2nd Kung Fu Panda Poster
DreamWorks Animation Movie Stars Jack Black, Angelina Jolie
Here's another poster for DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda, starring Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie and Jack Black. Movie bows June 6, 2008.
Perhaps, this writer is getting cynical (Cynical? Moi? Perish the thought!) but this poster for DreamWorks Animation's upcoming summer flick Kung Fu Panda just ain't doing it.
Being a fan of trashy chop-socky flicks (preferably with horrendous English overdubs), as well as more "serious" fare like Iron Monkey or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this movie's ode to martial arts has some great potential. Certainly the cast list for this thing is pretty impressive, with Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen and Michael Clarke Duncan joining Jack Black as the titular panda.
Kung Fu Panda: What's It About?
Here's the synopsis, lifted directly from the DreamWorks site: "In Kung Fu Panda, martial arts masters must turn gentle, lazy Po the Panda (voiced by Jack Black) into a Kung Fu fighter to save their valley when it is discovered that he bears the mark of a hero foretold in an ancient prophesy."
Unfortunately, the latest poster, coming to you directly from International Movie Poster Awards, is nothing to write home about. Okay, we have said panda in stylized martial arts pose with a wavy sunburst pattern emanating from his foot. Mix in some pagoda-style buildings in the back and a sienna-orange colour scheme and we're firmly in Ancient China. Enter bizarre monks with white Fu Manchu mustaches and people named Grasshopper. No need to telegraph it any more, Dreamworks. We're with you.
Poster Tagline Potential Movie Killer
What kills this poster is the tagline: "Prepare for Awesomeness." That line holds a whiff of "I really couldn't think of anything better" on the part of the graphics schmuck , mixed with a soupçcon of desperation (Gosh, I'm really crankin' out the ten-dollar words today!).
As much potential for martial arts mayhem that Kung Fu Panda has (check out Stephen Chow's Shaolin Socccer or Kung Fu Hustle for chop-socky comedy as its finest), the tagline makes one want to say, "Prepare for suckiness." And that would be a shame, considering this flick is still 8 months away.
You can do better than this, DreamWorks.
Kung Fu Panda opens June 6, 2008.
Fun Fact: Many people think that giant pandas are cute and docile animals. Though the first attitude is subject to interpretation, the second is definitely a myth. Giant Pandas have been known to attack humans, generally out of irritation rather than predatory behavior. Research shows that in cases in which its offspring may be under threat, the panda will react like most other animal mothers and become violent.
