Kung Fu Panda
Event description
Kung Fu Panda is an American media franchise that originally started in 2008 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name, produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily voiced by Jack Black and Mick Wingert), a giant panda who is improbably chosen as the prophesied Dragon Warrior and becomes a master of kung fu, the franchise is set in a fantasy wuxia genre version of ancient China populated by anthropomorphic animals. Although his status is initially doubted, Po proves himself worthy as he strives to fulfill his destiny.
The franchise consists mainly of three CGI-animated films: Kung Fu Panda (2008), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) with a fourth film in development for release in 2024, and three television series: Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011–2016), The Paws of Destiny (2018–2019), and The Dragon Knight (2022–). The first two films were distributed by Paramount Pictures, the third film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and the fourth will be distributed by Universal Pictures, while the television series respectively aired on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. Four short films, Secrets of the Furious Five (2008), Secrets of the Masters (2011), Secrets of the Scroll, and Secrets of the Panda Paws (both 2016), and a television special, Kung Fu Panda Holiday (2010), have also been produced.
The franchise's first two features were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as well as numerous Annie Awards, and its first television series having won 11 Emmy Awards. The first three films were critical and commercial successes[1] while the second film was the biggest worldwide box office success for a film directed solely by a woman (Jennifer Yuh Nelson) until Wonder Woman (2017). The series is additionally popular in China as an outstanding Western interpretation of the wuxia film genre.[2]