How Kung Fu Panda uses Chinese Philosophy to Tell a Message (13+)

Through the Taoist character of Master Oogway, Kung Fu Panda teaches us to live in the now, accept our destiny, and understand that everything happens for a reason. This is a Video Essay on how Kung Fu Panda 2 uses visuals to tell a message (and why it is a cinematic masterpiece). In fact, some might say that Kung Fu Panda is a perfect trilogy. Cosmodore certainly thinks so in his video "Why Kung Fu Panda is a Perfect Trilogy", and HoustonProductions1 believes the same notion in his video "KUNG FU PANDA: The Greatest Animated Trilogy." You will find out if I fall under the same notion in next week's video on Kung Fu Panda 3. Why not 2, you ask? I did a video on Kung Fu Panda 2 last week, "How Kung Fu Panda 2 Uses Visuals to Tell A Message (13+)"

Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated wuxia action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by John Stevenson (in his directorial debut) and Mark Osborne and stars the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Dan Fogler, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Jackie Chan. The film is set in a version of ancient China populated by anthropomorphic talking animals and revolves around a bumbling panda named Po, a kung fu enthusiast. When an evil kung fu warrior named Tai Lung is foretold to escape from prison, Po is unwittingly named the "Dragon Warrior", that was destined to defeat him.

The film was originally intended to be a parody of martial arts films, but director Stevenson decided instead to make an action comedy wuxia film that incorporates the hero's journey narrative archetype for the lead character. The computer animation in the film was more complex than anything DreamWorks had done before. As with most DreamWorks Animation films, Hans Zimmer (this time collaborating with John Powell) scored Kung Fu Panda.

Kung Fu Panda premiered in the United States on June 6, 2008. The film received positive reviews upon release. Kung Fu Panda opened in 4,114 theaters, grossing $20.3 million on its opening day and $60.2 million on its opening weekend, resulting in the number one position at the box office. The film became DreamWorks' biggest opening for a non-sequel film, the highest-grossing animated film of the year worldwide, and also had the fourth-largest opening weekend for a DreamWorks film at the American and Canadian box office, behind all three Shrek sequels. A sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, was released on May 26, 2011, along with a television series Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness premiering on Nickelodeon later that same year as a part of a franchise. A second sequel, Kung Fu Panda 3, was released on January 29, 2016.

Other Youtubers to cover Kung Fu Panda include Karsten Runquist, Schaffrillas Productions, Cosmodore (Why Kung Fu Panda is a Perfect Trilogy, kung fu panda memes), HoustonProductions1 (KUNG FU PANDA: The Greatest Animated Trilogy), and yours truly (How Kung Fu Panda 2 Uses Visuals to Tell A Message (13+)).

Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black is an American actor, comedian, singer, songwriter, and YouTube personality. He is known for his roles in films such as High Fidelity (2000), Shallow Hal (2001), School of Rock (2003), King Kong (2005), Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (2006), The Holiday (2006), the Kung Fu Panda franchise (2008–2016), Tropic Thunder (2008), Gulliver's Travels (2010), Bernie (2011), Goosebumps (2015), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and its sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). For his work in School of Rock and Bernie, he gained Golden Globe nominations. He was inducted into Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 2018.
Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

My video falls under fair use as it is a comment on the film. It does not use copyrighted material for any other use besides comment.

Clips:
Running clip:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd8Jijb7jZY&list=WL&index=2&t=0s
Explosion clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWpGg19ncPs&list=WL&index=2

Видео How Kung Fu Panda uses Chinese Philosophy to Tell a Message (13+) канала Stop Motion Samurai