AFP
Out of Competition: “Kung Fu Panda” by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
"Kung Fu Panda," the fourth DreamWorks animated feature to be presented in Cannes, relates the adventures of Po, a panda whose ambition is to become a Kung Fu master.
The fourth animated feature produced by DreamWorks and presented in Cannes, following Shrek and Shrek 2 (in Competition in 2001 and 2004) and Over the Hedge (Out of Competition 2006), Kung Fu Panda is about the adventures of Po, a panda who dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master. While Po is still just a rank beginner in the martial arts, he is forced to battle Tai Lung, an evil and cunning snow leopard driven by a desire for vengeance.
Directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne, the film brings together a brilliant cast of voices which includes Jack Black – who lends his voice to our engaging hero – Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane (the voice of villainous Tai Lung), Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, and David Cross.
“With Kung Fu Panda, we wanted to create a timeless film,” explains co-director John Stevenson. “We were really aiming to craft a film that had a timelessness to it – while the story is set in our version of ancient China, the tale doesn’t only apply to those characters at that time. The greatest stories are timeless.”
Mark Osborne added: “It was important to all of us, from the start, that Kung Fu Panda would have a theme, a positive message that we really believed in. We wanted it to be a fun experience loaded with comedy and great action.”
