DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 is getting ready to hit theaters on March 8, and the film is celebrating Chinese culture on the big screen.
The cast and crew behind Po’s latest adventure wanted to make sure this movie was as authentic to Chinese culture as possible, with director Mike Mitchell stating that they wanted to make Kung Fu Panda 4 a love letter to China and Chinese cinema. As previous films in the franchise do, this film pays homage to traditional Chinese kung fu movies. It also includes other traditional elements of Chinese culture, such as a scene in which some of the characters play mah-jongg, the traditional tile-based game. In fact, co-director Stephanie Ma Stine taught several animators how to play mah-jongg.
Newcomer to the franchise, Awkwafina, who will be the voice behind Po’s new corsac fox sidekick “Zhen,” says she was honored to join the film as the Kung Fu Panda franchise always honored the culture and added to the Asian American landscape of film. Her fellow castmate, Ronny Chieng, the voice behind “Fish,” shared her sentiment and said that you can see the love and care that went into every frame of the film.
Jack Black returns as the voice of Po, the unlikely kung fu master, as does James Hong, who returns to voice Mr. Ping, Po’s dad. Viola Davis is also a newcomer to the franchise, and she is the voice behind Po’s new nemesis, “Chameleon,” a lizard who can shapeshift into any creature. Other stars joining the film are Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane, Ke Huy Quan, and Lori Tan Chinn.
