Kung Fu Panda 3 Film Makers Presentation – ‘The Student Must Become the Teacher’
On Thursday 29th October 2015, DreamWorks presented a special preview screening of their latest instalment to the Kung Fu Panda franchise. I was lucky enough to be able to attend the event at the Soho Hotel in London – which included a welcome breakfast on arrival. After a lovely morning of coffee and canapés the time had come; the Kung Fu Panda 3 Film Makers presentation had begun.
Co-directors Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni kicked off the presentation with a synopsis of the plot. This was followed by a screening of the first twenty five minutes of the film and I must say DreamWorks have not dropped down a gear, in fact from both a technical and creative perspective they have refined their Kung Fu Panda universe into something much ‘more’. Now, I don’t want to give away the whole story and spoil the film for everyone, but what I can say is that Kung Fu Panda 3 is the logical next step from the previous film and throws our protagonist panda Po into a very new situation; which certainly freshens up the franchise nicely.
So, what has DreamWorks done to follow Kung Fu Panda 2 – the highest grossing animated film of 2011?
Most notably, the story develops in an exciting new direction. Looking back, the first film introduces Po as someone who feels out of place, stuck in a rut and working in a dead-end job at his adopted father’s (Mr. Ping’s) noodle shop, with a dream of aspiring to something greater – a Kung Fu warrior. By accident or fate, Po becomes the ‘Dragon Warrior’, learns Kung Fu (in his own way) and defeats the antagonist Tai Lung the tiger – and in turn saves the Valley of Peace. In the second film, Po and the Furious Five go about their duties protecting the Valley of Peace from any adversaries. While in combat, Po begins to have flashbacks of his early life with his true biological panda parents. At the end of the film, Po defeats Lord Shen the peacock overlord by achieving inner peace – one of the final teachings of the late Master ‘tortoise’ Oogway. Interestingly, from mastering inner peace, Po is able to recollect his past with clarity to further understand his origins – and this is where the third film comes in; where Po goes back to his roots to try to further understand who he is and where he fits into the world.
Following suit from the previous film, Kung Fu Panda 3 introduces a new antagonist threat, Kai ‘The Collector’ voiced acted by J. K. Simmons, who fits the character incredibly well. Kai is a Bull from the ‘spirit realm’ who sets out to steal the powers from every Kung Fu master he defeats; from which he forms into Jade statuette daemons; that he controls to do his bidding. Po has had some tough adversaries in the previous films. He defeated his first nemesis Tai Lung and dispatched the evil Shen (although it was touch and go at times), but Kai is something very different. Tai Lung had the fighting skills, Shen had the intellect, but Kai is on a whole other level – Kai is supernatural, an adversary completely alien to Po – and every other Kung Fu Master for that matter.
Also being introduced in this film is a new location in the Kung Fu Panda universe (which we see a glimpse of at the end of the second film), ‘The Secret Panda Village’. Po must travel to the village after reuniting with his biological father Li, voice acted by the incredible Bryan Cranston. Co-director Jennifer Yuh Nelson talked about the benefits Cranston brought to the production.
‘He is a great improviser’ she said and explained he was cast for his understanding of comedy and emotional depth, which were key qualities for the portrayal of Li. Po’s adopted father Mr. Ping comes along for the journey and has some great comedic exchanges with Li. It is great to see that voice actor James Hong continues to be on top form, bringing hilarious comedy in every line he delivers.
Here’s a bit of interesting trivia: During the production Hong would sometimes use his hand to act out his character’s actions while recording his lines over a video link; meaning that any voice actors present in the scene would have a talking hand to work off – that must have been a blast!
It is important to remember that until the third film, Po had not seen another Giant Panda since he was a baby (Master Shifu is a Red Panda) and so it’s quite interesting to see Po discover his new panda pals (including the new character Mei Mei who is hilarious – voice acted by Kate Hudson) in a place that is very alien to him – his own birthplace. It is here where Kung Fu Panda 3 throws everything on its head. Up until now, Po has been the fool in a serious world. In the Jade Palace, Shifu and The Furious Five were of stark contrast to Po’s peppy personality. But in the panda village he finds himself in the opposite situation to that of the Jade Palace; for the first time, surrounded by fools, he is for once – the straight guy. The Co-directors discussed their writing methods for the film. Throughout development they would often ask themselves “what would Po do in this situation” to help develop the narrative. In a story where Po is in a new place on a journey of self-discovery, a situation lead narrative opens up many new exciting developments for Po and puts the audience right alongside him – which makes for a more immersive audience experience.
On the subject of immersion, Kung Fu Panda 3 will be released in stereoscopic 3D and from the twenty five minutes I saw, the cinematography certainly lends very well to a 3D experience. Jennifer Yuh Nelson discussed some of the technical demands of the film; which have increased with every movie. Nelson explained that the film needed to provide the audience with an immersive 3D experience – which reinforces Po’s perception of his newly discovered world around him. Quite brilliantly, DreamWorks were able to construct an entire city as one complete model to use for all animated scenes of that city. Before the Kung Fu Panda films, due to limitations of technology, a city set would have to be divided into separate smaller scenes. However, by working from one complete fully detailed model or scene, the production team can literally select an area and animate; giving them the flexibility of a real live-action movie set.
One observation I made is that the characters all appear slightly fluffier. Although this was not confirmed in the filmmaker’s discussion, it is likely that the fur simulation has subtly improved since the second film, along with many other visual aspects – so it’s great to see from both creative and technical standpoints DreamWorks continue to refine their craft.
Without giving too much away, Kung Fu Panda 3 continues the trends of the previous films by including an opening 2D animated story sequence – this time in a graphic tapestry style. Although the technique is technically still CG that appears to be hand-drawn it is great to see 2D animation in animated feature films. A member of the audience asked the question,
‘Would DreamWorks make another 2D film like the Prince of Egypt?’
Co-director Alessandro Carloni explained that he would love to make a 2D animated film. The problem today is that the audience has become accustomed to seeing animated feature films that are CG, 3D and have a photo-realistic quality. As today’s audience demands ‘realism’, releasing a 2D film (whether CG or traditional) is potentially risky. Most importantly, Carloni reiterated,
‘Use whatever style is best for the story’; the key point that both directors made throughout the presentation: story is most important.
After the presentation I managed to have a chat with Nelson, Carloni and the producer Melissa Cobb. They were about to head off to Abbey Road Studios in London for their third day of music recording with legendary music composer Hans Zimmer. Fortunately, they were happy to talk for a while and as a music composer I was eager to find out about their progress. Quite interestingly, they told me that the twenty five minutes of the film showcased only featured rough music, which surprised me – the music was perfect already! I asked them about the working relationship between film maker and music composer and I was pleased to hear that their process is truly collaborative. Cobb explained that although Zimmer is scoring to the film, sometimes his music will inspire the directors to make changes to the film and so it’s very much a back and forth process. Nelson added that she heard a music cue yesterday and production was going well.
Stuntman Glen Stanway and Raj Khedum of Kung-Fu Kingdom joined the conversation and we discussed the film’s references to martial arts. It was great to hear that all combat sequences in the films authentically depict the techniques of Kung Fu– although I’m not sure about the ‘Wuxi Finger Hold’ from Kung Fu Panda 2.
When I asked the directors if we can expect another sequel, Carloni replied,
‘It’s important to focus on the current film before thinking of a sequel’. So will there be a Kung Fu Panda 4? I guess we will just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, Kung Fu Panda 3 hits UK cinemas in March, 2016 – and if you can, watch it in 3D.