‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ - Interview with Director Mike Mitchell and Producer Rebecca Huntley
The entire Kung Fu Panda series has been a staple of the Dreamworks brand. For over 14 years, Jack Black as a kung fu fighting panda has entertained multiple generations. The world is so fleshed out over the three films that the characters have left a major impact on the audience. 2016 was the last time we saw this world on our screens and the wait is finally over because Jack Black is back with Kung Fu Panda 4 coming to theaters in March 2024.
The fourth entry of the series will push Po out of his comfort zone with new locations and characters as he battles her scariest enemy yet, his past. Po is set to find a new Dragon Warrior before he retires to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.
The new trailer for the film teases some new additions like Awkwafina as Zhen and Viola Davis as the Chameleon as well as the return of Tai Lung from the first film. This film is sure to be nostalgic for long-time fans while also offering a new perspective to the beloved franchise. I was lucky to sit down with Director Mike Mitchell and producer Rebecca Huntley to talk about this long-awaited sequel.
Jillian Chilingerian: Hi, so nice to meet both of you. Thank you. I'm very excited because I remember when the first one came out, I think it was like nine. And I remember vividly watching it at school for a movie day and now I'm like, 24. So 14 years have passed.
Mike Mitchell: You make us feel very old Jillian. I was gonna say we have a lot of artists that are working on our film, a lot of them, grew up on this film. And so they're in tears, realizing that they get to work on their favorite franchise, and it's been cool. It's been great. But again, it makes a tooth fall out of my head because I feel so old.
Rebecca Huntley: It's touching to hear and see people's reactions when they get a shot cast to them. This means so much to me because this was my favorite
Mike Mitchell: Or that someone gets to animate Tai Lung, they're like I get to work on my favorite villain of all time.
Jillian Chilingerian: I love when we see things come back in a way that feels new and refreshed, but also has those pieces of nostalgia.
Mike Mitchell: That's our game on this one.
When I was watching the trailer, I felt both sides of it. I was like, Oh my gosh, I've forgotten how much I've missed not just this type of animation, but this whole story. It felt so new.
Mike Mitchell: Well, one I'm sure you can tell from the trailer that Shifu is back. Dustin Hoffman is Shifu. That's such a fun relationship to watch. Shifu gets so annoyed by Jack Black as Po. We brought in Awkwafina, who's buddies with Jack Black, and they have this contentious journey together, Po and Awkwafina as a fox. We get the old with Shifu and the new, we get to see Po challenged by this sassy thief. Po sees things in black and white as there are heroes and villains. This new character is kind of a thief and a villain, but she's also a friend and helping Po to do this one last epic adventure and take down the villain.
Rebecca Huntley: It was important to us, was because it will be eight years since the last movie came out, and why it can take a while to make a part four is we had to make sure we nail the story. We needed to live up to the expectation, I mean, the prior three have done incredibly well billions of dollars. To make a part four, you want to honor what's come before you while still bringing something new to the table, because you don't want to just rest on the laurels of the prior three. You want people to be happy that they're seeing something familiar, but you have to give them something new and fun and exciting, too. So we had to take our time.
Mike Mitchell: I think it ended up being kind of a love letter to the first Kung Fu Panda, which is our favorite. I've worked on Shrek, directed the first Trolls, and I've worked on the LEGO franchise and Spongebob, but for this one, I've never directed one but I executive produced and been a part of all the previous three. So it was a big deal for me. I should be crying with all of our young artists. Because it is such a cool thing. I feel that we did everything we possibly could to remind you of the first and bring something new. Po goes to a whole new place like Juniper City crowded with animals of all shapes and sizes and we're running over the rooftops and then we're underneath the city filled with thieves and bandits.
Rebecca Huntley: Po gets challenged. He gets put outside his comfort zone, so he's in a whole new world that he's never experienced before. It's fun to see the antics that ensue.
Jillian Chilingerian: It's been since 2016 the last time we saw this world. Another film I love from last year was Puss in Boots and how you spent that much time away from this character and he comes back really refreshing through the animation style. Within that timeframe of 2016 to now how did the animation style for this specific character and world evolve?
Mike Mitchell: Well, it's weird. It's less about changing the look of stuff, but at the same time, the look does seem different because even filmmaking has evolved. Since the last movie, even Kung Fu has evolved, we got a whole bunch of live-action stunt people from Marvel films to come in to give us authentic moves that our animators looked at, and then they took it, and animated it and removed all the gravity and push it even further. The set pieces, we're out of the valley of peace, we go to this brand new location, that's expansive. So that was a big part of the look of it. The camerawork that's been in live-action films and current kung fu films, where it's almost like this GoPro camera, you can mount it anywhere we haven't seen that used a lot in the Kung Fu Panda Franchise previously. So we pulled it into this and did a lot of really cool camerawork. We've got new animators, the great thing about DreamWorks is, that it's got all the people from the past that worked on all the franchises like myself, and then, the studio opens up to all this new talent, and a bunch of the kids come in with the anime has become quite a big deal. It's always been around, but it's become present with the newer artists, and they're skilled with all the knowledge from anime. I think this film was infected with anime more so than the previous three films.
Rebecca Huntley: It was great being able to have such a collaborative environment, where you're getting people's ideas from all the different artists across the entire movie, there's like 500 people working on this movie and you get so many different perspectives and ideas. It was really exciting and refreshing because it was like, let's make sure we're not abandoning the old and the traditional look, but also introducing and welcoming all these new fresh ideas.
Mike Mitchell: Everyone had a say in this more so than any film I've worked on, it didn't just stop at the script. It was like debates went on through the storyboards through the animation through the effects people got into it, people are passionate about this franchise and it helped us. I like all those debates and arguments that we had, they helped us make a better film.
Jillian Chilingerian: I always like love hearing about the animation process, because it's just so collaborative.
Mike Mitchell: I've worked at a bunch of other studios, but DreamWorks has the top-notch animators and then more. So it's interesting that we're all under one roof. That doesn't always happen. All the production design and the board artists in the animation, it feels like there's an energy here where they're all cross-pollinating and affecting each other. It's something I haven't experienced anywhere else. Like I usually have to hike out to Canada or India to do this stuff.
Rebecca Huntley: Our departments weren't even isolated. We had animators talking with the layout people, they were talking with the effects people, they were talking with the lighting people, so people didn't operate in their silos, and it was so beautiful.
Jillian Chilingerian: The whole franchise has one of the most iconic voice casts and is an example of how important it is for voice casting with animation and what a huge difference that makes. I'm curious for both of you how that feels, you mentioned Dustin Hoffman is back, bringing this group back together for this next installment.
Mike Mitchell: Dustin Hoffman. He's been in every important film ever made from The Graduate to Little Big Man to Kramer vs. Kramer, my God. It goes on and on and he gets into his character that every one of the actors Bryan Cranston, James Hong, who's 94 years old and has more energy than all of us. He's the heart and the comedy of all these films. They all came back, Ian McShane, they were invested and passionate, but the most invested and most passionate was Jack Black. He isn't just shaped like Po, he is Po. He's like an action-packed fanboy. When he comes in, and of course, we let them go crazy, because we get a lot of, I mean, he came up with Skadoosh. This silly franchise is Jack Black. I didn't realize and I think it's just because it's it's an animated character and he's funny. I don't think people realize that Jack Black is a terrific actor, man. He gets into this.
Jillian Chilingerian: I just rewatched The Holiday. I'm like, he's so good.
Mike Mitchell: I mean, the guy nails it. I mean, he is in it to win it. And it's like, really? I mean, I think people are gonna start to notice it. They did today.
Rebecca Huntley: His golden Golden Globe nomination for Peaches.
Mike Mitchell: Okay, so that's singing which he also does very well. He's an actor. When I worked on the Shrek film. It was like working with Eddie Murphy. I'm like, okay, he can make any line we wrote funny. Like, even if it's not funny, he'll make it funny. But I think people don't recognize these guys are acting. They're accomplished actors.
Rebecca Huntley: I would say we have such an embarrassment of riches with Viola Davis, by the way, we have Academy Award-winning Ke Huy Quan.
Mike Mitchell: Playing against type by the way, but bringing his charming voice to a villain and Awkwafina.
Rebecca Huntley: She's brilliant in this funny and funny and she injects as funny as Jack. They're amazing together and yet she can bring such heart like she has this amazing quality about her where you feel for her.
Mike Mitchell: We lucked out. Viola Davis, by the way, our villain is the smallest villain that Po has ever faced. But I swear to God, because of her performance, you never considered that she's tiny. It was a part of our storytelling, but it makes no difference because her performance somehow makes her scary and big. And then, of course, she's like a sorceress, and she's powerful. And she's smart. And super smart.
Jillian Chilingerian: Thank you both so much. This franchise and DreamWorks have been a big part of my childhood, so having this conversation and getting to talk to you both was such a dream. I'm very excited for the film.
Mike Mitchell: Thank you. We worked so hard in the past four years, so we want to thank you for getting an audience excited specifically to see this in a theater. We worked hard to make it on the big screen and sound mixing and everything. So it's because of you, that you get the audience really interested and excited. Thank you for doing that, it means so much to us. We are a theatrical release.
Jillian Chilingerian: No other way to watch a film.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is scheduled to hit theaters on March 8, 2024.