Author Topic: Kung Fu Panda  (Read 4115 times)

A.M. Thomas

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Kung Fu Panda
« on: June 09, 2008, 11:16:16 PM »
was really good.

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Andy

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2008, 11:51:28 PM »
I'll never know.
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Bingo- I'm havin' a time
House Arrest- I'm still havin' a time

A.M. Thomas

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2008, 12:05:24 AM »
Nothing to see here.  Just a grown man watching feature length animated films by himself.  Move along.

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Laurie

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2008, 12:37:07 AM »
One for Kung Fu Panda, please.

jbissell

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2008, 02:17:33 AM »
Did you see it in the IMAX? Because that's the only way I'll go see it.

JonFromMaplewood

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2008, 08:54:13 PM »
i enjoyed it. my kids fell asleep.
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iAmBaronVonTito

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2008, 11:27:40 AM »
i enjoyed it. 

and i was happy to hear david cross.  im glad they didnt have him making kung fu fighting noises.

Martin

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #7 on: June 11, 2008, 01:24:52 PM »
Say you were asked to write an article about Kung Fu Panda to coincide with its opening. A contextual article, in the same way you would write about comic books adaptations to coincide with the opening of Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk.

What would that article be about? Underdogs? Odd martial artists? "Other panda-themed kung fu movies"?

(Not entirely hypothetical, as I'm sure you understand.)

JonFromMaplewood

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #8 on: June 11, 2008, 01:38:44 PM »
A response to the "War On Obesity."  The message: Use your obesity as a gift.
"I'm riding the silence like John Cage up in this piece." -Tom Scharpling

Chris L

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #9 on: June 11, 2008, 01:42:32 PM »
Say you were asked to write an article about Kung Fu Panda to coincide with its opening. A contextual article, in the same way you would write about comic books adaptations to coincide with the opening of Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk.

What would that article be about? Underdogs? Odd martial artists? "Other panda-themed kung fu movies"?

(Not entirely hypothetical, as I'm sure you understand.)

How about 'toons with attitude?

JonFromMaplewood

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #10 on: June 11, 2008, 01:49:59 PM »
Sorry. I misunderstood the request. 

As you mention, I saw a lot of underdog sports films in it. Rocky. Bad News Bears. I think it even had the "getting in shape" montage.
"I'm riding the silence like John Cage up in this piece." -Tom Scharpling

Martin

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #11 on: June 11, 2008, 01:55:59 PM »
My editor is suggesting something broad about kung fu, martial arts, Bruce Lee and the journey from obscure subgenre to something that influences lots of genres (Kung Fu Panda being a good example). Etc etc. We'll see. Looks like I some time to write it, it doesn't open here until July 18.

Regular Joe

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #12 on: June 12, 2008, 03:43:44 AM »
Google around for Frank Dux's phone number. If there is any one authority on Kung Fu, it's The Duke.

Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #13 on: June 12, 2008, 11:01:39 AM »
As someone who regularly choogles with people who make up pop culture-related bullshit for a living, but has not actually seen the movie, I would suggest the following:

A piece about the surging dominance of East Asia in world markets and culture, combined with the idea that kids' entertainment provides a window into the future - the stuff that little kids are watching now will shape their eventual worldviews, etc. etc.  Watching Kung Fu Panda in 2008 will prepare today's young to inherit and run a world dominated by China, India, Russia, Japan, and a reunited Korea in 2028.  If you need more of a cinema angle, you can integrate this with the discussion of Asian cinema being fully co-opted by Hollywood (which, IMO, happened long before this).
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A.M. Thomas

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Re: Kung Fu Panda
« Reply #14 on: June 13, 2008, 03:49:37 AM »
My editor is suggesting something broad about kung fu, martial arts, Bruce Lee and the journey from obscure subgenre to something that influences lots of genres (Kung Fu Panda being a good example). Etc etc. We'll see. Looks like I some time to write it, it doesn't open here until July 18.

Maybe you could reference the persistent theme in Kung Fu cinema of embracing one's ostensible handicap.  In Kung Fu Panda, Po is able to become the "Dragon Warrior" precisely because of his laziness and poor eating habits.

I'm sure there are many examples of this, but another film that immediately comes to mind is called (from what I remember) The One Armed-Swordsman Versus the Master of the Flying Guillotine.  The Master of the Flying Guillotine has deadly accuracy only because he is blind.  His disability heightens his other senses and provides him with near superpowers.  Although both films recognize that their characters have handicaps, the success of the characters is contingent on their ability to embrace their flaws.

This idea, of course, originates with Taoism, but I think it's very relevant to the history of Kung Fu films and, especially, Kung Fu Panda.

I'm not a chicken,  you're a turkey.