Kung Fu Panda
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| Kung Fu Panda | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Wayne Stevenson Mark Osborne |
| Produced by | Melissa Cobb |
| Screenplay by | Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger |
| Story by | Ethan Reiff Cyrus Voris |
| Starring | Jack Black Dustin Hoffman Angelina Jolie Jackie Chan Ian McShane Lucy Liu Seth Rogen David Cross Randall Duk Kim |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer John Powell |
| Cinematography | Yong Duk Jhun |
| Editing by | Clare Knight |
| Studio | DreamWorks Animation Pacific Data Images |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 6, 2008 |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $130 million |
| Box office | $631,744,560 |
Although the concept of a "kung fu panda" has been around since at least 2003, work on the film did not begin until 2004.[2] The idea for the film was conceived by Michael Lachance,[3] a DreamWorks Animation executive. The film was originally intended to be a parody, but director Stevenson decided instead to shoot an action comedy Wuxia film that incorporates the hero's journey narrative archetype for the lead character. The computer animation in the film was more complex than anything DreamWorks had done before. As with most DreamWorks animated films, Hans Zimmer (collaborating with John Powell this time) scored Kung Fu Panda. He visited China to absorb the culture and get to know the China National Symphony Orchestra as part of his preparation. A sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, was released on May 26, 2011.
Kung Fu Panda premiered in the United States on June 6, 2008, and has since received very favorable reviews from critics and most of the movie-going public, including Chinese audiences who were impressed with the film's faithfulness to their culture. The film currently garners an 88% "Certified Fresh" approval rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Kung Fu Panda opened in 4,114 theaters, grossing $20.3 million on its opening day and $60.2 million on its opening weekend, resulting in the number one position at the box office. The film became DreamWorks's biggest opening for a non-sequel film, the highest grossing animated movie of the year worldwide, and also had the fourth-largest opening weekend for a DreamWorks animated film at the American and Canadian box office, behind Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, and Shrek Forever After.[4]
Plot
The story is set in the Valley of Peace, a fictional land in ancient China inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Po (Jack Black), a 24-year-old,[citation needed] clumsy panda, is a Kung Fu fanatic, who idolizes the Furious Five – Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross) – a quintet of Kung Fu masters trained by the old Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) to protect the valley. Because he works in his goose[5] father Mr. Ping's (James Hong) noodle restaurant, Po is unable to achieve his dream of becoming a Kung Fu master himself.One day, Shifu's mentor, the old tortoise Grand Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), has a vision that Shifu's former student and foster son the evil snow leopard Tai Lung will escape from prison and return to the Valley of Peace to take revenge for being denied the Dragon Scroll, which is said to hold the secret to limitless power. Shifu holds a Kung Fu tournament for the Furious Five so that Oogway may identify the legendary Dragon Warrior, the one Kung Fu master worthy of receiving the Dragon Scroll and capable of defeating Tai Lung. Forced to take a cumbersome noodle cart to the tournament, Po arrives after the doors to the arena close and is unable to enter. Desperate to see the Dragon Warrior be chosen, Po straps himself to a set of fireworks and rockets into the sky. Po crashes into the middle of the arena at the moment when Oogway is to point out the Dragon Warrior, and to the surprise of everyone present, Oogway chooses Po.(Oogway chooses by closing his eyes and pointing)
Unwilling to believe that a "big fat panda" could be the Dragon Warrior, Shifu tries to dispatch Po by berating and ridiculing him into quitting his training with the Furious Five, who similarly despise and mock Po for his lack of skill in Kung Fu. However, after receiving helpful advice from Oogway, Po endures his grueling training and slowly begins to endear himself to the Five with his tenacity, culinary skill, and good humor.
Meanwhile, Tai Lung (Ian McShane) escapes from prison as foreseen by Oogway, ironically picking his locks with the feather of Shifu's messenger Zeng (Dan Fogler), who had come to warn of Tai Lung's impending escape. Oogway makes Shifu promise to train Po before his ascension. Still unable to grasp the basics of Kung Fu and confessing a crippling self-loathing, Po despairs that he has no chance of defeating Tai Lung. Shifu, however, discovers that Po is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food. Using food as positive reinforcement, Shifu successfully trains Po to incorporate these feats into a makeshift, yet quite effective Kung Fu style while raising the Panda's spirits with equal success.
At the same time, the Furious Five set out to stop Tai Lung themselves, only to be overwhelmed and defeated by Tai Lung's nerve holds. Shifu decides that Po is ready to receive the Dragon Scroll, but the scroll reveals nothing but a blank, reflective gold surface. In despair, Shifu orders Po and the Five to evacuate the valley while he delays Tai Lung as long as possible in a fight to the death. The dejected Po finds his father who, in an attempt to console him, reveals that the long-withheld secret ingredient to his famous "secret ingredient soup" is nothing, explaining that things become special if people believe them to be. Realizing that this concept is the entire point of the Dragon Scroll, Po returns to the Jade Palace to confront Tai Lung, who has reached the palace and almost killed Shifu. Po proves to be a formidable challenge for Tai Lung as he tries to protect the Dragon Scroll. Though the Dragon Scroll eventually falls into Tai Lung's grasp, he is unable to understand or accept its symbolic meaning. Po, who is invulnerable to Tai Lung's nerve holds, ultimately defeats him using the secret Wuxi Finger Hold. Po is praised by the Valley of Peace and earns the respect of the Furious Five, who fully acknowledge him as a true Kung Fu master. Shifu, exhausted but alive after his fight with Tai Lung, is finally at peace with himself, now that peace has returned to the valley.
There is a post-credit scene showing Po and Shifu eating, while a new peach tree grows from the peach seed Shifu planted earlier.
Voice cast
Main article: List of Kung Fu Panda characters
- Jack Black as Po, the main protagonist. He is an energetic, dull-witted, accident-prone, fat panda, who is a die-hard fan of the Furious Five and Kung Fu and is the son of Mr. Ping, whom he works with in his noodle shop. In the end, he becomes the Dragon Warrior a new member of the Furious Five after they accept him as a true Kung Fu master after he defeated Tai Lung.
- Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu, the deuteragonist. He is an old red panda, who is Po and the Five's sifu.
- Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress, the tritagonist. She is a beautiful tiger with an extremely short temper and the leader of Furious Five. She is also Shifu's foster daughter.
- Ian McShane as Tai Lung, the primary antagonist of the film. He is a muscular snow leopard, who was denied the Dragon Scroll by Grand Master Oogway because of the true darkess in his heart. After rampaging the Valley of Peace for being denied the scroll, Tai Lung was defeated by Master Oogway and sent to Chorh-Gom Prison for 20 years, after which he escaped and returned for revenge.
- Jackie Chan as Master Monkey, one of the main protagonists. He is a Gee's golden langur and a member of the Furious Five.
- David Cross as Master Crane, one of the main protagonists. He is a Red-crowned Crane and another member of the Furious Five.
- Seth Rogen as Master Mantis, one of the main protagonists. He is a Chinese mantis and another member of the Furious Five.
- Lucy Liu as Master Viper, one of the main protagonists. She is a Green Tree Viper and another member of the Furious Five.
- Randall Duk Kim as Grand Master Oogway, one of the supporting protagonists. He is a Galápagos tortoise and Shifu's mentor.
- James Hong as Mr. Ping, one of the supporting protagonists. He is a happy-go-lucky Chinese goose and Po's father. He runs a noodle restaurant, along with his son.
- Dan Fogler as Zeng, one of the minor protagonists. He is a Chinese goose and Shifu's messenger.
- Michael Clarke Duncan as Commander Vachir, one of the minor protagonists. He is a Javan Rhinoceros and the leader of the rhino guards of Chorh-Gom Prison.
- Wayne Knight as Gang Boss
- Frank Welker as Animals' vocal effects (uncredited)
[edit] Production
"...we love martial arts movies. I wasn't interested in making fun of them, because I really think martial arts movies can be great films, they can be as good as any genre movie when they're done properly […]
Let's try to make it a real martial arts movie albeit one with a comic character and let's take our action seriously. Let's not give anything up to the big summer movies. Let's really make sure that our kung fu is as cool as any kung fu ever done, so that we can take our place in that canon and make sure it's a beautiful movie, because great martial arts movies are really beautiful-looking movies and then let's see if we can imbue it with real heart and emotion."
Let's try to make it a real martial arts movie albeit one with a comic character and let's take our action seriously. Let's not give anything up to the big summer movies. Let's really make sure that our kung fu is as cool as any kung fu ever done, so that we can take our place in that canon and make sure it's a beautiful movie, because great martial arts movies are really beautiful-looking movies and then let's see if we can imbue it with real heart and emotion."
—co-director John Stevenson on the comedic approach to the martial arts film.[7]
Initially, the idea for the film was to make it a spoof, but co-director John Stevenson was not particularly keen on the idea so instead chose the direction of a character based wuxia comedy.[7] Reportedly inspired by Stephen Chow's 2004 martial arts action comedy, Kung Fu Hustle,[11] the co-directors wanted to make sure the film also had an authentic Chinese and kung fu feel to it. Production designer Raymond Zibach and art director Tang Heng spent years researching Chinese painting, sculpture, architecture and kung fu movies to help create the look of the film.[12] Zibach said some of the biggest influences for him are the more artful martial arts films such as Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.[12] Stevenson's aim for the film, which took four years to make, was to make "the best looking film DreamWorks has ever made".
"We've had some productions that were stressful, but this one ran very smoothly and DreamWorks is [sic] this production as a template on how they would like future productions to run. We lucked out, and there really was a sense of harmony on the animation. Even the production people. We all seemed like we were on the same page, believing in the film. That doesn’t happen very often. I tell animators, you will be working on dumpers for most of your career, but every once in a while you get a gem. Kung Fu Panda was a gem."
—Dan Wagner, Head of Character Animation.[13]
The computer animation used throughout the film was more complex than anything DreamWorks had done before. When the head of production handed the script to VFX Supervisor Markus Manninen, she reportedly laughed and wished him "good luck". "When we started talking," said Manninen, "the movie was still a high concept. But for everyone that looked at it, it screamed complexity. We launched off saying, how can you make this movie tangible? How can you find smart ways to bring this world to life in a way that makes it a great movie and not feel like the complexity becomes the driver of the story, but the story and the emotion being the driver?"[18] In preparation, the animators took a six hour kung fu class.[19]
Producer Melissa Cobb said that originally Po was "more of a jerk," but that the character changed after they heard Jack Black.[19] According to Jack Black, he mostly worked "in isolation", although he and Dustin Hoffman did spend a day together, which Cobb said helped with the scene where their characters face off.[19] Lucy Liu said that the film "was quite different because it was such a long process."[20] Liu said that when she was presented with the project they already had artwork of her character as well as a "short computerized video version of what she would look like when she moved."[20]
[edit] Release
The film held its worldwide premiere at the 61st Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2008, where it received massive and sustained applause at the end of the film's screening.[21][22] Kung Fu Panda later had national premieres in the United States on June 1, 2008 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California,[23] and on June 26, 2008 at Leicester Square in London, for the United Kingdom.[24]Kung Fu Panda was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on November 9, 2008. The special features include a Kung Fu Fighting music video by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black, a tutorial on how to use chopsticks, sound, The Tech of Kung Fu Panda, The Cast of Kung Fu Panda, cast interviews and biographies with Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and David Cross, The Premiere of Kung Fu Panda, interactive games and more.
The movie can be purchased as a stand-alone DVD or as part of a two-disc pack that includes the companion story Secrets of the Furious Five.[25] On its first week (ending Nov. 19, 2008) it sold 2,667,861 units ($42,530,240) and 9,029,480 units in total, becoming the second highest-grossing animated film of 2008, behind WALL-E (9,034,425 DVD units).[26]
Reception and box office
Kung Fu Panda has received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 88% of 163 critics gave the film a positive review. The film has an approval rating of 76% from a select group of critics and an approval rating of 83% from users of the site.[27] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 73 out of 100, based on 33 reviews.[28]Richard Corliss of Time Magazine gave the film a positive review, stating the picture "provides a master course in cunning visual art and ultra-satisfying entertainment".[29] The New York Times said, "At once fuzzy-wuzzy and industrial strength, the tacky-sounding Kung Fu Panda is high concept with a heart," and the review called the film "consistently diverting" and "visually arresting".[15] Chris Barsanti of Filmcritic.com commented, "Blazing across the screen with eye-popping, sublime artwork, Kung Fu Panda sets itself apart from the modern domestic animation trend with its sheer beauty [...] the film enters instant classic status as some of the most gorgeous animation Hollywood has produced since the golden age of Disney."[30] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune called the film "one of the few comedies of 2008 in any style or genre that knows what it’s doing".[31] However, Tom Charity of CNN criticized the action for "[tending] to blur into a whirlwind of slapstick chaos" and considered the character of Po similar to others played by Black.[32] Peter Howell of The Toronto Star awarded the film two and a half stars, considering it to have a "lack of story" that "frequently manages to amuse, if not entirely to delight".[33]
The film topped the box office in its opening weekend, grossing $60,239,130 for a $14,642 average from 4,114 theaters[34] and performing much better than analysts had been expecting.[35] It also was the highest-grossing opening for a non-sequel DreamWorks Animation film at the time.[35] In its second weekend, the film retreated 44% to second place behind The Incredible Hulk grossing $33,612,594 for a $8,127 average from expanding to 4,136 theaters.[36] It closed on October 9, 2008 after 125 days of release, grossing $215,434,591 in the United States and Canada and $416,309,969 overseas for a worldwide total of $631,744,560.[37] Kung Fu Panda was the highest-grossing non-Shrek film from DreamWorks Animation in the United States and Canada, before being surpassed by How to Train Your Dragon in 2010.[38]
Kung Fu Panda was also well-received in China.[39] It made nearly 110 million Chinese Yuan by July 2, 2008, becoming the first animated film to make more than 100 million Yuan in Chinese box offices.[40][41] The Chinese director Lu Chuan commented, "From a production standpoint, the movie is nearly perfect. Its American creators showed a very sincere attitude about Chinese culture."[42][43] With the film's success at the Chinese box office, some people within China have questioned the quality of China's domestic animations. The fact that such a successful film based on Chinese culture was created by the American movie industry has led to some Chinese introspection.[44][45][46]
Awards
Kung Fu Panda had been shortlisted for nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature[47] and the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.[48] However, both awards were won by Pixar's WALL-E instead. This was parodied by the film's main voice actor, Jack Black, at the 81st Academy Awards, saying "Each year I do one DreamWorks project, then I take all the money to the Oscars and bet it on Pixar."[49]By contrast, Kung Fu Panda won 11 Annie Awards (including Best Picture) out of 16 nominations, albeit amid controversy.[50]
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