 Its the festive holidays which means Turkey and lots of food. It is also the time of the year that even the most committed martial arts students hang up the doboks for a few days off. Martial Edge look at five of the Greatest family martial arts films of all time that can be enjoyed kids and adults alike over the festive holidays....
The Karate Kid
 The Karate Kid spawned an entire franchise of related items and memorabilia, such as action figures, head bands, posters, T-shirts, a video game, etc. A short-lived animated series spin-off aired on NBC in 1989. The film also had three sequels, and it launched the career of Macchio, who would turn into a teen idol featured on the covers of magazines such as Tiger Beat. It revitalized the acting career of Morita, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance as Mr. Miyagi; he had previously been best known from his role on Happy Days as Arnold, the owner of the local hamburger hangout. ESPN's Bill Simmons called Morita's nomination "the 1984 equivalent of Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell being nominated for an Oscar in 2005". [3] Morita made several other movies including the three sequels one of which would help launch the career of two time Oscar winner Hilary Swank; additionally, it launched the career of Elisabeth Shue. It has also been credited for both advancing the art of bonsai and for renewing youth interest in martial arts, with an emphasis on personal discipline rather than the often gratuitous and cinematic violence for which martial arts films are known. The characters of Daniel and his mother are also noteworthy as positive media portrayals of Italian Americans.
This movie ranked number 31 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies. The film retains an 88% freshness at Rotten Tomatoes.
The Karate Kid, a 1984 American movie starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, or its sequels:
The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
The Next Karate Kid (1994)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the 1990 live-action film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The film was followed by three sequels, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III and TMNT. This film presents the origin story of Splinter and the Turtles, the initial meeting between them, April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and their first confrontation with Shredder and his Foot Clan. The film's core plot closely follows that of the first published TMNT story, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1.
When the NYPD is unable to stop a severe crime wave caused by the Foot Clan, four new vigilantes, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, will come forth to save the city. Under the leadership of Splinter and together with their new-found allies April O'Neil and Casey Jones, they will fight back and take the battle to Shredder.
The film kept very close to the dark feel of the original comics with only few elements making it in from the cartoon. The film received positive reviews, was the highest-grossing independent film of all time when it was released, a huge hit at the box office, and became the fifth highest grossing film worldwide of 1990 and the most successful film in the series.
Following the huge success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the box office, several sequels were created. Only a year later, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze was released in theatres, and in 1993 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III was released in theatres. Both sequels were successful at the box office, but made less money and where less well-received than the first film, but it is generally thought that the first instalment of the series was the best, due to it keeping itself closely aligned to the original comic book. After a number of years absence from the theatres, a fourth film was released in 2007, though unlike the first three, this is a CGI animated film.
The Three Ninjas
 Ninjas is a 1992 film directed by Jon Turteltaub, starring Victor Wong, Michael Treanor, Max Elliott Slade and Chad Power. It was the only 3 Ninjas film produced and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film, about three young brothers who learn martial arts from their grandfather, is a Wuxia comedy for children.
Each year, Samuel (Michael Treanor), Jeffrey (Max Elliott Slade) and Michael Douglas (Chad Power) visit their Japanese grandfather, Mori Shintaro (whom the boys affectionately refer to as Grandpa), for the summer. Mori is highly skilled in the fields of Martial arts and Ninjutsu, and for years he has trained the boys in his techniques.
3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994)
3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995)
3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998)
3 Ninjas: Roundhouse Beach Blast (2001)
Street Fighter: The Movie
 Street Fighter is a 1994 action movie based on Capcom's popular fighting game series Street Fighter. It was written and directed by Steven E. de Souza.Although it was based on Street Fighter II, the movie also features characters from Super Street Fighter II. It starred an international and multicultural cast that included Jean-Claude Van Damme (in the role of William F. Guile), the late Puerto Rican actor Raúl Juliá (as General M. Bison) and pop singer Kylie Minogue (Cammy) along with Native American actor Wes Studi (as Victor Sagat) and Chinese American actor Ming-Na (as Chun-Li).
The movie altered the plot of the original game and motives of the Street Fighter characters. It also significantly lightened the tone of the adaptation, inserting several comical interludes into the mix (for instance one particular fight scene between E. Honda and Zangief plays homage to the old Godzilla movies). When released, the movie was panned by critics, fans of the series, and moviegoers alike. It used to be regularly listed on the IMDB's bottom 100. Despite less-than-stellar reviews, the movie was a moderate box-office success. It has since gained a substantial cult following.
A fighting game based on the movie was released in the arcades and later for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn consoles, all versions by Capcom. It used digitized footage of the actors performing fight moves, similar to the presentation in the Mortal Kombat series of games. It was also panned by critics and fans, but just as successful.
The Karate Dog
 The Karate Dog is a 2004 made for TV movie starring Chevy Chase, Simon Rex, Jon Voight, and Jaime Pressly. Nicollette Sheridan and Pat Morita also make appearances. The film teams a speaking dog named Cho Cho (voiced by Chase) with a police detective (played by Rex) in solving the murder of Cho Cho's owner Chin Li (played by Morita).
The film originally aired on the ABC Family Channel on Monday, May 29 2006 at 7PM eastern.
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