Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest - Universal Studios ride

[GeneChing]

...this looks very promising.

JUN 5, 2017 @ 08:59 AM 97 The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets
Universal Studios Hollywood To Bring $1.82 Billion 'Kung Fu Panda' Franchise To Life
Simon Thompson , CONTRIBUTOR
Simon Thompson is a freelance film & entertainment journalist in LA.


Dreamworks/Universal Studios Hollywood
The three 'Kung Fu Panda' movies have made over $1.8 billion at the worldwide box office to date.

Kung Fu Panda, the film franchise that has taken $1.82 million at the worldwide box office, is coming to life in a theme park attraction. With DreamWorks Animation’s recent acquisition, Universal Studios Hollywood will soon roll out the red carpet for a unique, never before seen experience in Los Angeles.

The attraction, which will open in 2018, will be housed in a newly designed venue will host a variety of DreamWorks Animation themed attractions beginning with the multi-sensory adventure inspired by the Kung Fu Panda films. The original films boasted impressive voice casts which included Jack Black as Po, Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, Angelina Jolie as Tigress, Ian McShane as Tai Lung, Jackie Chan as Monkey, Seth Rogen as Mantis, Lucy Liu as Viper as James Hong and Mr. Ping in recurring roles. The Kung Fu Panda series is the seventh highest-grossing animated franchise and the third highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation's franchise behind Shrek and Madagascar.

The new technologically advanced Kung Fu Panda attraction will take guests on a legendary journey that fuses captivating storytelling with state-of-the-art projection mapping and LED lighting effects to create an immersive experience.

Kung Fu Panda isn’t the only film franchise to have been brought to life at Universal Studios Hollywood as it already plays host to rides and attractions inspired by the likes of Harry Potter ($7.72 billion worldwide unadjusted), Jurassic Park ($3.64 billion worldwide unadjusted), Transformers ($3.78 billion worldwide unadjusted), Despicable Me ($2.67 billion worldwide unadjusted) and Fast and Furious ($5.12 billion worldwide unadjusted) as well as TV shows including AMC's The Walking Dead and The Simpsons.

This isn’t the first time that the Kung Fu Panda films have been incorporated into an attraction. In 2015, Merlin Attractions opened DreamWorks Tours: Shrek's Adventure! in London, England which ties the companies’ Shrek and Kung Fu Panda franchises.

Universal Studios Hollywood also currently hosts a Shrek-themed attraction, Shrek 4D, which opened in July 2003 - the Shrek films, and the Puss in Boots spin-off, have taken $3.51 billion at the worldwide box office (unadjusted for inflation). That attraction will close this summer and be replaced by Kung Fu Panda. Confirming the closure, Audrey Eig, Universal Studios Hollywood spokeswoman, told Forbes in a statement: "We continually evaluate our entertainment options. The Shrek 4D attraction enjoyed a successful run since 2003 and we look forward offering our guests this new multi-sensory experience next year."

The new Kung Fu Panda attraction will open at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2018, ten years after the first Kung Fu Panda movie was released in theaters, although an exact date has yet to be announced.

Simon Thompson is a freelance film & entertainment journalist, broadcaster and producer. From the UK, but now living and working in LA, he can be found on Twitter and LinkedIn.

[GeneChing]

This looks like fun.

THEME PARKS



‘Kung Fu Panda’ Attraction Set To Open At Universal Studios Hollywood
By Amid Amidi | 02/08/2018 3:45 pm

Following its acquisition of Dreamworks Animation, NBCUniversal is beginning to incorporate more of the DWA brand into its theme parks.

This summer, Universal Studios Hollywood will launch the DreamWorks Theatre, where it will present its premier attraction, Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest. Created and produced by Dreamworks Animation and Universal Creative, The Emperor’s Quest tells the story of the morning of The Emperor’s Great Feast of Heroes, during which Po embarks on a mission to deliver the rare and precious Liquid of Limitless Power to the palace.

The multi-sensory attraction will introduce, according to Universal Studios, the “first-ever integration of interior projection mapping designed to engulf guests in 180 degrees of immersive adventure.” Developed by Universal Creative, the technique will depict a series of immersive scenic designs that will transform within the interior space.

The desired effect, which will be enhanced with fully-articulated seats that pivot and swivel in tandem with the 180-degree action, is for audiences to feel immersed in each environment as if it were an actual set and not a projection.

The attraction will use seven Christie 4K Boxer Cinema Projectors and 360-degree surround sound audio, and features an original music score by Germaine Franco.

The newly constructed building that houses the Dreamworks Theatre (concept image below) is inspired by Mission revival architecture, and includes a box office ticket seller booth staffed by a three-dimensional Pinocchio character asleep on the job. The interior of the theater will house a collection of 36 Dreamworks movie posters, 20 award statuettes won by the studio, and a collection of maquettes of the characters from The Emperor’s Quest.


“Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest.”

[GeneChing]

Po submits Shrek.

High-tech Kung Fu Panda attraction to replace Universal Studios' Shrek adventure
By HUGO MARTIN
APR 17, 2018 | 3:50 PM


"Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor's Quest," the newest attraction at Universal Studios, opens on June 15. It replaces the Shrek 4-D theater. (Universal Studios Hollywood)

The newest attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood will open June 15, starring an overweight panda and cutting-edge projection-mapping that places riders in the middle of an action-adventure yarn in China.

"Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor's Quest," is a theater experience featuring seats that gyrate and shift to bring the story to life — with water, smoke, wind and other effects to boot.

It is based on the popular film franchise from DreamWorks Animation, the studio Comcast's NBC Universal acquired for $3.8 billion two years ago. It replaces an aging attraction from the Glendale animation studio featuring the ogre Shrek, who last starred in his own film in 2010.

The real star of the latest attraction, however, will be the seven high-definition projectors that can project moving images on an uneven, 180-degree surface. The mapping technology has become popular at theme parks, having been adopted to portray flying owls and wizards on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood and Disney's most iconic characters on Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland.

The Kung Fu Panda attraction is among several new offerings this season from Southern California theme parks aimed at keeping visitors coming back.

In June, Disney California Adventure Park will open its Pixar Pier, which was previously called Paradise Pier, a tribute to California boardwalk life. The area is being overhauled to include characters from Pixar Animation Studios movies, including "Up," "Monsters Inc." and "The Incredibles."

SeaWorld San Diego plans to launch its newest attraction, a roller coaster dubbed Electric Eel on May 10.

Meanwhile, Disneyland plans to close its popular Pirates of the Caribbean attraction on Sunday to remodel the scene that shows the pirates auctioning off women to become brides. The new scene will instead show pirates selling off the possessions of the townsfolk.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

[GeneChing]

Time to give Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor's Quest its own thread, independent of the Kung Fu Panda thread.

JUN 14, 2018 @ 08:03 PM 1,745 2 Free Issues of Forbes
Universal Studios Hollywood Brings $1.82 Billion 'Kung Fu Panda' Franchise To Life
Simon Thompson , CONTRIBUTOR
Simon is a producer (TV & Digital) and film & entertainment journalist
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.


Universal Studios Hollywood
Dreamworks Theatre featuring 'Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor's Quest' officially opened its doors at Universal Studios Hollywood on June 14, 2018.

A state-of-the-art attraction inspired by Kung Fu Panda, the film franchise that has taken $1.82 billion at the worldwide box office, has opened at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest takes guests on an immersive journey that fuses captivating storytelling with groundbreaking visual effects. It also has the honor of being the first attraction to open at the theme park since Universal’s $3.8 billion acquisition of DreamWorks Animation.

Karen Irwin, President and COO, Universal Studios, told invited guests at a lavish launch event: “As our portfolio expands, we are thrilled to bring exciting new entertainment options to our guests.”

With new technology at the forefront of the multi-sensory attraction, Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest introduces the first-ever integration of interior projection mapping designed to engulf guests in 180 degrees of immersive adventure and no expense has been spared.

“Every project has its unique challenges. Financially speaking, we don't really comment on numbers. This was certainly a large investment but it's really not so much about that,” Universal Creative Senior Director/Executive Producer Jon Corfino told me at the opening. “What it's really about is how you take what we try to do here which was to create a place, the first DreamWorks attraction, to establish a theater environment and then help bring it to life as the new home of DreamWorks here at Universal.”

He added: "I want to do a shout out to our partners at DreamWorks because right around that time the whole transaction took place, we became immediately involved with them.”

“What's very important in dealing with any brand is integrity and this is the DreamWorks brand. Dealing with their team and using their expertise to bring these characters to life and then kind of morphing them into what we do well was really a rewarding experience and it worked really, really well in a very compressed time frame.”