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Kung Fu Panda
Theatrical movie poster Directed by John Stevenson Mark Osborne Produced by Melissa Cobb Screenplay by Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger Story by Ethan Reiff Cyrus Voris[source?] Music by Hans Zimmer John Powell Cinematography Yong Duk Jhun Studio DreamWorks Animation Pacific Data Images Distributed by Paramount Pictures Budget $130 million[source?] Box office $631,744,560[1] Release date June 6, 2008 (USA, English) Running time 90 minutes Followed by Kung Fu Panda 2 [View source]

“	Prepare For Awesomeness.	”
	—Official tagline

Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action/comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne and produced by Melissa Cobb, and stars the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Lucy Liu, and Ian McShane. The film was first released on June 6th, 2008 in the United States and many other locations around the world later in the month. It 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.

Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Synopsis 1.2 Summary 2 Voice cast 3 Production 3.1 Early development 3.2 Animating the film 4 Release 5 Reception 5.1 Critical 5.2 Box office 5.3 Awards and nominations 5.4 Soundtrack 6 Sequel 7 Video game 8 Manga 9 Television series 10 Holiday special 11 Live entertainment 12 Trivia 12.1 General 12.2 In development 12.3 In popular culture 13 Gallery 13.1 Images 13.2 Trailers 13.3 Clips 13.4 Behind-the-scenes 13.5 Interviews 14 See also 15 References 16 External Links

PlotEdit

SynopsisEdit

"Enthusiastic, big and a little clumsy, Po is the biggest fan of Kung Fu around which doesn't exactly come in handy while working every day in his family's noodle shop. Unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy, Po's dreams become reality when he joins the world of Kung Fu and studies alongside his idols — the legendary fighters Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey — under the leadership of their teacher and trainer, Master Shifu. But before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung is headed their way, and it's up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat. Can he turn his dream of becoming a Kung Fu master into reality? Po puts his heart — and his girth — into the task, and the unlikely hero ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strengths."^[2]

SummaryEdit

In an alternate China (populated entirely by anthropomorphic animals), a panda named Po awoke from a dream in which he had been heroically fighting alongside the Furious Five — Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane — a quintet of warriors trained in Kung Fu whom Po had idolized since childhood. In reality, Po was the son of a goose named Mr. Ping and worked in the family noodle shop. Though clumsy and portly, he was a Kung Fu fanatic who dearly hoped to become a Kung Fu warrior himself. However, his father was proud of their "noodle folk" heritage and wished for Po to some day run the restaurant in his place and was unaware of his son's true aspiration.

Elsewhere in the Jade Palace, the master of the Furious Five, Master Shifu, was told by Master Oogway about a premonition that Shifu's former pupil and son, the snow leopard Tai Lung, who was imprisoned after attacking the Valley of Peace, would escape from his high-security prison and return. Shifu immediately sent a palace goose named Zeng to Chorh-Gom with orders to strengthen its security and prevent Oogway's vision from coming true. Oogway relayed to Shifu that it was time to choose the legendary Dragon Warrior, one who would be worthy to receive the power of the Dragon Scroll, said to give supreme power to whoever would read it. A tournament was to be held to determine which of the Furious Five would be chosen.

Once aware of the tournament, Po became anxious to attend it, but was swayed by his father to take a noodle cart up the giant staircase to the Jade Palace arena. After a long struggle, he eventually abandoned the cart and climbed the stairs himself, which exhausted him. When he arrived at the top, the gates closed on him and the tournament had already started. Desperate to see the tournament, Po tried several ways to get inside, all ending in disaster. In a final attempt, Po strapped fireworks to a chair and lit them, only to be spotted by his father, who panicked seeing the stunt. After declaring that he loved Kung Fu, the fireworks soon sparked and Po shot up into the sky. Po eventually fell down into the middle of the arena in front of Oogway, who was about to point to the Dragon Warrior. The tortoise indicated that the Dragon Warrior was, in fact, the panda who had fallen before him.

After failing to persuade Oogway that a "flabby panda" couldn't possibly be the true Dragon Warrior, Shifu met Po in the Jade Palace and tried to berate and humiliate the panda, even threatening him with the Wuxi Finger Hold. The red panda later tried to pressure Po into quitting, subjecting him to the dangers of the Training Hall and a grueling series of matches with the Furious Five, all of whom (especially Tigress) thought little of him and joked about his incompetence. That night, Po was dejected after his first day of training, more so after being coldly told off by Tigress, and subjected himself to overeating, stuffing his mouth with peaches picked from the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. When discovered by Master Oogway, who understood his troubles, the tortoise gave him the advice to focus on his present situation instead of worrying about the failures of the past or future.

Meanwhile, Tai Lung had escaped from his Mongolian prison, using one of the loose feathers from the very messenger goose Shifu had sent to assure the prison's security, and was able to pick the lock of the acupuncture restraint he was held in. After fighting and defeating the guards of the prison, the snow leopard grasped the messenger and told him to tell those at the Jade Palace that "the real Dragon Warrior is coming home." Anxious to have the Dragon Scroll himself, he began his return to the Valley of Peace.

Taking Oogway's advice to heart, Po had arrived early in the courtyard to practice, surprising Shifu and Five, who had been convinced he had quit. Soon, Po endeared himself to most of the Five (sans Tigress) with his impressive tenacity, culinary skill, and good humor, even though he was still unable to grasp the basics of Kung Fu.

Meanwhile, Oogway exacted a promise from Shifu that the latter would believe in and train Po, and then ascended to the heavens in a swirl of flower petals, conferring his guardianship of the Valley of Peace upon Shifu. Upon hearing that Tai Lung was coming, Po panicked and tried to flee from the palace. Shifu refused to let him go, insisting that Oogway's advice must be followed, but Po had lost all confidence and the red panda was at a complete loss for a solution. After witnessing this argument on the roof of the Palace, Tigress led the Furious Five in an attempt to stop Tai Lung themselves.

The next morning, Shifu discovered that Po displayed incredible and impressive agility when he is motivated by food. He therefore takes Po for solitary training in the mountains and, by promising food as a reward for learning his lessons well, trained Po into a skilled and capable warrior.

Tigress and the other members of the Furious Five arrived at a long rope bridge over a misty canyon, in which the Five confronted Tai Lung, to whom they engaged in battle. Though the Five initially seemed to win, Tai Lung ultimately defeated them with the use of nerve attacks. Crane managed to fly back to the Jade Palace carrying the rest of the Five, who have been paralyzed. Feeling that Po was ready to beat Tai Lung, Shifu gave him the Dragon Scroll — which opened to reveal nothing but a blank, golden reflective surface.

Stricken with at the scroll's apparent worthlessness, Po and the Five were ordered by Shifu to evacuate the Valley while he prepared to delay Tai Lung for as long as he could, knowing this attempt would likely lead to his death. During the evacuation, Po found his father, who was busy preparing to escape, already sharing ideas for a new noodle shop. Po, however, ruefully paused, his hopes of following his dreams dashed. In an attempt to console him, Mr. Ping revealed that the long-withheld secret ingredient of his famous secret ingredient soup was "nothing" — except the power of conviction. Taking this in, Po then took out the Dragon Scroll; he realized that this idea applied to himself and his own destiny, and set out to return to the palace and face Tai Lung.

At the palace, Tai Lung confronted Shifu and demanded the scroll, letting out his anger at being rejected from becoming the Dragon Warrior himself and blaming Shifu for not speaking up for him at the determining moment. After fighting him off and being beaten, Shifu eventually offered an apology to Tai Lung for his mistake in not seeing what he had turned him into. When Shifu refused to hand him the scroll, Tai Lung attacked and nearly killed him. After a hesitant moment, Tai Lung declared he didn't want an apology, he wanted his scroll, which he noticed was missing. Enraged, he demanded Shifu to tell him where its whereabouts, pinning the old master to the floor by his throat. Shifu managed to choke out that Po had already taken the scroll halfway across China and out of Tai Lung's reach. Before Tai Lung was about to strike a blow to his former master with his claws, an exhausted Po arrived, proclaiming to be the Dragon Warrior.

Tai Lung, taken aback, chuckled at the notion that the "big, fat panda" was the Dragon Warrior of legend, but when Po pulled out the Dragon Scroll, he was swiftly attacked by the leopard. Soon the two began a battle over possession of the scroll, in which Po unexpectedly proved himself an equal, which the leopard concluded could only be possible through the scroll's power. After a frustrating struggle that dragged down the palace steps and into a village of the Valley, Tai Lung gained the upper hand, pummeling Po to the ground, and finally opened the scroll only to be was met with confusion, unable to comprehend its symbolic meaning.

Po then offered an explanation, interpreting that: "There is no secret ingredient... It's just you." Furious at this, Tai Lung attacked the panda again; however, Po's body-mass made Tai Lung's nerve attacks useless, only managing to tickle him. Po followed this defense with counter-attacks of devastating effectiveness, and eventually captured an exhausted Tai Lung with the Wuxi Finger Hold, claiming to have figured out the mysterious move himself. With the bending of his pinkie and the word "skadoosh", Po performed the hold, bringing about a golden, misty shockwave throughout the Valley and defeating the snow leopard.

The Furious Five soon returned to the village with the Valley's citizens, finding Po, dazed but victorious. Mr. Ping, moved by his son's brave actions, proudly declared to all that the Kung Fu warrior before him was his son, and he and Po embraced. Tigress, deeply impressed, then led the Furious Five in their acceptance of Po as a fellow Kung Fu Master. Po was humbled and overjoyed, but remembered that Shifu was critically wounded, and hurried back to the palace. Po found the old red panda barely conscious. Shifu told Po that he had brought peace to the Valley, and to him, and thanked him, trailing off and closing his eyes. Po then pleaded for the master not to die, only for Shifu to yell that he wasn't dying, but was simply at peace. After the two rested in a tranquil moment, Po broke the silence by asking Shifu if he wants to get something to eat, to which the red panda eventually answered he did.

Later, Po and Shifu were seen eating dumplings under Oogway's peach tree, where the peach seed Shifu planted earlier had begun to sprout into a seedling.

Voice castEdit

• Jack Black as Po, a giant panda and the film's protagonist
• Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, a red panda and the film's deuteragonist
• Angelina Jolie as Tigress, a South China Tiger, the film's tritagonist, the leader of the Furious Five
• Ian McShane as Tai Lung, a snow leopard, the film's main antagonist
• Jackie Chan as Monkey, a Golden snub-nosed monkey and a member of the Furious Five
• David Cross as Crane, a Black-necked Crane and another member of the Furious Five
• Seth Rogen as Mantis, a Chinese mantis and another member of the Furious Five
• Lucy Liu as Viper, a Green Tree Viper and another member of the Furious Five
• Randall Duk Kim as Oogway, a Galápagos tortoise and Shifu's mentor
• James Hong as Mr. Ping, a Chinese goose and Po's father
• Dan Fogler as Zeng, a Chinese goose
• Michael Clarke Duncan as Commander Vachir, a Javan Rhinoceros
• Wayne Knight as Gang Boss
• Frank Welker as Animals' vocal effects (uncredited)^[source?]

ProductionEdit

Early developmentEdit

“	...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.	”
	—Co-director John Stevenson on the comedic approach to the martial arts film[3]

The concept of a "kung fu panda" has actually been around since at least 1993^[4]; work on the film, however, did not begin until 2004. The idea for the film was conceived by Michael Lachance, a DreamWorks Animation executive. The film was originally intended to be a parody, but co-director John Stevenson decided to instead shoot an action comedy Wuxia film that incorporates the "hero's journey" narrative archetype for the lead character.^[5]

Publicized work on the film began before October 2004. In September 2005, DreamWorks announced the film, alongside Jack Black, who was selected to be the main voice star.^[6] In November 2005, DreamWorks announced that Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu and Ian McShane would join Black in the cast.^[7]

Reportedly inspired by Stephen Chow's 2004 martial arts action comedy, Kung Fu Hustle,^[8] 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 Kheng Heng spent years researching Chinese painting, sculpture, architecture and kung fu movies to help create the look of the film. Zibach said some of the biggest influence of him are the more artful martial arts films such as Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.^[9] The aim for the film, which took four years to make, was to have a good blend of the two, as well as to give it an "epic" feel, unlike other DreamWorks animated features which usually resorted to popular pop songs and celebrity references.

Animating the filmEdit

“	We've had some productions that were stressful, but this one ran very smoothly and DreamWorks is 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[10]

The hand-drawn animation sequence at the beginning of the film was made to resemble Chinese shadow puppetry.^[11] The opening, which was directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and produced by James Baxter, was praised by The New York Times reviewer Manohla Dargis as "striking" and "visually different from most mainstream American animations."^[12] Other reviewers have compared the opening to the evocative style of Genndy Tartakovsky's Samurai Jack.^[13] The rest of the film is modern computer animation, which uses bright, offbeat colors to evoke the natural landscape of China. The end credit sequence also features hand-drawn characters and still paintings in the background.^[11]

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?"^[14] In preparation, the animators took a six hour kung fu class.^[15]

Producer Melissa Cobb said that originally Po was "more of a jerk," but that the character changed after they heard Jack Black. According to 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.^[15] Lucy Liu said that the film "was quite different because it was such a long process." 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."^[16]

ReleaseEdit

The film held its worldwide premiere at the 61st Cannes Film Festival on May 15th, 2008, where it received massive and sustained applause at the end of the film's screening.^[17][18] Kung Fu Panda later had national premieres in the United States on June 1st, 2008 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, and on June 26th, 2008 at Leicester Square in London for the United Kingdom.^[19]

Kung Fu Panda was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on November 9th, 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 now 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.^[20] On its first week (ending November 19th, 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).^[21]

ReceptionEdit

CriticalEdit

Since its release, Kung Fu Panda has received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 88% of 163 critics gave the film positive reviews. 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.^[22] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 73 out of 100, based on 33 reviews.^[23]

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".^[24] 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".^[12] 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."^[25] 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".^[26] 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.^[27] 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."^[28]

Box officeEdit

The film topped the box office in its opening weekend, grossing $60,239,130 for a $14,642 average from 4,114 theaters^[29] and performing much better than analysts had been expecting. It also was the highest-grossing opening for a non-sequel DreamWorks Animation film at the time.^[30] 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.^[31] It closed on October 9th, 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.^[32] 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.^[33]

Kung Fu Panda was also well-received in China.^[34] It made nearly 110 million Chinese Yuan by July 2nd, 2008, becoming the first animated film to make more than 100 million Yuan in Chinese box offices.^[35][36] 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."^[37][38] 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.^[39][40][41]

Awards and nominationsEdit

Kung Fu Panda won 11 Annie Awards (including "Best Picture") out of 16 nominations, albeit amid controversy.^[42]

The movie had also been shortlisted for nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature^[43] and the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.^[44] 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."^[45]

Award	Category	Name	Outcome
Academy Awards	Academy Award for Best Animated Feature	John Stevenson Mark Osborne	Nominated
36th Annie Awards	Annie Award for Best Animated Effects in an Animated Production	Li-Ming "Lawrence" Lee	Won
	Annie Award for Best Animated Feature		Won
	Annie Award for Best Character Animation in a Feature Production	James Baxter	Won
		Philippe Le Brun	Nominated
		Dan Wagner	Nominated
	Annie Award for Best Character Design in an Animated Feature Production	Nico Marlet	Won
	Annie Award for Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production	John Stevenson Mark Osborne	Won
	Annie Award for Best Music in an Animated Feature Production	Hans Zimmer John Powell	Won
	Annie Award for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production	Tang Kheng Heng	Won
		Raymond Zibach	Nominated
	Annie Award for Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production	Jennifer Yuh Nelson	Won
		Alessandro Carloni	Nominated
	Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production	Dustin Hoffman	Won
		James Hong	Nominated
		Ian McShane	Nominated
	Annie Award for Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production	Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger	Won
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Animated Feature		Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Animated Feature		Nominated
Golden Globe Awards	Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film		Nominated
Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Editing - Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR Animation in a Feature Film	Ethan Van Der Ryn Erik Aadahl Mike Hopkins Jonathan Klein Adam Milo Smalley Peter Oso Snell Wayne Lemmer Paul Pirola P.K. Hooker Dan O'Connell John Cucci	Nominated
Golden Trailer Awards	Best Animation/Family		Nominated
Huabiao Awards	Outstanding Translated Film		Won
National Movie Awards	Best Family Film		Nominated
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie	Jack Black	Won
	Favorite Animated Movie		Nominated
Online Film Critics Society	Best Animated Film		Nominated
Producers Guild of America	Animated Motion Picture	Melissa Cobb	Nominated
People's Choice Award	Favorite Family Movie		Nominated
Teen Choice Awards	Choice Summer Movie: Comedy		Nominated
Visual Effects Society	Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture	Jack Black Dan Wagner Nico Marlet Peter Farson	Nominated
	Outstanding Animation in an Animated Motion Picture	Markus Manninen Dan Wagner Alex Parkinson Raymond Zibach	Nominated
	Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Motion Picture	Markus Manninen Alex Parkinson Amaury Aubel Li-Ming "Lawrence" Lee	Nominated

SoundtrackEdit

Main article: Kung Fu Panda (soundtrack)

As with most of DreamWorks' animated films, composer Hans Zimmer scored the film. Zimmer visited China in order to absorb the culture and got to know the Chinese National Symphony as part of his preparation; in addition, Timbaland also contributed to the soundtrack.^[46] The soundtrack also includes a partially rewritten version of the classic Carl Douglas song, "Kung Fu Fighting", performed by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black for the end credits. Furthermore, in some versions, the ending credit was sung by Rain.

Although Zimmer was originally announced as the main composer of the film, during a test screening, CEO of DreamWorks Animation SKG Jeffrey Katzenberg announced that composer John Powell would also be contributing to the score. This marked the first collaboration in eight years for the two, who had previously worked together on DreamWorks' The Road to El Dorado and the action thriller Chill Factor. A soundtrack album was released by Interscope Records on June 3rd, 2008.^[47]

SequelEdit

Main article: Kung Fu Panda 2

A sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, was released on Thursday May 26th, 2011,^[48] to good reviews (Rotten Tomatoes rating of 83%). It was released in 3-D and was directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson (who directed the 2-D opening sequence of the first Kung Fu Panda) with the original cast returning.^[49] The story features a new villain with a mysterious weapon so powerful it threatens the very existence of Kung Fu, and Po must additionally confront his past.^[50]

According to DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, there are more Kung Fu Panda sequels planned, with a possibility of six films total.^[51] Additionally, Katzenberg and Han Sanping (president of the China Film Group) have reportedly talked about Kung Fu Panda sequels "all the way up to No. 9". ^[52]

Video gameEdit

Main article: Kung Fu Panda: The Game

A video game adaptation of the film was developed and published by Activision on June 3rd, 2008.^[53] The game follows the same basic plot as the film, but with Tai Lung portrayed as the leader of various gangs that surround the Valley of Peace, which Po, who possesses some basic martial art skills which can be upgraded as the game progresses, must defeat. The game was released on Microsoft Windows, as well as multiple consoles. However the Windows version has been discontinued.

The game received mostly positive reviews; it scored a Metacritic rating of 76% from critics^[54] and a 7.5 out of 10 from IGN.^[55] In 2009, it won the International Animated Film Society's Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game "in recognition of creative excellence in the art of animation."^[56]

MangaEdit

A manga based on the film has been released in Japan in Kerokero Ace magazine's September 2008 issue.^[57] It is written by Hanten Okuma and illustrated by Takafumi Adachi.^[58] In the manga, a new character named Jun is introduced.^[source?]

Television seriesEdit

Main article: Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness

A television series in development for Nickelodeon titled Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness is set to premiere sometime in the fall of 2011. This will be Nickelodeon's second DreamWorks deal, the first being The Penguins of Madagascar.^[59][60] A total of 52 episodes have been ordered; an initial order of 26 followed by an additional 26 ordered in April 2011 according to Brown Johnson, president for animation of Nickelodeon.^[61] Several finished and unfinished scenes were shown at both the 2010^[62] and 2011 San Diego Comic Con.

Holiday specialEdit

This section is a stub. You can help the Kung Fu Panda Wiki by expanding it!

Main article: Kung Fu Panda Holiday

The Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special was aired on NBC Wednesday, November 24th, 2010.^[63]

Live entertainmentEdit

This section is a stub. You can help the Kung Fu Panda Wiki by expanding it!

Main article: Kung Fu Panda Live

Coming soon!

TriviaEdit

GeneralEdit

• Much of the film's cast are members of presently endangered species: this includes the Giant Panda (Po), Red Panda (Shifu), South China Tiger (Tigress), Golden snub-nosed monkey (Monkey), Snow Leopard (Tai Lung), and Javan Rhinoceros (Vachir).
• The moment in the film where Po straps fireworks to a chair to see the tournament resembles a real Chinese legend about a minor official in the Ming dynasty, who did the same thing trying to fly to the moon.^[64]
• According to director John Stevenson, all of the animal characters in Kung Fu Panda are vegetarian. There are no carnivores.^[65]
• The film is DreamWorks first computer-animated film that isn't a pop-culture comedy or spoof.

In developmentEdit

• Facts on Kung Fu Panda were given by DreamWorks and were collectively put together by HP, viewable from this document.
• It had originally been rumored that John Goodman would be on the cast for Kung Fu Panda. It is unknown whether this was speculation, or if he had originally been cast for a character that was later dropped.^[source?]
• According to the directors, there was a "color language" used throughout the film with certain colors symbolizing certain meanings. This composed of red being a color for power, blue being an evil or negative color, green being the color for knowledge and wisdom, and gold being the color for heroism.
• The code title used during production for the film was "Daydreamer".^[66]
• The lady bunny who calls Po attractive in the film's dream sequence is voiced by Jack Black's wife, Tanya Haden.^[67]
• The two pigs who talk to Po on the palace stairs were voiced by Kyle Gass (the other half of Jack Black's band Tenacious D) and J.R. Reed (from Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny). The characters were referred to as the Shaw Brothers, a homage to the Shaw Brothers Studio, which created many Kung Fu movies of the 1970s.^[66]

In popular cultureEdit

• Po debuted at the Thanksgiving Parade on CBS as a helium balloon in 2010.
• In December 2010, Po appeared on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines along with some of the characters from Shrek and Madagascar.
• Baseball player Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants is nicknamed "Kung Fu Panda".^[68]
• A scene from the film was parodied in the 2008 video game Sonic Unleashed. In the game, there is an extra unlockable movie that features Sonic the Hedgehog and Chip in Chun-Nan fighting over one of Lin's meat buns, similar to Po and Shifu's sparring game over a dumpling.
• At one point in Lil Wayne's song "Sweet Dreams", the lyrics say, "I am the kung fu panda."

GalleryEdit

ImagesEdit

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TrailersEdit

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ClipsEdit

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Behind-the-scenesEdit

More behind-the-scenes...

InterviewsEdit

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For more Kung Fu Panda videos, check out Wikia's video library!

See alsoEdit

• Film transcript
• Kung Fu Panda franchise

ReferencesEdit

External LinksEdit

• Official site (current)
• Official site (older version)
• Kung Fu Panda on Facebook
• Kung Fu Panda at the Internet Movie Database
• Kung Fu Panda production notes on MadeInAtlantis.com

Kung Fu Panda franchise
Media Feature films Kung Fu Panda  •  Kung Fu Panda 2 Shorts / Specials Secrets of the Furious Five  •  Kung Fu Panda Holiday  •  Secrets of the Masters TV Series Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness Video games Kung Fu Panda: The Game  •  Legendary Warriors  •  Kung Fu Panda 2: The Game Books The Art of Kung Fu Panda  •  The Art of Kung Fu Panda II  •  Art of Balance  •  Kung Fu Panda Comic #1  •  Kung Fu Panda Comic #2  •  Kung Fu Panda Comic #3  •  Kung Fu Panda Comic #4
Characters Main Characters Po  •  Master Shifu  •  Tai Lung  •  Master Oogway Furious Five Master Tigress  •  Master Crane  •  Master Monkey  •  Master Viper  •  Master Mantis Other Characters Mr. Ping  •  Zeng  •  Commander Vachir
Cast Main Characters Jack Black  •  Dustin Hoffman  •  Ian McShane  •  Randall Duk Kim Furious Five Angelina Jolie  •  David Cross  •  Jackie Chan  •  Lucy Liu  •  Seth Rogen Other Characters James Hong  •  Dan Fogler  •  Michael Clarke Duncan

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  5 messages
  • 
    Shifu.viv
    sound cool 2013-05-31T09:01:18Z
  • 
    Gari777
    I can not wait for it! :) 2013-06-01T10:49:26Z

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