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The legendary Dragon Warrior returns as comedy icon Jack Black assumes the role of Po once more for the latest instalment in DreamWorks Animation’s beloved franchise, Kung Fu Panda 4.
This new outing sees Po tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, which sees him stepping well out of his comfort zone while also needing to find and train a new Dragon Warrior that will eventually take his place. Along the way, he meets crafty, quick-witted corsac fox Zhen (Awkwafina), and has to deal with a wicked, powerful sorceress, Chameleon (Viola Davis).
Sitting alongside her co-star Jack Black, Awkwafina tells Supanova that their two characters are opposites; Po comes from a place of positivity and has a lot of faith in other people, while Zhen “has been let down by people and feels very negative about the world”.
“I like how those energies come together and, ultimately, they learn larger truths about themselves, it’s very cool,” she shares.
Black is quick to add that, despite those differences, they’re similar in some fundamental ways that really adds to the chemistry between the two.
Po (Jack Black) and Zhen (Awkwafina) in ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’
“They’re both orphans, they both had tragic beginnings, but there’s also a big difference between the two,” he tells, “kind of in the haves and the have-nots, emotionally, because from a very early age, Po was adopted and loved and cared for by a very caring foster parent, and Zhen was not and kind of had to fend for herself just to survive, and was sort of hardened in a way, and got a foster parent that was pure evil.
“And I felt like our natural instincts as performers worked well in that way because I love [Awkwafina]’s dry, sardonic sense of humour, that I don’t really share. I’m more like a kid with my physical humour and childish energy, and those two dynamics work perfectly for the characters, I thought.”
If you ask Kung Fu Panda 4 director Mike Mitchell (Trolls, Shrek Forever After) to break down the dynamic between Po and Zhen, you better get comfortable, as the filmmaker loves giving “long-winded answers” and “will go on for hours” when it comes to this franchise.
“The cool thing about it is just working with Awkwafina and Jack, they were buddies already, so that kind of made it easy, it kind of informed our characters working and having fun together, so that was fun,” Mitchell enthuses.
Jack Black voices Po and Awkwafina voices Zhen in ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’
“But beyond that, the arty answer for you, is Po is a black and white panda, and he sees the world in black and white; there’s good guys and there’s bad guys. And then Zhen is a grey corsac fox, so shades of grey, and she’s a friend and she’s helping Po find the villain, but she’s also kind of a bad guy, and she’s a thief and she hangs out with the Den of Thieves under the city.
“And we thought that was interesting to change Po’s perspective to not judge a book by its cover, and also it hit our theme of change; can she change? Should Po see her as one thing or another thing? And I think it’s something really present in our world now with all the judgment on the internet and stuff. It’s really kind of a fun thing that we got to explore through these two characters.
“And then furthermore, it’s always such a great combination with [Po] and Shifu, because he drives Shifu crazy, and we thought, ‘Isn’t it time for someone to drive Po a little crazy? To give Po a little nudge where he needs it?’ And so that was Zhen.
Mike Mitchell
“And so, for all those reasons, we really embraced not just her design compared to Po, but her personality as well. And another thing, to go back to the fighting too, we were specific that her fighting style reflected her personality, just like anyone who fights now, with our animators and our actors, we wanted to make sure their fighting style was still a part of how they acted and how they behaved and their personality, which was something that I don’t know if we’ve been so conscious of in the past.”
The attention to detail can also be found across the film’s music, and that’s no more evident than the song that closes it, with Tenacious D’s take on Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time being a standout that has every chance of being one of the year’s biggest hits.
“Wait a second… can you say that again?” Black asks, leaning in. “Which thing is going to be the breakout hit of the year?”
Awkwafina adds: “It hit so hard in the theatre yesterday; people were jammin’.” Black: “I think that might have just been me… I was dancing pretty hard.”
“Someone was like, ‘I love the song,’” Awkwafina continues, “and I thought she said, ‘I love the movie,’ and I was like, ‘Thank you so much,’ and she was like, ‘No… I said I love the song.’ Yeah, the song hit.”
Black credits Mitchell, who wanted to have a Tenacious D track for the end credits (“Gotta give big ups to Mike, I loved the opportunity and it was fun to do.”). Will Aussie fans get to hear the song live when Tenacious D tours the East Coast this July?
“Oh… you think they’re going to be expecting a little Britney cover Down Under?” Black says. “You know, on the track, Hans Zimmer, the GREAT Hans Zimmer, did supply a lot of that production with the strings and orchestration. I don’t think we’re going to get a full orchestra and Hans Zimmer on the road, but maybe there is just a strictly rock’n’roll version of that, though.”
Four films in and Mitchell doesn’t think that Kung Fu Panda will be slowing down anytime soon, citing three reasons for its longevity and ongoing success.
“So, first is, Jack Black as Po. I mean, it’s the greatest. He is that character, it’s phenomenal. He is action-packed, he is a fanboy, just like Po is, and he’s very funny, just like Po. I could watch Jack Black do anything, and Jack Black as the Kung Fu Panda, I’ll watch it again and again and again and again.
Chameleon (Viola Davis) in ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’
“The second thing is, I think this is the greatest franchise of all time based on its villains; I think these are the best villains that any animated film has ever created, from Tai Lung to Lord Shen to General Kai, and hopefully, we’ve created an even more formidable villain in this one with Viola Davis as this supernatural, shape-shifting villain – first female villain, by the way.
“And then lastly, and I can’t think of any franchise – and this is what made it so fun for all of us to work on – that combines humour and kung fu action. It’s so fun, the combo platter of both of those. And for all of us working on the film to pull in all of our favourite kung fu movies, bits and pieces, and put them all into this film, it’s really special.
“And I think that those are the three things that will help this franchise last forever.”
‘KUNG FU PANDA 4’ RELEASES IN CINEMAS MARCH 28
