Kung Fu Panda (2008) was a children’s favorite when it was released in the late 2010s. The animated movie Kung Fu Panda 1 incorporated ‘Shonen-anime-like’ fight scenes. This makes us wonder what made the DreamWorks animation create a children’s anime-like comedy.
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Kung Fu Panda is the story of a fat panda named Po. Po lives with his dad who is a goose and was separated from his original panda family long ago. The other inhabitants of the village are also various other birds and animals.
Although one might see a rabbit eating noodles with a crane, the creatures of the movie do not seem to notice their differences. The first two movies went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
What differences are observed and how are they domesticated like Anime?
The creatures of the movie are filled with differences. The animated movie tries to present a picture of a pluralist society where all sorts of organisms live in harmony. But in reality, the wild doesn’t cater to differences. Rather it eliminates them. This makes us question why the movie Kung Fu Panda is presented in such a manner which only presents inclusivity.
The first and foremost reason would be because it’s a children’s fictional story of the Wuxia genre. Moreover, the Wuxia genre is traditionally linked to the Chinese history of martial arts, and being able to present it to the younger audience with the element of comedy in it is a commendable achievement.
The physical differences are therefore domesticated and subverted. This is a characteristic trait of Shonen anime. They mostly try to shift the focus from physical differences towards differences based on talent. This makes Shonen anime series and movies feature a lot of differentiated casts but left unhindered due to such differences.
How did DreamWorks animate ‘Shonen-like’ fight scenes for the Kung Fu Panda franchise?
- DreamWorks has been a well-known animation company for a long time. But the relationship between Kung Fu Panda’s action and Shonen anime’s fight scenes runs deeper than just normal adaptation.
The Kung Fu Panda franchise primarily belongs to the Wuxia genre. Belonging to a genre that is made to feature ancient Chinese martial arts tradition is a huge responsibility. This makes Kung Fu Panda an aspirational animation as well, as it tries to pave way for a new kind of cinematic evolution.
- This makes DreamWorks resort to Shonen-anime-like fight scenes for Kung Fu Panda. Although nothing is a direct adaptation of any particular sub-genre of anime, it follows some trends which are necessary for the movie’s purpose in general.
Moreover, at a time when anime culture was on the rise worldwide, DreamWorks had to bring in something different yet similar for the larger audience to accept. This makes Kung Fu Panda 1 a beginning of a partial adaptation and a distinct creation.
The traditional methods of DreamWorks and what makes Kung Fu Panda different?
DreamWorks Animation is globally known for some of the greatest animated productions. it ranges from franchises like How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek to movies like Boss Baby, Turbo, etc. The list is pretty extensive but the diversity of work that the studio has produced is impeccable.
But traditionally, DreamWorks never produced anything like anime. The initial productions were light-hearted children’s dramas, which went on to some adult dramas as well. Comedy was always a central theme of their movies. Kung Fu Panda became the first in their history to be laden with so much action and animation which resembled the shonen sub-genre of anime.
Conclusion
The animation of Shonen-Anime-like fight scenes is a tremendous job. There are only a handful of studios globally that can achieve such a target. But DreamWorks showed us how versatile any studio can be. It showed us that an animation studio can bring together all forms of ideas and merge them into one, for animation gives them that liberty.
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