The Role Analysis of Kung Fu Panda

Story: It happened in ancient China a long time ago, starting with a giant panda who likes to roll ... It is said that Po the panda is an apprentice in a noodle restaurant. Although he is all thumbs and barely finds a job, Po doesn't think so. He daydreams every day, dreaming that one day he can compete with the stars in the kung fu world. Although Po's "Peace Valley" is a prosperous and peaceful scene, it is actually a treasure house of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, not to mention that all the five Kung Fu masters are here, and even a master lives in seclusion here. However, in a special competition, the winner will represent the "Peace Valley" to permanently expel the dragon, but after a series of mistakes, Po will choose among the birds.

The five kung fu masters in "the Valley of Peace" have different attitudes towards this dramatic result: the upright and upright tiger regarded Po as a veritable joke; The friendly, naughty but warm-hearted monkey king is an interesting thing to watch; Master crane is the most "maternal" of the five people, and he sympathizes with Po. Although the conceited master viper feels a little frivolous, her attitude towards this matter is just like her fickle personality, which is unclear; Master Mantis is the cleverest of several masters. He is very helpless about Po's present situation, always secretly helping ... Finally, a generation of grandmasters who want to turn Po into a "Kung Fu Master" made a magnificent appearance. However, good kung fu does not mean perfection. Because of a mistake he made in the past, the "master" has been entangled until now. At present, his task is to turn that weak Po who knows nothing but making noodles into a top fighter with enough martial arts to defeat a strong enemy. As for the dragon that makes everyone nervous, it is a very narcissistic snow leopard. He waited for revenge for 20 years, never dreaming that he was waiting for a giant panda.

March into Hollywood

Whether it's trying to get back Shrek, a green monster that human beings should have the right to, or Madagascar, a group of animals that have been unfortunately moved out of the zoo and are looking for their way home, DreamWorks Animation Department has been working hard to make this kind of animated story of "fools become heroes" that audiences of all ages like, because everyone has had similar experiences or similar dreams, and this kind of animated blockbuster mainly focuses on entertainment.

So, when you hear that one day a panda dreams of becoming a kung fu master, how will this story make you feel? Yes, it is a chubby, tired, dull and lovable black bear. Originally, his life should be a leisurely life with bamboo, but he has an unfinished dream in his heart, that is, to become an expert in the field of fighting art with agility, mental deterrence and light and rapid reflexes ... This is an awesome idea, and some people may call it "foolhardy". Director john Stevenson said, "I am the father of another director, mark osborne. I have two daughters, and Osborne has children of his own. So our original intention is very simple, that is, to make a work that can make children enjoy happiness and get education at the same time. The central spirit is "to be your own hero". The reason is quite simple, you can understand it as' judge a book by its cover'. While being yourself, don't pin your hopes on others. As long as you really put your heart into it, you can get everything you expect and try to present the best part of yourself. " Osborne went on to say, "From the beginning, this film was of great significance to Stephenson and me. The story theme created by Kung Fu Panda conveys a very positive message that we all want to believe, and then we try to enrich the theme with interesting experiences and funny and spectacular action scenes. "

For John Stevenson and Mark Osborne, with a good story, the next thing is much easier. Stephenson said, "Basically, we have made it clear that we want to move forward, but at the same time, we have to face a more important question, that is, what methods can we use to reach our expected destination? We really want to give this film an eternal theme, so we chose ancient China as the background of the story, but the content is not a specific product of that era, because great stories are not limited by time-we clearly know that what we want should be such a quality, a classic story about the growth of heroes. Of course, as an animated work, Kung Fu Panda must be a funny movie with both entertainment and humor, and it must also have a very cool action duel scene. However, our goal is not only to make a cheerful and bright film that usually appears in summer movies, but also to make a panda Po and his experience, plus other interesting characters and creative visual effects interspersed in the middle ... In fact, we have been trying to surpass that established film type.

Myth makes life.

In the process of deciding whether the story about a panda chasing a dream can provide entertainment atmosphere and inspirational information, directors john Stevenson and mark osborne intend to create a myth, especially when the film involves the creature "Panda", which sounds like a legendary story that happened in ancient China. Stephenson worked for jim henson as a series story painter and TV series illustrator, and later joined the animation department of DreamWorks. 1999. He said, "I have been directing an animated TV series" Proud Dad "released by DreamWorks, and I am preparing for the end of that season. At this time, DreamWorks asked me if I would like to make a feature film called Kung Fu Panda ... In the 1970s, when I was still growing up, Kung Fu movies were my favorite, including david carradine's Kung Fu series. I think this should be a very interesting challenge, so I answered without thinking: I do. "

John Stevenson said that in recent years, he has been looking for something new from the conventional talking animal movies. Some harmonious elements from the concept of Kung Fu Panda have been affecting his mood, because it reminds him of his inner anxiety almost 10 years ago, when he was nervously busy with an animation work of DreamWorks. At first, few people paid attention to it, but later it was recognized by the film industry because of its creativity-Shrek rewrote the history of animated films.

Before Shrek was officially released, a filmmaker named mark osborne created a very sensitive topic at major film festivals with the stop-motion animated short film More, which was nominated for the best animated short film at the Oscar, creating more opportunities for this talented film director. Osborne said, "One of the opportunities comes from DreamWorks. I came here as a director, looking for a film that suits me, and I worked hard for it for many years. I usually do housework, sometimes I write statements for movies, and sometimes I help others expand their stories when they are not sure what to do. Later, I heard the news of Kung Fu Panda. I really think this story is a good idea. I wrote a lot of notes for this film. Soon after, when DreamWorks decided to put it on the big screen, I joined in. At that time, we had the characters of the film, some unique venues and main story clues, but they were still uncertain about the direction to go. I really regard Kung Fu Panda as a springboard, which not only helped me enter the mainstream film industry, but also let me see the development speed of CGI technology for the first time. "

This immortal fairy tale circulated in Kung Fu Panda is naturally centered on the panda. For this reason, DreamWorks spent several years trying to find a benchmark for this film, but all the proposals could not satisfy all the participants ... Fortunately, with the enthusiastic help of the production team, the filmmakers finally dug up very rich resources hidden under the surface. In fact, it has reached an inexhaustible point. With such rich materials as the cornerstone, it is almost time to show some characteristics with stories.

Later, two screenwriters who were responsible for exploring the depth of the content joined in. They are jonathan aibel and Glenn Berger, and they are very good at telling stories. Abel said: "What I want to say is that they have mastered a very great theme before we refine the story. Berger and I spent a week giving them advice and helping them perfect everything: here. Is the role positioning correct? How to make some details become the focus of attention? So, our job is to make suggestions ... but later, the week's work became one month, then extended to three months, and finally became 19 months. We are really immersed in it, and our identity has changed from a consultant to a screenwriter. " Another screenwriter, Berger, has different concerns from Abel. He said: "The resources available for the story itself are too rich, even a little too much. There are many dazzling sparring scenes and many wonderful comedy moments-we are like pruning a forest with too many branches and leaves to find the core goal they have been aiming at. In such a beautiful world, coupled with many interesting characters, we naturally have the desire to create.

Because Kung Fu Panda is centered on the protagonist Po, the filmmakers were called several times just to discuss the direction in which the story should develop: Who is Po? What does he want? How does he get what he wants? What happened? How to end it? These are not a special scene, a joke, a fragment can be solved. They must keep fluent in the process of telling stories. Once a consensus is reached, the latter things will be much simpler. Glenn Berger said: "There may be problems at every stage of filming, so whenever someone puts forward different opinions on a certain aspect, we will think carefully and find a solution." Jonathan abel went on to say, "What we often discuss is: Can we make it more interesting? More dramatic? Or is the action scene more exciting? For an animated film, whether it is interesting or not has become a very practical significance. "