Kung Fu Panda (film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kung Fu Panda |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Stevenson Mark Osborne |
| Produced by | Melissa Cobb |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Music by |
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| Editing by | Clare Knight |
| Studio | DreamWorks Animation |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | May 15, 2008 (Cannes Film Festival) June 6, 2008 (United States) |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $130 million |
| Money made | $631.7 million |
Kung Fu Panda is a super fun computer-animated movie that came out in 2008. It's an action-comedy made by DreamWorks Animation and released by Paramount Pictures. This film is the very first one in the popular Kung Fu Panda series!
The movie was directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne. Many famous actors lent their voices to the characters, including Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Dan Fogler, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Jackie Chan.
Kung Fu Panda takes place in an ancient China where animals act like people. The story is about a clumsy panda named Po. He loves kung fu more than anything! But then, a mean kung fu fighter named Tai Lung is expected to break out of prison. Suddenly, Po is chosen by accident to be the "Dragon Warrior." This special warrior is meant to defeat Tai Lung.
The idea for the movie started with a DreamWorks executive named Michael Lachance. At first, it was going to be a funny spoof of martial arts movies. But the directors decided to make it an action-comedy that also tells a classic "hero's journey" story. This means the main character, Po, goes on an adventure and changes a lot. The computer animation in the movie was very detailed and new for DreamWorks at the time. The music was created by Hans Zimmer and John Powell. Hans Zimmer even visited China to learn about the culture and music for the film.
Kung Fu Panda first showed in the United States on June 6, 2008. People loved the movie right away! It earned a lot of money, making $20.3 million on its first day and $60.2 million on its first weekend. It became the number one movie at the box office. Kung Fu Panda was DreamWorks' biggest opening for a movie that wasn't a sequel. It was also the highest-earning animated movie in the world that year. Because it was so successful, more movies and shows were made, starting with Kung Fu Panda 2 in 2011.
Contents
The Story of Po's Adventure
In a beautiful place called the Valley of Peace, which is in Ancient China, animals live and act like humans. Here, Po is a huge fan of kung fu. He looks up to the Furious Five: Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Viper, and Mantis. These are amazing kung fu masters trained by Master Shifu. But Po can't follow his dream because he has to help his adoptive dad, Mr. Ping, at their noodle restaurant.
One day, Grand Master Oogway, who taught Shifu, has a vision. He sees that Shifu's old student, the evil Tai Lung, will escape from prison. Oogway predicts that Tai Lung will come back to the valley. He wants revenge for not getting the Dragon Scroll, which is said to hold amazing power. Shifu gets worried and sends his messenger, Zeng the goose, to tell the prison to be more careful.
Then, Shifu holds a big tournament for the Furious Five. Oogway will choose the Dragon Warrior, the one master who deserves the Dragon Scroll. Po arrives too late to join the tournament. He really wants to see the Dragon Warrior, so he ties himself to fireworks and shoots himself into the arena! He crashes right in front of Oogway as Oogway points to the chosen warrior. Everyone is shocked when Oogway announces that Po is the Dragon Warrior!
Shifu thinks Oogway made a mistake. He tries to make Po quit with really tough training. The Furious Five also make fun of Po, saying he's just a fan and can't do martial arts. Po almost gives up, but Oogway encourages him. Po keeps going with his training. He slowly becomes friends with the Furious Five because he's so determined, he's a great cook, and he's funny. During this time, Po learns that Shifu acts cold because he feels bad about Tai Lung's betrayal. Shifu had raised Tai Lung since he was a baby.
Meanwhile, Tai Lung escapes from prison using one of Zeng's feathers to pick the locks. Zeng tells Shifu that Tai Lung is free. Oogway makes Shifu promise to believe in Po. Then, Oogway peacefully disappears into the sky in a beautiful stream of peach blossoms. Po still can't do basic kung fu and feels hopeless about fighting Tai Lung. Tigress overhears him and leaves to stop Tai Lung herself. The rest of the Furious Five join her.
But Shifu then discovers something amazing: Po can do incredible physical things when he's motivated by food! Shifu uses food to help Po learn. He successfully trains Po by adding these food-motivated moves into a new and special kung fu style.
Meanwhile, the Furious Five return. Tai Lung defeated them using his nerve strikes. Shifu decides Po is ready for the Dragon Scroll. But the scroll is blank! It only shows a reflection. Thinking the scroll is useless, Shifu tells Po and the Five to leave the valley while he faces Tai Lung. As Tai Lung arrives and fights Shifu, a sad Po finds Mr. Ping. To cheer Po up, Mr. Ping tells him the secret to his famous "secret ingredient soup" is "nothing." He explains that things are special when you believe they are. Po suddenly understands: this is the message of the Dragon Scroll! (It reflected him, showing the power was within him). Po goes back to fight Tai Lung.
Po proves to be a very tough opponent for Tai Lung. He confuses Tai Lung with his strange fighting moves. Also, Po's large body helps him a lot! He can take a lot of hits and Tai Lung's nerve strikes don't work on him. Tai Lung briefly beats Po and gets the scroll, but he can't understand it. He keeps attacking Po. Finally, Po defeats Tai Lung using the mysterious Wuxi Finger Hold. The Valley of Peace cheers for Po. The Furious Five now truly respect him as a real kung fu master. And Shifu finally finds peace.
Meet the Voice Cast
- Jack Black as Po, an excited but clumsy giant panda who loves kung fu.
- Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu, an old and strict red panda who teaches the Furious Five and Po.
- The Furious Five:
- Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress, a strong and tough South China tiger who leads the Furious Five.
- Seth Rogen as Master Mantis, a funny Chinese mantis.
- Lucy Liu as Master Viper, a kind and sweet green tree viper.
- David Cross as Master Crane, a smart and sometimes sarcastic red-crowned crane.
- Jackie Chan as Master Monkey, a relaxed golden snub-nosed monkey.
- Ian McShane as Tai Lung, a proud and mean snow leopard. He used to be Shifu's student and adopted son.
- Riley Osborne voices a younger version of Tai Lung.
- James Hong as Mr. Ping, Po's adoptive dad. He's a happy Chinese goose who owns a noodle restaurant.
- Randall Duk Kim as Grand Master Oogway, a very old Galápagos tortoise and Shifu's teacher.
- Dan Fogler as Zeng, a shy Chinese goose who works as Shifu's messenger.
- Michael Clarke Duncan as Commander Vachir, a proud Javan rhinoceros who is the boss of Chorh-Gom Prison, where Tai Lung was kept.
What Happened Next: The Sequel
The next movie, Kung Fu Panda 2, came out on May 26, 2011. It was released in 3-D! Jennifer Yuh Nelson directed it, and the original voice actors came back. In this story, Po faces a new bad guy with a powerful weapon that could destroy kung fu. Po also has to learn more about his own past.
Books About the Movie
- 2008: Susan Korman: Kung Fu Panda - The Junior Novel (a book based on the movie), HarperFestival, ISBN: 978-0-0614-3463-1
Disagreements About the Movie's Idea
After the movie came out, there were a couple of disagreements about who first thought of the idea for Kung Fu Panda.
In 2011, a writer named Terence Dunn said that DreamWorks Animation had taken his idea for a "spiritual kung-fu fighting panda bear." He said he sent his idea to a DreamWorks executive in 2001. DreamWorks Animation said they didn't do anything wrong. After a short trial, the jury decided that DreamWorks was right.
Also in 2011, an artist named Jayme Gordon brought another case against the studio. Gordon said he had created characters called "Kung Fu Panda Power" and registered them in 2000. He claimed he showed his ideas to Disney when Jeffrey Katzenberg, who later started DreamWorks Animation, worked there. Gordon eventually dropped his claim right before the trial was supposed to start. Later, in 2015, Jayme Gordon was charged with making up and changing drawings to support his claims. He was also accused of tracing some of his drawings from a Lion King coloring book. In 2016, Gordon was found guilty of these charges. In 2017, he was sentenced to two years in prison and had to pay $3 million.
See also
In Spanish: Kung Fu Panda para niños
