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The third TV installment of the Kung Fu Panda franchise, Kung Fu Panda The Dragon Knight, which debuted in 2008 and had sequels on the big screen in 2011 and 2016, marks nearly 15 years of storytelling centered on Po, a large, animated, and endearing — if flawed — panda who learns kung fu after being foretold to be the Dragon Warrior and eventually becomes a master of it.
Voice of Po and star Jack Black notes that the EP “had a cool vision for what an epic journey this would be”.
Jack Black And James Hong Reunion
Although The Dragon Knight is the most recent book in the series, it is nonetheless replete with well-known characters. After Mick Wingert assumed the part for the earlier TV broadcasts, Jack Black is back as Po’s voice in the Netflix series. According to Hastings, the pandemic shutdown in Hollywood led to Black’s return.
The starting point for it is the notion that Jack is probably not that busy right now because nobody was, save from animation. They established relationships in this way since there are Netflix employees who are also involved in the film industry.
The show’s storytelling, according to Hastings, who also worked as the series’ voice director, is more mature than where a lot of this stuff has been and is more in line with what the original movie’s “truly amazing emotional stories” were. Black reportedly responded favorably to this.
With Jack, you have to do 90 positions for one line, as opposed to a conventional actor who says their lines and gives you the chance to do some acting or whatever. It’s enjoyable and difficult, too. He instructs you to go wide because he is moving his body in some way.
As his first foray into TV animation in the Kung Fu Panda universe, Black’s return to the franchise was an exhilarating foray into the new creative ground. That, he claimed, offered a distinct experience from working in the film industry. One where he didn’t feel like he was repeatedly making little adjustments to the same stuff.
What will happen next? We have a general concept of the series’ overall narrative when you first start watching, but you have no real sense of what to expect. Every week, we are witnessing it develop. It’s incredibly nice to work.
Black wasn’t the only actor from the previous season to return. The most recent TV episode is a significant personal achievement for James Hong, who has been a part of the franchise since the first movie and provides the voice of Mr. Ping.
According to Hong, who has voiced more than ten distinct roles throughout the franchise, he has never done the same character for 15 years. In that regard, watching Mr. Ping and Kung Fu Panda as a child has broadened his perspective.
James Hong has worked on every single Kung Fu Panda film. He’s 93 years old, and throughout the entire event, he’s been nothing but upbeat and enjoyable.
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Rita Ora And Wandering Blade Added
In addition to reuniting cast members and friends, Rita Ora’s voiceover for the new character Wandering Blade is featured in The Dragon Knight. According to Hastings, the character is the antithesis of Black’s Po, and through their experiences as Dragon Knights, both characters learn that they “sort of need each other a little bit.”
She is Poopposite’s in strength. She moves very little and is stiff. She also doesn’t grin. He is running around Wandering Blade like a puppy, and the man continues. They both kind of start to resemble one another. As she gets to know him better, she loosens up a bit, and he takes life a little more seriously and realizes it’s not always easy.
Ora referred to her time on the show, which was her first animated TV voice part, as a truly adventurous experience. She claims that she truly astonished her with her vocal abilities. Even though she can sing, speak, shout, and whisper in voiceovers feels like a whole other experience. It feels incredibly good to increase my confidence in what she can accomplish.
As a fan of the series, she claims that getting to work alongside Kung Fu Panda veterans Black and Hong was the simpler part.
Hastings claims that Ora quickly mastered voice acting thanks to her “musician’s hearing” and “excellent work ethic.” Her voice had excellent quality, which is why she was chosen for the role.
After hearing a ton of candidates read for the part, her voice suddenly stood out. But because it’s a vocal performance and everything resides in your voice, being a voice actor is extremely similar to being a singer, according to the EP. She has a lot of experience singing in studios, and I believe it has greatly aided her.
But for Ora, the Wandering Blade wasn’t just another adventure. Additionally, she gave the group fresh design opportunities, according to Jin. The art director mentions that “the designers on the original films, they’re really amazing on the shape language,” therefore she and the show’s design team for The Dragon Knight built off of that while talking about the character’s size.
Po is moving alongside Wandering Blade. As a result, Wandering Blade must be created to both complement Po and stand out on her own, according to the designer. Therefore, Po has a very bottom-heavy physical shape. He resembles a water drop.
Being that counterpart, Wandering Blade has to be top-heavy. She is taller than Po, which accounts for her larger shoulders. She is expected to be a physically fit and very strong knight.
Before deciding on Wandering Blade’s ultimate appearance, Jin and the crew looked into various design choices, assessing both historical accuracy and potential character reflection factors.
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Taking ‘Kung Fu Panda The Dragon Knight’ Beyond China
Rather than building six sets and using them endlessly, they 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 they are going.
The EP, who also directed the animated series, said that expanding the universe was one of “the funniest things in the show” for both the design and writing teams.
Both England and India are notable stops in season one, and Jin tells THR that the team researched how people live — from clothing and architecture to everyday items and weapons.
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