Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda is a media franchise by DreamWorks Animation, consisting of three films: Kung Fu Panda (2008), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016). The first two were distributed by Paramount Pictures, while the third film was distributed by 20th Century Fox. Three shorts, Secrets of the Furious Five (2008), Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special (2010) and Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters (2011), were also released. A television series for Nickelodeon television network, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, premiered in 2011. A second series, Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, was released on Amazon Prime in November 2018.
Kung Fu Panda | |
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Created by | Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris |
Owned by | DreamWorks Animation (Universal Pictures) |
Films and television | |
Film(s) |
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Short film(s) | |
Animated series | |
Theatrical presentations | |
Play(s) | |
Games | |
Video game(s) |
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Audio | |
Soundtrack(s) | |
Official website | |
www |
The franchise, set in a fantasy wuxia genre version of ancient China populated by anthropomorphic animals, features the adventures of Po Ping, a giant panda, who was improbably chosen as the prophesied Dragon Warrior. Although his status is initially doubted, Po proves himself worthy as he strives to fulfill his destiny and learn about his past with his new friends.
The film series has been highly acclaimed with its first two features being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as well as numerous Annie Awards while the television series has won 11 Emmy Awards. The first three films were the most financially successful animated feature film for their years[1] and the second is the second biggest worldwide box office success for a film directed solely by a woman (Jennifer Yuh Nelson), after Wonder Woman.
Film series
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Po, a clumsy panda, is a kung fu fanatic who lives in the Valley of Peace and works in his goose father Mr. Ping's noodle shop, unable to realize his dream of learning kung fu. One day, a kung fu tournament is held for the elderly spiritual leader of the valley, Grand Master Oogway, to determine the identity of the Dragon Warrior, the one kung fu master capable of understanding the secret of the Dragon Scroll, which is said to contain the key to limitless power. Everyone in the valley expects the Dragon Warrior to be one of the Furious Five—Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane—a quintet of kung fu warriors trained by Master Shifu to protect the valley. To everyone's surprise, Oogway chooses Po, who had accidentally stumbled into the tournament arena after arriving late via fireworks explosion.
Refusing to believe that Po can be the Dragon Warrior, Shifu subjects Po to torturous training exercises in order to discourage him into quitting. Determined to change himself into someone he can respect, Po perseveres in his training and befriends the Furious Five, who had previously mocked Po for his lack of skill in kung fu. Po soon learns that Tai Lung is approaching the Valley, an evil kung fu warrior who has escaped from prison to take revenge for being denied the Dragon Scroll, and despairs he will be unable to defeat him. However, Shifu discovers that Po is capable of martial arts when motivated by food, and successfully trains him to learn kung fu. After his training is complete, Po is given the Dragon Scroll, which he discovers to be blank. However, Po realizes that the key to limitless power lies within himself, allowing him to defeat Tai Lung and restore peace to the valley.
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Po now lives his dream as a kung fu master and protects the Valley of Peace alongside the Furious Five. However, he is thrown into internal conflict when he begins having flashbacks of his mother and learns from Mr. Ping that he was adopted as an infant. Shortly after, Po and the Five are sent on a mission to stop the evil peacock Lord Shen from using a newly developed weapon, the cannon, to conquer all of China and destroy kung fu tradition. Po remains tormented by thoughts of being abandoned by his real parents until he is guided by a wise old soothsayer to embrace his past, and remembers that his parents risked their lives to save him from Shen, who had set out to exterminate all pandas after learning of a prophecy that he would be defeated by "a warrior of black-and-white". Po achieves inner peace, which allows him to destroy Shen's new weapon, defeat Shen, and accept Mr. Ping as his father. However, during the last scene of the movie, it shows Po's biological father realizing his son is alive.
Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
Shortly after the events of the second film, Shifu relinquishes his duties as master of the Jade Palace to Po, claiming that the next step of his own apprenticeship is to oversee the Furious Five's training. While struggling with this new responsibility, Po rejoices upon reuniting with his biological father, Li, though Mr. Ping is less enthusiastic. However, news arrives that the spirit warrior General Kai has returned to the mortal realm and is 'collecting' Kung Fu masters from all over China, both living and dead, to serve in his army of Jade Zombies. Po and the others discover from a scroll left by Oogway that Kai can only be defeated by the power of Chi, a technique known only by the panda colonies; thus, Po and Li set to the secret Panda Valley in order to have Po learn it. Po eventually discovers, to his horror, that Li had deceived him, because the pandas have long forgotten about how to manipulate the Chi, and he just wanted to protect his son from Kai. Once making amends with both his adoptive and biological fathers, Po joins forces with Ping, Tigress, and the pandas to make a stand against Kai, all mastering the power of Chi in the process and using its power to destroy him for good. After returning to the Valley of Peace, Po spends his days spreading the teachings of Kung fu and Chi.
Future
DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg has said that it is possible that the series could see three more sequels after Kung Fu Panda 3, bringing it to a six-film series.[2]
On January 13, 2016, Collider asked the filmmakers of Kung Fu Panda 3 about the possibility of a fourth film.[3] Co-director Jennifer Yuh Nelson said, "It’s one at a time. We want to make this a perfect jewel, and then we’ll see what happens after that."[3] Co-director Alessandro Carloni said, "With the sequels, we don’t want to try to have them feel open-ended. We want it to feel like a completed journey, and we feel this movie does. And then, if a fantastic story presents itself, great."[3]
Television series
Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||||
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First released | Last released | Network | |||||
Legends of Awesomeness | 1 | 26 | September 19, 2011 | April 5, 2012 | Nickelodeon | ||
2 | 26 | April 6, 2012 | June 21, 2013 | ||||
3 | 28 | 18 | June 24, 2013 | June 22, 2014 | |||
10 | February 15, 2016 | June 29, 2016 | Nicktoons | ||||
The Paws of Destiny | 1 | 26 | 13 | November 16, 2018 | Prime Video | ||
13 | July 4, 2019 |
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness is an animated television series based on the Kung Fu Panda film series, set between the first two films. The show was originally intended to premiere in 2010, but it was delayed and officially launched on Nickelodeon on November 7, 2011. Of the series's voice cast, only Lucy Liu, Randall Duk Kim, and James Hong reprise their roles from the films as Viper, Oogway, and Mr. Ping, respectively. The first season, consisting of 26 episodes, ended on April 5, 2012. The second season aired from April 6, 2012 to June 21, 2013 and also consisted of 26 episodes. A third season began airing June 24, 2013 consisting of 28 episodes.
Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny
A 2018 Amazon Prime series.[4] The series follows Po on a fresh adventure, featuring four young pandas who happen upon a mystical cave beneath the Panda Village - and accidentally absorb the chi of the ancient and powerful Kung Fu warriors known as the Four Constellations. The four friends realize that they now have a new destiny - to save the world from an impending evil with their newfound Kung Fu powers. They are aided along their journey by Po, who finds himself faced with his biggest challenge yet — teaching this ragtag band of kids how to wield their strange abilities.
Short films
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five (2008)
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five is an animated short film that serves as a semi-sequel (or spin-off) to Kung Fu Panda and appears on a companion disc of the original film's deluxe DVD release. It was later broadcast on NBC on February 26, 2009, and is available as a separate DVD as of March 24, 2009. The film has a framing story of Po (in computer animation), telling the stories of his comrades in arms, the Furious Five, which are depicted in 2D cel animation.
Kung Fu Panda Holiday (2010)
Kung Fu Panda Holiday (also known as Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special) is a 2010 television special that premiered on NBC on November 24, 2010. It tells a story of Po, who is assigned to host the annual Winter Feast by Master Shifu, despite his wishes to spend the holiday with Mr. Ping.
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters (2011)
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters is an animated short film released on December 13, 2011, as a special feature attached to the Kung Fu Panda 2 DVD and Blu-ray. It tells the backgrounds of the masters of Gongmen City: Thundering Rhino, Storming Ox, and Croc.[5]
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll (2016)
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll is an animated short film officially released as a bonus feature in the Kung Fu Panda: Ultimate Edition of Awesomeness Blu-ray pack in January 2016.[6] Secrets of the Scroll details the forming of the Furious Five, and their first fight together against a common enemy. Unlike previous Kung Fu Panda short films, Secrets of the Scroll has yet to be released on its own DVD or Blu-ray.
Releases
Box office performance
The films series grossed over $1.8 billion making the Kung Fu Panda franchise the tenth highest-grossing animated franchise and the third highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation's franchise behind Shrek and Madagascar.
Film | Release date | Box office | Rank | Budget (millions) | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opening weekend North America |
North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America |
All time worldwide | ||||
Kung Fu Panda | June 6, 2008 | $60,239,130 | $215,434,591 | $416,309,969 | $631,744,560 | #143 | #99 | $130 | [8] |
Kung Fu Panda 2 | May 26, 2011 | $47,656,302 | $165,249,063 | $500,443,218 | $665,692,281 | #253 | #92 | $150 | [9] |
Kung Fu Panda 3 | January 29, 2016 | $41,282,042 | $143,528,619 | $377,642,206 | $521,170,825 | #330 | #149 | $145 | [10] |
Total | $149,177,474 | $524,090,146 | $1,291,869,283 | $1,817,258,332 | $425 | [11][12] |
Critical and public reception
Each Kung Fu Panda film has received highly positive reviews, with critics often praising the animation, voice acting, and character development.
Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
---|---|---|---|
Kung Fu Panda | 87% (187 reviews)[13] | 75 (33 reviews)[14] | A-[15] |
Kung Fu Panda 2 | 81% (180 reviews)[16] | 72 (31 reviews)[17] | A[15] |
Kung Fu Panda 3 | 87% (176 reviews)[18] | 71 (34 reviews)[19] | A[15] |
Awards
Award | Category | Kung Fu Panda[20][21][22] | Kung Fu Panda 2[23][24][25] | Kung Fu Panda 3[26] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards | Best Animated Feature | Nominated | Nominated | |
Annie Awards | Best Animated Feature | Won | Nominated | Nominated |
Cast and characters
Characters | Theatrical films | Short films | Television special | Television series | |||||||||
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Kung Fu Panda | Kung Fu Panda 2 | Kung Fu Panda 3 | Secrets of the Furious Five | Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters |
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll |
Panda Paws | Kung Fu Panda Holiday | Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness |
Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny | ||||
Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | |||||||||||
Po | Jack Black | Jack Black | Mick Wingert | ||||||||||
Master Shifu | Dustin Hoffman | Dustin Hoffman | Fred Tatasciore | ||||||||||
Tigress | Angelina Jolie | Tara Strong | Angelina Jolie | Kari Wahlgren | Angelina Jolie | Kari Wahlgren | |||||||
Tara Marci (y) | |||||||||||||
Mantis | Seth Rogen | Max Koch | Seth Rogen | Seth Rogen | Max Koch | ||||||||
Monkey | Jackie Chan | Jaycee Chan | James Sie | Jackie Chan | James Sie | ||||||||
Viper | Lucy Liu | Jessica DiCicco | Lucy Liu | Lucy Liu | |||||||||
Crane | David Cross | David Cross | David Cross | Amir Talai | |||||||||
Mr. Ping | James Hong | James Hong | James Hong | ||||||||||
Oogway | Randall Duk Kim | Flashback | Randall Duk Kim | Randall Duk Kim | Piotr Michael | ||||||||
Tai Lung | Ian McShane | Silent cameo | Ian McShane (c) | Flashback | André Sogliuzzo (c) | ||||||||
Riley Osborne (y) | |||||||||||||
Zeng | Dan Fogler | Dan Fogler | Mick Wingert | Mick Wingert | |||||||||
Commander Vachir | Michael Clarke Duncan | ||||||||||||
Lord Shen | Gary Oldman | Flashback | |||||||||||
Soothsayer | Michelle Yeoh | ||||||||||||
Wolf Boss | Danny McBride | ||||||||||||
Storming Ox | Dennis Haysbert | Dennis Haysbert | |||||||||||
Croc | Jean-Claude Van Damme | Tony Leondis | |||||||||||
Thundering Rhino | Victor Garber | Paul Scheer | |||||||||||
Li Shan | Fred Tatasciore | Bryan Cranston | Christopher Swindle | ||||||||||
Kai | J. K. Simmons | ||||||||||||
Mei Mei | Kate Hudson | Kate Hudson | Chrissy Metz | ||||||||||
Bao | Steele Gangon | Steele Gangon | Gunnar Sizemore | ||||||||||
Lei Lei | Liam Knight | ||||||||||||
Grandma Panda | Barbara Dirickson | Barbara Dirickson | Amy Hill | ||||||||||
Sum | Al Roker | ||||||||||||
Dim | Willie Geist | ||||||||||||
Wo Hop | Jack McBrayer | ||||||||||||
Master Rhino | Jonathan Groff | ||||||||||||
Fung | John DiMaggio | ||||||||||||
Hundun | Diedrich Bader | ||||||||||||
Taotie | Wallace Shawn | ||||||||||||
Bian Zao | Simon Helberg | ||||||||||||
Fenghuang | Wendie Malick | ||||||||||||
Junjie | Stephen Root | ||||||||||||
Temutai | Kevin Michael Richardson | ||||||||||||
Bao | Fred Tatasciore | ||||||||||||
Peng | Danny Cooksey | ||||||||||||
Chao | James Sie | ||||||||||||
Jong Sung Jai Kai Chow | Wayne Knight | ||||||||||||
Scorpion | Lynn Milgrim | ||||||||||||
Lidong | Jim Cummings | ||||||||||||
Hu | Neil Ross |
- A dark gray cell indicates the character does not appear in the film, special, or TV series.
- *(y) indicates the actor portrayed the role in a flashback scene when the character was younger.
- *(c) indicates a cameo appearance.
Crew
Role | Film | ||
---|---|---|---|
Kung Fu Panda | Kung Fu Panda 2 | Kung Fu Panda 3 | |
2008 | 2011 | 2016 | |
Director(s) | John Stevenson and Mark Osborne | Jennifer Yuh Nelson | Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni |
Producer | Melissa Cobb | ||
Writer(s) | Screenplay by: Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger Story by: Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris |
Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger | |
Composer(s) | Hans Zimmer and John Powell | Hans Zimmer | |
Editor | Clare Knight | ||
Distributor | Paramount Pictures | 20th Century Fox |
Video games
- Kung Fu Panda is a video game loosely based on the first film, released by Activision in June 2008 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360.
- Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors is a sequel to the video game Kung Fu Panda. It was published by Activision on November 5 and December 5, 2008 for the Nintendo DS and Wii, respectively.
- Kung Fu Panda World is a virtual world online game released on April 12, 2010.
- Kung Fu Panda 2 is a video game that takes place after the events of the second film. It was developed and published by THQ on May 23, 2011, for Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360.
- Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends is a fighting game developed by Vicious Cycle Software and published by Little Orbit. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U on December 1, 2015.[27]
Arena show
Directed by international entertainment director, Franco Dragone—best known for Le Rêve and House of Dancing Waters—Kung Fu Panda: Arena Spectacular is an in-progress live arena show, featuring characters from the Kung Fu Panda. Combining circus and Chinese acrobatics as well as arena show effects, the production was supposed to be released around the same time of Kung Fu Panda 2.[28] After a multi city casting tour in 2010,[29] the production went behind closed doors until late 2011 when a new set of audition dates were announced for the following year.[30] However, shortly before the announced January 2012 auditions, it was announced that both Franco Dragone and DreamWorks had decided to postpone the live show's opening date, canceling all auditions.[31] No further announcements have been made since.
Attractions
A themed area Po's Kung Fu Garden was opened in 2012 at DreamWorks Experience, one of the themed lands at the Australian theme park Dreamworld. As of 2012 Po's Kung Fu Garden consists only of a small area featuring a Po photo opportunity. In late 2012, additional rides and attractions were added to the area.
A multi-sensory attraction, based on Kung Fu Panda, opened on June 15, 2018 at Universal Studios Hollywood.[32]
A Kung Fu Panda-themed children's play area opened at DreamWorks Water Park on October 1 2020.[33]
See also
References
- "2011 WORLDWIDE GROSSES". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
- O'Hara, Helen (December 3, 2010). "Katzenberg Talks DreamWorks Sequels". Empire. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
- Radish, Christina (January 13, 2016). "'Kung Fu Panda 3′: Directors, Producer on Shaping a Worthy Sequel and Po's Future". Collider. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
- https://deadline.com/2018/04/new-rocky-bullwinkle-kung-fu-panda-series-from-dreamworks-ani-tv-headed-to-amazon-1202362999/
- "The Hilarious Global Smash Hit Kung Fu Panda 2 Becomes the Most Awesome Holiday Gift Pack on Blu-Ray™ and DVD Tuesday, December 13th". DreamWorks Animation via PRNewswire. October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017VOHQSG/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687622&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00168OINK&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0RG1M3PBT3RTAAJJ4PXF
- "DreamWorks Animation's KUNG FU PANDA 3 Coming to Digital HD, Blu-ray & DVD" (Press release). Broadway World. April 19, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- "Kung Fu Panda (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
- "Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
- "Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- "Kung Fu Panda Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo.
- "Franchise Index". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- "Kung Fu Panda (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- "Kung Fu Panda (2008)". Metacritic. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- "Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- "Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)". Metacritic. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- "Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- "Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)". Metacritic. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
- "The 81st Academy Awards (2009) Nominees and Winners". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. February 24, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
- Moody, Annemarie (January 22, 2009). "Oscar Nominations: Bolt, Kung Fu Panda and WALL-E Get Best Animated Feature Nods". Animation World Network. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- Debruge, Peter (January 30, 2009). "'Kung Fu Panda' rules Annie Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- "The 84th Academy Awards (2012) Nominees and Winners". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. February 27, 2011. Archived from the original on February 26, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
- Pon, Steve (December 5, 2011). "'Kung Fu Panda 2′ Tops Annie Award Nominations". The Wrap. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- Tapley, Kristopher (February 5, 2012). "'Rango' wins big at the 39th Annie Awards". HitFix. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- "44th Annie Award Nominees". International Animated Film Society. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
- Little Orbit (May 4, 2015). "Little Orbit Kicks Off Totally Epic Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends Video Game" (Press release). PRNewswire iReach. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
- DreamWorks Animation (May 19, 2009). "DreamWorks Animation and Franco Dragone Entertainment Group to Create 'Kung Fu Panda' Arena Show" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
- Kung Fu Panda Auditions (November 22, 2010). "AUDITIONS START NEXR SUNDAY IN ORLANDO!". Facebook. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- "KUNG FU PANDA LIVE AUDITIONS". inside Gymnastics. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- Kung Fu Panda Auditions (January 11, 2012). "Given the immense innovation..." Facebook. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
Given the immense innovation in development for “Kung Fu Panda Arena Spectacular,” DreamWorks Theatricals and the Franco Dragone Entertainment Group have made the difficult decision to delay the production’s launch date. It is the ambition of both companies to give the show the appropriate amount of time it needs to recognize its fullest creative potential. All auditions have been postponed indefinitely.
- "So long Shrek, hello Kung Fu Panda. Universal Studios to turn 4-D theater into DreamWorks showcase". Los Angeles Times. June 5, 2017.
- "New Jersey's American Dream Mall Will Reopen Oct. 1". NBC New York. Retrieved September 8, 2020.