Film School Rejects » Kung Fu Preview

Go Behind the Scenes with the Cast of Kung Fu Panda

Neil Miller — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:49:58 +0000

The fine folks at Dreamworks and Paramount have just sent us over a cornucopia of featurettes for their film Kung Fu Panda, which hit theaters on standard screens and IMAX all over the country today. In the clips, which can all be seen below, they introduce us one-by-one to the lovable characters of the film and the actors who lent their voices to bring the characters to life.

As for the film, it appears to be getting high marks from critics. In my own review, I called it a “beautifully animated, cleverly written, fun-filled adventure” and said that it is “the pleasant surprise of the year so far.” And I wasn’t kidding. As further proof, my comrade Kevin Carr said in his review that it was filled with “brilliant animation wrapped around a fun movie.” And you all know that it takes something really special to get the two of us in such agreement on any film.

Needless to say, you absolutely should check out the film. As an appetizer though, I would recommend the behind the scenes features below. We begin, of course, with the chubby Panda on the poster — Po, voiced by Jack Black:

Jack Black as “Po” the Panda

Dustin Hoffman as “Master Shifu”

Angelina Jolie as “Tigress”

Jackie Chan as “Monkey”

Lucy Lui as “Viper”

Seth Rogen as “Mantis”

David Cross as “Crane”

Ian McShane as “Tai Lung”

Also, as a special added bonus, the cameras caught up with “Po”, the star of Kung Fu Panda:

When Comedians Get Animated: Ten of the Best and Worst

Neil Miller — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:57:50 +0000

This weekend, comedic actor Jack Black makes his foray into the world of voice-over work in the CG animated film Kung Fu Panda. With the release, he becomes just the next in a long line of comedic talents, both stand-up and otherwise, to take the lead in a major animated film. And over the years, these animated leaps of faith have been met with mixed results, from great successes like Tim Allen in Toy Story to great disappointments such as Jerry Seinfeld with Bee Movie. So to give you some perspective on this ever-popular phenomenon and where it came from, I would like to walk you through some of the more notable comedic stars who have taken to voicing some very memorable characters. As well, I will take a look at whether or not their choices led to great success or epic failure.

Robin Williams as the Genie in Aladdin (1992)

This is probably one of the first times that a comedic actor not only made the jump into animation, but was recognized as the star of the show. Williams’ role as the Genie is to this day one of the most memorable characters in the entire Disney animation library, right up there with Baloo from The Jungle Book or the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella. Although, unlike those other helpful, guiding characters, the Genie had a more devious side. At least, that is how I remember him — from when I was 8 years old. Since Aladdin, Williams has gone on to voice a supporting character in Fox’s Robots, but nothing will ever live up to the Genie.

Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story (1995)

Sure he had that long running television show that was funny and he was coming off of the smash hit The Santa Clause in 1994, but Tim Allen could have never expected the amazing response that would come when he laid down the voice track for Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s Toy Story. Still highly regarded not only as one of the greatest animated films of all time, but one of the greatest achievments in film as well, Toy Story ushered in a new era of animation. As well, with the amazing balance between Allen and co-star Tom Hanks, it also ushered in the era of A-list stars making up animated ensembles. Allen would come back for Toy Story 2 in 1999, which took things up a notch, and will eventually return again for Toy Story 3 in 2010, not able to escape from under the shadow of Buzz Lightyear — then again, with success like that, who would want to?

Mike Myers as Shrek in Shrek (2001)

After the untimely death of Chris Farley put the project in danger midway through, Mike Myers stepped in to pick up the pieces and allow fledgling studio Dreamworks Animation to continue work on a medieval comedy about a big green Ogre named Shrek. And in 2001, Shrek was unleashed unto the world, never to look back at those tragic and humble beginnings. Since the first film, Shrek has spawned two — soon to be three — sequels and has grossed over $1 billion dollars at the box office, proving that no matter how annoying Mike Myers may be with that odd Scottish accent, people will still flock to see the tales of a big green, socially awkward ogre every time.

Ellen Degeneres as Dory in Finding Nemo (2003)

It is easy to say that comedienne Ellen Degeneres has found more success with her daytime talk show and her standup comedy specials than she has in film. But it goes without saying that hooking up with Pixar to voice Dory, the airheaded lead fish in Finding Nemo, was probably one of her best cinematic decisions. As Dory, Ellen provided some zany comic relief to go along with the dry, yet equally as funny persona of Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks). And while she may not have stood out as the star of the film, as Pixar’s animation team would once again not be overshadowed in their brilliance, she seemed to fit pretty well in a film that would turn out to be a mammoth hit.

Will Smith as Oscar in Shark Tale (2004)

Sure, Will Smith has done action (Bad Boys), big summer blockbusters (Independence Day) and serious Oscar-caliber stuf (Ali), but I will always remember him for his dedication to comedy, a well to which he returns quite often. From The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to Hitch, he has always been able to find a way to make comedies that are good, clean fun. And while his foray into animated stardom with Shark Tale was a box office success, bringing in over $300 million domestically, it could be pin-pointed as one of the lower points in his career, as it wasn’t a very good film at all. Filled with stars and light on story and impressive animation, Shark Tale was the wannabe Finding Nemo — and in that sense, Smith was the wannabe Ellen Degeneres, and that is not a very admirable position to be in.

Ben Stiller as Alex the Lion in Madagascar (2005)

Like many people who saw the 2005 release, I liked Madagascar — but it wasn’t really because of the presence of Ben Stiller. Sure, I have always enjoyed his brand of comedy — everything from Meet the Parents to Zoolander has been entertaining, but in Madagascar he seemed to be overshadowed by a group of covert penguins. In fact, the entire movie seemed to be overshadowed by said penguins and a crazy lemur that sounded nothing like Sacha Baron Cohen. So despite the fact that I enjoyed the film and it was a box office success, I don’t know if it was such a great success for Stiller. Although, he probably got a big check — so no worries, I guess.

Martin Lawrence as Boog the Bear in Open Season (2006)

Of course, there are more than a few movies on this list that prove that if you make a big budget animated film, it is bound to make money. With Open Season, Sony Pictures Animation churned out only $186 million worldwide, proving that Martin Lawrence and Aston Kutcher weren’t exactly Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. And aside from the lackluster casting, the film was just plain bad. As for Lawrence, he is better off putting on a fat suit and changing his voice into that of an old lady then he is lending his vocals to an animated bear.

Jerry Seinfeld as Barry B. Benson in Bee Movie (2007)

What’s the deal with all the honey? I will tell you what the deal is… it needs to be left alone, Seinfeld. Just because Steven Spielberg and the people at Dreamworks Animation think it is a good idea to make an animated movie that combines environmentalism with talking bees, that doesn’t make it a good idea! I will admit that there were a few flashes of brilliance in Bee Movie — as in, the Ray Liotta jokes — but other than that this was a serious waste. Seinfeld is probably one of the greatest comedic figures in the television history, but by making a movie like this, he was just sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong — in the honey.

Patton Oswalt as Remmy the Rat in Ratatouille (2007)

Patton Oswalt is the latest in a long line of mid-level stars who have found impressive success by teaming up with the magic-makers at Pixar. Like Disney in the 60s and 70s, Pixar is turning out timeless classics left and right. And by casting a chubby, often vulgar comedian as a food-loving rat, they seem to have once again struck gold. The real beauty in the success of this film — outside of the awe-inspiring animation — is the surprisingly perfect casting of Oswalt. I guess we just never saw it coming. But it worked, so who am I to complain.

Jack Black as Po in Kung Fu Panda (2008)

And finally we come to the man who inspired this little list, Jack Black. With Panda, Black is going to make everyone forget about that supporting role in Shark Tale and make them take notice of his star power. As well, this is one of the first films from Dreamworks Animation that has really stopped me dead in my tracks — the animation is gorgeous. As I have been saying all week, it is almost “Pixar Good”, and that is saying something. As well, there is something to be said about Jack Black’s restraint in the film. He appears to have had a lot of fun making a good film rather than just making a vanity piece. Hmm… That is a lesson that others on this list should have learned before making their own dives into the world of animation…

Sound Off: Which comedic actor do you think has made the best out of their time spent working with animated alter-egos?

Behold the Beautiful Animation of Kung Fu Panda in Photos!

Neil Miller — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:02:09 +0000

For the past few days I have been all gung-ho for the upcoming animated flick Kung Fu Panda. Why? Because I have seen it and I was thoroughly entertained by it, that’s why. That is why I didn’t start this little “Kung Fu Preview” until the middle of the week — it wasn’t something that was even planned until I fell in love with the film.

Either way, we are now well into the week and the release of Kung Fu Panda on Friday is getting closer and closer. And in order to get you ready, I have prepared a little gallery of photos that shows off some of the beautiful animation work from the team at Dreamworks Animation. Check those out below.

Kung Fu Panda stars Jack Black as Po, a lazy panda who gets to live out his dream of becoming a kung fu master, only to find out that he must defend his village from the evil leopard Tai Lung, voiced by Ian McShane. But with the help of Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and the furious five (voiced by Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and David Cross), Po will have to stand and fight… then sit and eat. The film hits theaters everywhere in standard and IMAX formats this Friday, June 6th.

Four Fun Video Clips from Kung Fu Panda!

Neil Miller — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:00:31 +0000

The Pandamonium continues this week here on FSR as we dominate our RSS feed with more preview materials for Dreamworks Animation’s upcoming film Kung Fu Panda, which stars Jack Black as the voice of Po, a lazy, noodle-making Panda who dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master. And when an aging tortoise picks him out as the chosen “Dragon Warrior”, he must learn the ways of Kung Fu and battle the evil Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane).

The rest of the supporting voice cast includes Seth Rogen as the Mantis, David Cross as the Crane, Lucy Lui as the Viper, Angelina Jolie as the Tigress and Dustin Hoffman as master Shifu, but the real star of the film is Dreamworks Animation’s team, who really breaks out with their performance. Dare I say, it is animation so good, I would have thought it came from another company whose name rhymes with ixar…

To get you all in the mood for Kung Fu, I have scored a few cool video clips from the film, which can be viewed below.

Kung Fu Panda hits theaters this Friday, June 6th. For more fun, be sure to check out our Exclusive Kung Fu Panda Giveaway!

Nothing is Impossible

Po with Punching Bag

The Dragon Warrior

Po Won’t Quit

Jack Black, CeeLo are ‘Kung Fu Fighting’

Neil Miller — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:20:52 +0000

All the rest of this week, I will be unleashing the fury of the Panda on your collective behinds, as we lead up to the release of the year’s first big animated release, Paramount’s Kung Fu Panda. In fact, stay tuned, as we’ve got all kinds of videos, images and maybe even an awesome Panda-sized giveaway for you later this week.

Having seen the movie this past weekend, I will say that Kung Fu Panda is going to, as Jack Black would say, “Blow your mind.” And though my review won’t be online until tomorrow, I will throw out a few spoilers: I have used phrases such as “Best of…” and “Pixar good…” Hopefully that helps you understand why I am so excited about this film.

Anyway, lets get to this preview, eh? First up is a familiar tune that goes with any Kung-Fu-y scenario: the classic “Kung Fu Fighting”. Originally made popular by Carl Douglas, the song has been covered for this film by CeeLo and Jack Black. Check it out below:

Kung Fu Panda is in both standard and IMAX theaters this Friday.

Film School Rejects » Kung Fu Preview

Go Behind the Scenes with the Cast of Kung Fu Panda

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When Comedians Get Animated: Ten of the Best and Worst

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Behold the Beautiful Animation of Kung Fu Panda in Photos!

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Four Fun Video Clips from Kung Fu Panda!

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Jack Black, CeeLo are ‘Kung Fu Fighting’

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