Interview with Jack Black of Kung Fu Panda

 

In 2016, one of the most successful animated franchises in the world returns with its biggest comedy adventure yet, KUNG FU PANDA 3. When Po’s long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible — learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!

Kung Fu Panda 3 is one of the best animated movies I have seen.  I truly loved the wonderful message about being the best version of yourself and doing your best.  We had a chance to sit down with Jack Black, the Screenwriters and Filmmakers and talk all things panda and kung fu.

 

When Jack Black walked into the room filled with about ten mom bloggers his first reaction was “Whoa!  There is so many of you… are you all moms?  It’s like The View on steroids…”  We were all enamored with him immediately and put at-ease by his down-to-earth nature and energy. He is as funny in person as he is in the movies.

One of the blogger’s asked Jack what it was like voicing a well-loved character like Po, as far as developing him and evolving him through his voice.

Jack Black:  Well, you know, with this particular character, I was really just being myself, you know, kind of a younger version of myself. Like me minus any of, like, the jaded 45 year old Hollywood dude.  So, it’s like a teenage me, just in love with kung fu.  And I wasn’t really doing a character voice.  That was part of the appeal is that.

He went on to say part of the appeal of this character was that he got to be himself – just a younger version.

Jack Black:  Yes.  I mean, all those years ago when we first were talking about doing Kung Fu Panda, Jeffrey Katzenberg approached me and was like, “Uh, you’re writing School of Rock and High Fidelity.  We love you over here at DreamWorks.  We want to do Kung Fu Panda with you.”

And I was, like, hesitant because, you know, I had this rock band.  I kind of had a cool rock and roll edge to me.  And I was like, “I don’t know if I want to go into, like, the kids’ world.  I think I might want to go a little harder, a little darker with my career.”  But, I wasn’t sure.  I was at a crossroads.  I was like, “I don’t know if I want to do that.”

But, then he had the animators do a little sample of Po animated and with my voice from High Fidelity.

And I was like, “Oh, so that’s what–you don’t want me to, like, baby it up.  You don’t want me to Romper Room it.”  So, I was like, “Okay.”  So, that was–that made it very easy–.

He mentioned how his two sons, age 7 and 9, tend not to listen that well and we all nodded our heads in agreement.  It is funny to see that he too faces that same challenges we all do with our kids!  We started comparing notes on what actually works to get the kids motivated to do their chores or listen better.  For me – for good or bad –  is to throw out that I will take her iPad away for the day or week depending on the severity of the situation and that usually perks her right up!  Terrible I know!

One of the bloggers asked “What advice do you have for young kids?  There are so many kids that admire you and look up to you.  What advice do you have for them, you know, kids that might be thinking about wanting to become an actor?

Jack Black:  I always try to steer them towards writing and directing.  Acting is really fun and I’ve always loved doing it, but I got advice early on from a teacher named Deb Devine who said, don’t just sit around waiting to be a puppet in someone else’s show.  You know, you got to go out and tell stories and make your own stuff or else it’ll probably never happen.

It’s so competitive out there.  You have to work on all aspects of storytelling.  And even though I’m not, like, a big screenwriter, I do credit the stuff–like, my career with the early stuff that I did write myself.  It helps to find your voice as an actor too if you do some writing, right?  Write sketches and songs and plays, and even a screenplay if you can.

He is such a good guy and I joked with him about my favorite scene in High Fidelity.  I couldn’t resist.

 

We also sat down with the directors Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni along with Producer Melissa Cobb.

These three are so nice and you could really tell they are very passionate about their work.  They asked if we had seen the movie (we had the previous Friday) and we all said how much we loved it!  Someone mentioned that it was their favorite one so far (it is mine too) and here is what they said:

Mr. Alessandro Carloni:  Thank you for starting with that.  It really means something.

Ms. Melissa Cobb:  We were nervous walking in the room, right?  That’s awesome.

Ms. Jennifer Yuh Nelson:  I actually think when you say that it’s your favorite of the three, it’s really relieving because, for us, one of the big reasons we wanted to do this third one is to do all the things we didn’t get to do before–.

Mr. Alessandro Carloni:  –It’s true–.

Ms. Jennifer Yuh Nelson:  –Because most of us have been working on these movies–I mean the central creative core of this film, all of us have been working on these movies, one, two, and three, for over 10 years.

Ms. Melissa Cobb:  And answering questions that we didn’t know the answers to until we started making the movie. Where has his brother been?  What does a panda village seem like?  And what is Po’s connection to that world?  And, you know, it’s not like those answers exist.  We get to create them, and that is a real discovery for us which is really fun.

They spoke about how the fans of the Kung Fu Panda movies inspired them to dig deeper and answer unanswered questions from one and two.  They realized that they needed to answer the question of where was Po’s father, and the topic of adoption came up.  It was important to them  to make sure to show adoption in a positive light and said that Angelina Jolie was an inspiration and wealth of knowledge for them.  I can’t remember another animated film tapping into this subject and definitely none that I  recall that do it so well.  You might find yourself needing some tissue during some of the more heartwarming scenes!

Interview with the screenwriters:

The Kung Fu Panda 3 screenwriter duo Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger have known each other for many years now.  They use to work together at a company in Boston and realized about the same time that wasn’t where they wanted to be.  So they headed out to Los Angeles to be screenwriters.  They laughed and said at the time they didn’t realize how cliché that seemed.  But I’d say they’ve done pretty well for themselves!

One of the moms asked what characters were they most excited about introducing into Kung Fu Panda 3.

Mr. Jonathan Aibel:  Probably Po’s dad.

Mr. Glenn Berger:  Yes, Dad.  Yes.

Mr. Jonathan Aibel:  And that was even before Bryan Cranston came aboard, just thinking who would be like Po.  And we explored a lot of different styles of dad.  We kind of had the grumpy dad for a while which wasn’t as fun, and then the idea of having just a larger, older version of Po.  Once we did that and then once Bryan came in, then that’s when the character really came to life.

Mr. Glenn Berger:  And then also, I’d say Kai, the villain, because if the number one problem or challenge for us every time we write one of these is what’s the next lesson for Po, the other big challenge for us is, “And who’s a worthy adversary?”

How do you top Tai Lung?  Who’s a good person for Po to have to kind of overcome?  And in this case, the gift of J.K. Simmons and what he brought to that character is just amazing for us.

 

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These two are very talented and I think the story is very well-written.  I absolutely loved Kung Fu Panda 3 and the positive messaging throughout the film.  From being the best version of you, trying your best to the importance of family and friends. Out tomorrow January 29th!

 

Directed By: Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni

Produced By: Melissa Cobb

Starring: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, Bryan Cranston, J. K. Simmons, Kate Hudson

 

Note: We were invited to this press junket hosted by 20th Century Fox & DreamWorks Animation but all opinions are my own.  

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