Harold & Kumar is the name of a series of American films created by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. Beginning with Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), and followed by Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) and A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011), the films star John Cho, Kal Penn, and Neil Patrick Harris. The first film was directed by Danny Leiner, the second was directed by creators Hurwitz and Schlossberg, and the third by Todd Strauss-Schulson. The films were distributed by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.; the films were produced by Mandate Pictures, Kingsgate Films, Endgame Entertainment, and New Line Cinema. The films chronicle the adventures of Harold Lee (Cho) and Kumar Patel (Penn). The films are considered buddy stoner comedies, with surreal and animated elements in later sequels. Contrasting ideas and perspectives on life, romance, and maturity feature as recurring themes, while the series is notable for its racially diverse cast, one of the first for a mainstream Hollywood comedy film series. Harold & Kumar has received generally mixed to positive critical reception and is a commercial success, grossing over $102 million worldwide against a combined budget of $40 million. Films Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) Harold Lee and Kumar Patel are two Asian-American (Korean and Indian) stoners who get the munchies and embark on a quest throughout New Jersey for White Castle burgers after seeing them advertised on TV. On their way they encounter many obstacles, including a gang of extreme sports punks, a raccoon with an attitude, a group of Asian nerds, a racist police department, a cheetah that has escaped from a zoo, and an out-of-control Neil Patrick Harris. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) Immediately following the events of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Harold Lee and Kumar Patel fly to Amsterdam so Harold can pursue a budding romance with his vacationing neighbor. The pair run into Vanessa, Kumar's ex-girlfriend, and her fiancé Colton, another old college buddy who helped Harold with getting a job at Brewster-Keagan, at the airport. During the plane flight, an elderly woman sees Kumar lighting a hand-crafted smokeless bong, thinks that it is a bomb, and screams "Terrorist!". After a confusion of the words "bong" and "bomb", two undercover air marshals tackle Kumar, who accidentally drops the bong on the floor, breaking it and releasing what