More than Miyagi, The Pat Morita Story
More than Miyagi, The Pat Morita Story is a 2021 American documentary about actor Pat Morita. It was directed by Kevin Derek and produced by Evelyn Guerrero, Morita’s widow. The film runs 89 minutes and is in English. Guerrero had long hoped to make a movie about Morita. After she was interviewed for The Real Miyagi (2015), about Morita’s friend and stunt double Fumio Demura, she offered Derek the chance to tell Morita’s life story. The project gained momentum after the success of Cobra Kai, Netflix’s Karate Kid spinoff. The film follows Morita’s unfinished memoir, with the final third focusing on his struggles with alcoholism. Morita is quoted as saying, “If I can help one poor bastard with this disease, then I would have felt like I did something good, that I left something good on this Earth.” Entertainment Weekly describes the film as exploring his extraordinary life—from his childhood battle with spinal tuberculosis to his early days as a stand-up comedian to his later battles with addiction. Common Sense Media calls it an intimate, honest biography that also addresses racism and alcoholism. Bleeding Cool gave it 9 out of 10, calling it a heart-warming documentary about the life of Pat Morita and his struggle with his demons.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:13 (CET).