantai, etc., as well as Cameos such as Ling Bo, Xia Lingling, Xu Bu, etc., and the cast is also quite strong. The story is also full, telling the formation of the foursome and the great battle of the Golden Horn, the Silver Horn King and then the Obstructed Flame Mountain.
The film was released in the Spring Festival of that year, against Jackie Chan's "Young Master Dragon" and Lin Qingxia's last Qiong Yao movie "Burn It!" "Firebird" and Dillon's "Chu Liuxiang's Heavenly Thunder and Sky" and so on, in the end, second only to "Young Master Dragon" at the box office, far exceeded expectations.
The big sale of "New Journey to the West" set off a special effects film frenzy, and Chen Junliang took advantage of the hot iron to launch the sequel to the film, "Sun Wukong vs. Flying Man Country". Who knew that after the release of the film, the box office was far worse than the previous work, so he gave up the third "Daughter Country".
At this time, when "Good Boy" set off a boom in children's martial arts films, Chen Junliang added special effects to children's martial arts films and launched "Shin Momotaro", which is adapted from Japanese folk fairy tales.
"New Momotaro" directly promoted the small protagonist Lin Xiaolou, and Lin Xiaolou's anti-string image was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so that for many years many viewers did not know that the martial arts "Momotaro" was actually played by a girl.
Compared with the fashion children's martial arts film "Good Boy" series, "Shin Momotaro" not only continues the funny style, but its magic and special effects elements have also become the biggest attraction of the film.
The success of "New Momotaro" has spawned a series of special effects children's martial arts movies, such as "The Prince of phoenix", "Spirit Boy", "New Zodiac", "Strange Talk of the Demon World" and so on.
"Momotaro" Lin Xiaolou has also been an idol of countless people, she is handsome in men's clothing, and the fight is even more tiger-like, and the image of a young hero makes people enjoy it.
III. Psychic Zombie Children's Martial Arts Film: "Zombie Boy"
Just when the children's martial arts films led by "Good Boys" were popular, another genre movie also set off a frenzy of competition, which is a psychic zombie movie.
In 1985, directed by Liu Guanwei and starring Lin Zhengying, Xu Guanying, Qian Xiaohao, etc., "Mr. Zombie" caused a sensation after its release in Taiwan, and for a time filmmakers competed to make a magical zombie movie, the most representative of which was the children's zombie movie "Zombie Boy".
The "Zombie Kid" series focuses on the lively and cute exorcism child star, and its lead actor Liu Zhiyu has also become popular.
The innocent and beautiful little protagonists in this series of movies are deeply favored by Japanese audiences, and after the film was released in Japan, it was even more popular than Lin Zhengying's zombie movie, and the heroine Liu Zhiyu also opened the Japanese film market because of this, and her first stage name after going to Japan was the character name "Tiantian" in "Zombie Boy".
4. Laughing Forest Boy: "New Oolong Temple"
For the post-90s generation, the most impressive children's martial arts child stars are Shi Xiaolong and Hao Shaowen, a living treasure.
After the end of the "Good Boy" series, Zhu Yanping discovered two other martial arts child stars, namely Shi Xiaolong and Hao Shaowen.
In 1994, Zhu Yanping's "Laughing Forest Boy" was a hot hit, which made the duo of Shi Xiaolong and Hao Shaowen very popular, and then the two collaborated on films such as "New Oolong Courtyard", "Chinese Dragon", "Dragon in Shaolin", "Adventures on Golden Island", "Ten Brothers" and so on.
In the film, Shi Xiaolong often plays a Shaolin boy with strong martial arts, while Hao Shaowen interjects and jokes in the film to create laughter; the two have become the childhood memories of countless post-90s audiences.
Nowadays, the film industry is booming, but there are fewer and fewer children's martial arts films, which is really regrettable, and the main reason is probably that there are no more martial arts child stars who can do it. I am very grateful to the child stars who grew up with us, although some of them have disappeared from the screen, but the good memories they leave us are eternal!