FEEL-GOOD STORY. Top-shelf animation. An all-star production team. And a struggle to get it made.
After four-plus years in production, the journey for Kung Fu Panda has ended with an uplifting family film that has a good shot of attaining the �classic� branding that will serve it well for years to come. So it�s a good thing that Jack Black finally gave his OK to accept the lead voiceover role of panda Po. Otherwise producer Melissa Cobb would probably still be waiting to get the DreamWorks film completed. It opens in theatres today.
�He was the only person we could think of (for the Po role) but he said no a few times because he was busy or he wasn�t in a place (mindset) where he wanted to do it,� Cobb said at a press conference in Los Angeles. Joining Black in the voiceover cast are two-time Academy award winner Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan. Might be some box-office appeal there. After a full-out, last-ditch sales pitch by co-director John Stevenson, who showed Black an animation of the Po character speaking dialogue from his role in the School of Rock to bait Black, the chase for the star finally became the catch. Once committed, as Black explains it, there was little preparation or research to do because he says the role is essentially him in his real life: a little chubby, in awe of his heroes growing up and always dreaming of bigger things.
The story begins with Po wanting to leave his father�s noodle shop and somehow find a way to be a kung fu star, joining the ranks of his fighting heroes called the Furious Five. From that group must come the new Dragon Warrior who must have the goods to fend off the most menacing warrior in the land, snow leopard Tai Lung.
With determination, Po gets himself on track to be his own hero. With the engaging tug of war with his mentor, Master Shifu (Hoffman), the student and master learn a few things about each other and themselves. Under the direction of Stevenson and co-director Mark Osborne, the production had the mandate of honoring the martial arts genre and the Chinese culture.
There�s lots of humour, but parody got the boot. So did any pop culture references. �We did tons and tons of research,� said Osborne. �It was very important for us to honor the culture of kung fu.�
>> For Metro's review on Kung Fu Panda click here
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