Kung Fu Panda Site Up
DreamWorks Animation Movie Bows June 6, 2008
Here are the first stirrings for DreamWorks' non-sequel movie for 2008, Kung Fu Panda, to star Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie
(Source: www.kungfupanda.com)
Okay, wrong again (jeez, this is becoming a habit). Yesterday, I thought that DreamWorks Animation was going to follow their usual script and release their sequel flick for 2008 in the summer and bring out the original flick in mid-November. Since major studios tend to be a conservative bunch (and DreamWorks certainly loves them sequels!) that meant Kung Fu Panda, the original flick on DreamWorks' 2008 slate, would get that November release while Madagascar: The Crate Escape would brave the blockbuster season, going up against Pixar's WALL-E and all the other big-boom movies.
However, the clever buggers switched movies on me: Kung Fu Panda is coming out in June while Madagascar 2 braves the winds of November. Kung Fu Panda's website is active: right now it's just a placeholder, with just the poster showing off the various characters and the date it hits theatres. You can check it out by clicking the link above, or just here.
Here's the synopsis, lifted off the DreamWorks Animation website: "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."
These martial arts masters include Master Monkey (Jackie Chan, natch), Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), Master Viper (Lucy Liu), The Goose (Dan Fogler), and the villain of the piece, snow tiger Tai Lung (Ian McShane).
Seth Rogen (Knocked Up), David Cross (The Ben Stiller Show), Michael Cross Duncan (Sin City), James Hong (Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China!) and Randall Duk Kim (The Matrix Reloaded) have also been tapped to do voice work for this flick. John Stevenson and Mark Osbourne are directing from a script by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. Melissa Cobb produces.
This being DreamWorks Animation, the character artwork is top-notch and you can tell that the animators used elements of the actors while designing the characters they portray. Mega props for the fact that (a) there are no penguins, and (b) no distinctive green ogre anywhere near this flick.
Of course, I can't help but look at this flick and think, "I wonder if Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) is looking at this movie and wondering if he has grounds to sue?"
Fun Fact: Angelina Jolie performed the voice work for Kung Fu Panda while she was pregnant with her first child, Shiloh.
