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Thread: Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

  1. #1
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    Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

    Happy National Panda Day!

    ‘Kung Fu Panda’: Jack Black to Reprise Role in New Netflix Animated Series
    Martin Holmes
    29 MINS AGO

    Netflix
    Netflix is celebrating National Panda Day with the announcement that Jack Black is returning as the Kung Fu Panda, Po, for a new animated series, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight.

    Black confirmed the news on his social media pages on Wednesday (March 16), preparing fans for another globe-trotting adventure with the heroic yet accident-prone giant panda Po. Helmed by DreamWorks Animation, the new series is executive produced by Shaunt Nigoghossian (Bunnicula) and Peter Hastings, who previously developed the 2011 Nickelodeon spinoff series Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.

    The story of the new series revolves around a mysterious pair of weasels who set their sights on a collection of four powerful weapons. It’s up to Po to leave his home and head out on a quest for redemption and justice. On his journey, Po finds himself partnered up with a no-nonsense English knight named Wandering Blade. These two mismatched warriors embark on an epic adventure to save the world — and they may even learn a thing or two from each other along the way.

    Kung Fu Panda was first released in 2008 and was directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne. It starred the voices of Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Seth Rogen, and Lucy Liu. It became the third highest-grossing film of 2008, launching a multimedia franchise along with two movie sequels and two TV series, the previously mentioned Legends of Awesomeness and Prime Video’s Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny.

    The Dragon Knight marks the first time Black has reprised his role for a TV spinoff — only Liu and James Hong reprised their film roles for the Legends of Awesomeness. Chris Geere also stars as Klaus, alongside Della Saba as Veruca.

    Check out the first look images from the new series below.


    Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight: Season 1. Jack Black as Po in Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight: Season 1. Cr. NETFLIX © 2022


    Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight: Season 1. (L-R) Chris Geere as Klaus, Della Saba as Veruca, and Jack Black as Po in Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight: Season 1. Cr. NETFLIX © 2022


    Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight: Season 1. (L-R) Jack Black as Po and Della Saba as Veruca in Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight: Season 1. Cr. NETFLIX © 2022
    threads
    Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight
    Kung-Fu-Panda
    Pandas!
    Gene Ching
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  2. #2
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    KUNG FU PANDA THE DRAGON KNIGHT | Season 1 Trailer | Netflix

    Gene Ching
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    15 years already...

    How ‘Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight’ Expands a Nearly 15-Year Franchise
    Voice actors Jack Black, Rita Ora and James Hong, alongside art director Ellen Jin and EPs Peter Hastings and Shaunt Nigoghossian, on Po's latest journey as a celebration of where 'Kung Fu Panda' has been and where it's going.

    BY ABBEY WHITE

    JULY 31, 2022 3:00PM

    Jack Black as Po and Rita Ora as Wandering Blade in Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2022 COURTESY OF NETFLIX

    Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight is the latest entry in one of DreamWorks Animation’s more fruitful universes. The third TV series in the franchise born from 2008’s animated feature film Kung Fu Panda (followed by big-screen sequels in 2011 and 2016), it marks nearly 15 years of storytelling around Po, a giant, energetic and endearing — if imperfect — panda who becomes a master of Kung Fu after being prophesied as the Dragon Warrior.

    Arriving on Netflix this July with the weight of more than a decade worth of adventures proceeding it, The Dragon Knight manages to set itself a part in Po’s ever-growing story, taking Kung Fu Panda in new directions.

    Executive producer Peter Hastings tells The Hollywood Reporter that the concept for the series began “with the idea of a road trip,” specifically a buddy road comedy that “naturally takes you all over in pursuit of their goal, which is to try and catch bad guys.”

    Voice of Po and star Jack Black notes that the EP “had a cool vision for what an epic journey this would be” — one that still manages to be full of “all the magic stuff that made the first movie so great: it’s Kung Fu, it’s comedy, it’s adventure and in the end, it’s got some cool messages for the kids.”

    While it keeps many of the elements viewers loved about previous installments, Hastings notes that the show gets to go narratively and visually to places the franchise has never been.

    “Just within the realm of TV animation, the picture that we’re delivering and coming up with and designing looks fantastic,” Hasting shares. “Then also related to storytelling, we’re doing basically a single story through the first 11 episodes — a serialized thing which hasn’t been done with the Kung Fu Panda television stuff before.”

    A story that sees Po lose a title he’s spent literal years with, The Dragon Knight puts him on a journey that tests not just his own understanding of himself, but see him teamed up with and “challenged by somebody who doesn’t get him.”

    “Part of this was my desire to knock him down and to put him in a bit of a hole where he feels like he’s lost this important thing,” the Dragon Knight EP explains. “But in the journey, of course, it’s about realizing that it’s not the title and it’s not what other people call you and that everything he thought made him the Dragon Warrior and the Dragon Master he still has.”

    Hastings adds that being able to take a darker, more mature tone with the show versus past chapters also marks how the series is expanding the franchise. “To not be afraid and be approved to be able to go into some emotional places and some dark backstories — what motivates these things and bring the emotional life — that’s been really fun.”

    The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Black, along with his fellow voices actors James Hong and Rita Ora, Hastings and fellow EP Shaunt Nigoghossian, as well as art director Ellen Jin about how Po’s latest journey is a celebration of where Kung Fu Panda has been and where it’s going.


    James Hong as Mr. Ping and Jack Black as Po in Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. COURTESY OF NETFLIX

    I. REUNITING JACK BLACK AND JAMES HONG
    The Dragon Knight might be the newest chapter in the franchise, but it’s also one full of familiar voices. The Netflix series marks the return of Jack Black as the voice of Po, after Mick Wingert took over the role for the prior TV shows. Hastings tells THR getting Black back was the result of the pandemic shutdown in Hollywood.

    “The starter for it is the idea that Jack is probably not that busy right now because nobody was, except for animation,” he explains. “Then there are also people involved with the movies who are also working at Netflix, and so we had connections in that manner.”

    Hastings, who also served as the series’ voice director, says Black really responded to the show’s storytelling, “which is more mature than where a lot of this stuff has been,” and is more in line with what the first movie’s “really great emotional stories” were.

    “A typical actor says their lines and they give you the opportunity to do a little acting or something but with Jack, you have to do 90 poses for one line. It’s fun and it’s challenging,” Nigoghossian adds. “He tells you when to go wide because he’s doing something with his body. He really is great at getting emotion, too, so sometimes I’m going to turn the lights down here, put a shaft of light right on his sad head.”

    For Black, his return to the franchise was an exciting venture into new creative territory as his first TV animation stint in the Kung Fu Panda universe. That he said, presented a different kind of experience than working in film. One where he didn’t feel like he was just slightly tweaking the same material for an extended period of time.

    “It’s so much more fun to go in every week or every couple of weeks and work on a new episode. Because with a movie, you’ll work on the same story — the same one-and-a-half-hour story — for two years. You’ll just drill down and you’ll like tweak a line or a word is different, and it can kind of drive you insane,” he explains. “With a series, you’re coming in and you don’t have time for that crap. You’re moving on to the next episode. What’s happening next? When you start the thing, you have an idea of the broad strokes of the whole arc of the series, but you don’t really know what’s coming. You’re watching it unfold every week. It’s a really, really lovely job. I had so much fun over the last couple of years doing it.”

    Black wasn’t the only returning cast member for this go-around. For James Hong, who has also been with the franchise since the first film voicing the character of Mr. Ping, the latest TV installment marks an impressive personal milestone.

    “I’ve never done the same character for 15 years,” Hong tells THR, adding that he’s likely voiced upwards of 10 different roles across the franchise. “In that respect, growing up with Mr. Ping and Kung Fu Panda has opened my eyes. In the beginning, we didn’t know where this thing was going. We just did our bit, right? We did our best, and then we just kind of put it aside. But who would dream that in 15 years, here’s Jack and I coming back? We have grown up ourselves.”

    Nigoghossian says Hong’s creative improvisation is particularly impressive, with the actor doing “things that just no one would ever think to come up with.”

    “James Hong has done every single version of Kung Fu Panda. He’s remained fantastic to work with. He’s 93 years old, and he’s been nothing but enthusiastic and fun on this on this whole show,” Hastings adds.
    continued next post
    Gene Ching
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    continued from previous


    Rita Ora as Wandering Blade in Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. COURTESY OF NETFLIX

    II. ADDING RITA ORA AND WANDERING BLADE
    While The Dragon Knight reunites cast and friends, it also introduces the brand new character of Wandering Blade, voiced by Rita Ora. Hastings says the character is the opposite to Black’s Po, and through their Dragon Knight journey, both characters come to find that they “kind of need each other a little bit.”

    “She’s this contrasting force to [Po]. She’s rigid and she doesn’t smile and her movements are very limited. He’s bouncing around Wandering Blade like a little dog,” he adds. “They both kind of become like each other. She loosens up a little bit as she gets to know him and he becomes a little more serious and understands that life is not always so easy.”

    The singer and actress’ first animated TV voice role, Ora called her time working on the series a real experimental experience. “I’ve really surprised myself with what I could do with my voice,” she says. “I know I sing but speaking and shouting and whispering [in voiceover] — it’s like a completely different world. It’s really nice to expand my knowledge of what I think I can do confidence-wise.”

    Getting to team with Kung Fu Panda veterans Black and Hong was the easier part, she says, as a fan of the franchise. “It didn’t take a lot to go in. I know these characters and know I need to match the power,” she says. “I had the best time just learning and coming in fresh with no expectations.”

    Hastings says Ora’s “musician’s ears” and “great work ethic” meant she picked up voice acting really fast in a very short period of time. “The quality of her voice was great, and that’s why she was cast. I heard a whole bunch of people read for the role and then her voice just popped. But being a voice actor is very much like being a singer because it’s a vocal performance and everything exists in your voice,” the EP says. “She has a lot of studio experience singing and I think that really helped her a lot. In just a couple of episodes, I’m like, ‘You’re just as good as any professional voice actor out there. You’re giving me two takes that are great and then we’re doing one for fun and nailing it.'”

    But Wandering Blade wasn’t just a new journey for Ora. She also presented new design opportunities for the team, according to Jin. When discussing the character’s stature, the art director notes that “the designers on the original films they’re really great about the shape language,” and so she and the show’s design team for The Dragon Knight built off of that.

    “Po is traveling next to Wandering Blade therefore, we have to design Wandering Blade to complement Po and at the same time, [be] unique in her own way,” she explains. “So if you look at Po’s body shape, he’s very bottom-heavy. He’s got a water drop shape. Wandering Blade had to be top-heavy because she is that counterpart. So she’s got the wider shoulders, she’s taller than Po. She’s supposed to be a very strong Knight, physically very fit.”

    When it came to what Wandering Blade donned, Jin and the team — like much of their work — researched design options, weighing both period accuracy and how it could be reflective of the character’s personality, before settling on her final look.

    “We didn’t want to quite give her metal armor because I think that just makes her personality look a little bit harder. So we went with a fish scale leather armor and then gave her a gold leaf to pop so that you can recognize her armor wherever you find her image,” Jin says. “Her sword also was designed to represent her. It’s not just a regular English sword that was really common around the time. It’s got beautiful intricate designs, carvings and engravings that are very unique.”


    (L-R): Rita Ora as Wandering Blade, Jack Black as Po, James Hong as Mr. Ping and Rahnuma Panthaky as Rukhmini in Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. COURTESY OF NETFLIX

    III. TAKING ‘KUNG FU PANDA’ BEYOND CHINA
    For the first time in the franchise’s history, its characters are stepping outside the boundaries of China for journeys that take them to other parts of the globe.

    “That gave us a really fun opportunity to design all kinds of new things constantly,” Hastings tells THR. “Rather than building six sets and using them endlessly, we were able to design a new thing with every episode. It was a huge challenge, but also really fun and kept everybody on their toes in terms of doing research for where we’re going — what kind of animals lived there, deciding what these characters are going to be like.”

    Nigoghossian adds that taking the narrative to new places was an opportunity to play in a bigger creative sandbox within the Kung Fu Panda universe style. “There is a style to Kung Fu Panda where lighting is really important, even the character designs. So how do we now take that idea and do it in the desert? How do you make a cactus in this style? How do you make a palm tree in the style?” he says. “How do you make a different animal like a snake and how do you make them move and fight when they don’t have arms?”

    The EP, who also directed on the animated series, said that expanding the universe was one of “the funnest things in the show” for both the design and writing teams. “We researched and made sure that every animal was from that specific location and even the culture of that land was taken into account. Especially the fact that this is in the past. It’s not the culture today. It’s the culture of the past in that area.”

    To capture all of this, The Dragon Knight team relied on artists, writers and a hired cultural consultant for each location the series goes to, but also for the regional and cultural influences of its various characters. Both England and India are notable stops in season one, and Jin tells THR the team researched how people live — from clothing and architecture to everyday items and weapons.

    “They’re all different depending on which century they’re from or which region of their particular country,” she says. “And the consultants were always there to catch us if we go in a bit of a different way that is not really correct.”

    By the end of season one, Po and Wandering Blade are entering a new area on the Asia content: India. The Dragon Knight art director is already looking towards that next journey and what potential lies ahead for the Kung Fu Panda team if they get a season two.

    “India to me is the most exciting place to go to,” she says. “Look at their wells system that they built. It is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen to collect water … The architecture — it couldn’t be more different [than China] the way they build castles and towers … India cultivated so many different spices that the rest of the world didn’t have. Their food culture is amazing.”

    Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight is now streaming on Netflix.
    I watched the first episode and found it lacking. Anyone watch more? Does it get better?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    I watched the first episode and found it lacking. Anyone watch more? Does it get better?
    Sure, just watched the first 2 episodes. They should have called it MMA Panda since there's not much kung fu. There's now a rumor that Kung Fu Tigress is also going to get her own series doing twerky dances in the boots with the fur, that way they won't need to pay for expensive voice-overs!

  6. #6
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    lol YOY

    Quote Originally Posted by YinOrYan View Post
    There's now a rumor that Kung Fu Tigress is also going to get her own series doing twerky dances in the boots with the fur, that way they won't need to pay for expensive voice-overs!
    I must confess... I'd watch that.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  7. #7
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    S2

    ‘Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight’ Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix
    by Kasey Moore
    Published on December 2nd, 2022, 10:20 am EST

    Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight – Picture: DreamWorks Television

    First released in July 2022, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight is the Netflix Original series from DreamWork Television based on the hit kids animated franchise of the same name. Now months later, we can confirm Netflix will be releasing a season 2 of the show in due course.

    Developed for television by Mitch Watson and Peter Hastings, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight sees Po partnering up with an English knight named Wandering Blade to find a collection of four power weapons.

    The series notably bought back Jack Black to reprise the role of Po and featured the voice talents of Rita Ora, Nolan North, Della Saba, Chris Geere, Amy Hill, and James Hong.



    If you think that was a quick renewal for an animated project, you’d be right and wrong simultaneously. While the show is returning for a season 2, it’s likely doing so as part of an initial upfront order where Netflix commissioned an upfront number of episodes.

    That’s the case with most Netflix DreamWorks projects which typically run anywhere from 3 to 6 seasons in total.

    The second season will also have a slightly expanded second season upping its episode count from 11 to 12.

    Here’s a rundown of the episode titles in season 2:

    The Liar and the Thief
    One Last Job
    Doom and Groom
    The Pinging
    Mister Mastadon
    Hide the Lightening
    The Beast
    An Uphill Battle
    The Mad Scientist
    Apok-ta-pokalypse Now Part 1
    Apok-ta-pokalypse Now Part 2

    As you can see, the series concludes in season 2 with a climatic two-part event with an episode name inspired by the seminal movie Apocalypse Now.

    Season 2 kicks off with Po and the gang arriving in India searching for Rukhiini’s old friend Diya. They hope to find help on their quest for Tianshang’s weapons there.

    Deepti Gupta has been cast as Diya in the new season. Gupta is known for her work in Netflix’s The Politician, HBO’s Barry, and she starred in Disney’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.


    Deepti Gupta – Picture: IMDb
    Jasmine Chiong, Shane Lynch, Ben Mekler, Cristopher Amick, and Joy Regullano continue as writers on the show.

    No release date has been confirmed as of yet, although we expect the next season to hit Netflix within the next few months. It was excluded from the December 2022 lineup, meaning we’ll likely see it drop in January 2023 or soon after.

    ‘Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight’ Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix
    Article by Kasey Moore
    Covering Netflix since 2013, Kasey has been tracking the comings and goings of the Netflix library for close to a decade. Resides in the United Kingdom.
    Anyone still watching this? YinOrYan, are you still in?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Anyone still watching this? YinOrYan, are you still in?
    Oh, 99% almost forgot about that! Someone will have to politely remind Kung Fu Tigress, haha

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    I must confess... I'd watch that.
    Okay, watch this:

    https://www.tiktok.com/@samuraikitty...70323419809323

    Word has it that Kung Fu Tigress has a new job as a barmaid/bouncer/dancer at some watering-hole set in ancient China. Here's where you can find the original dance form that she's filling-in while the hotties are out on tour:

    https://www.tiktok.com/@mi_nea22/vid...70323419809323

    P.S: You have to unmute the volume before playing these on a PC...

  10. #10
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    lol YinOrYan

    Blackpink ftw!
    Gene Ching
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  11. #11
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    KUNG FU PANDA: THE DRAGON KNIGHT | Season 3 Trailer

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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