CINEMA NEWS – Po, the martial artist panda, returned to cinemas after eight years, and the audience welcomed him with great joy. The animated family movie far exceeded expectations in its opening weekend, bringing in $58.3 million in North America. The director is Mike Mitchell, who previously made Trolls and Shrek the End, Run for it a success.

Panda’s fourth adventure begins with Po looking for a successor as he prepares to become the spiritual leader of Peace Valley. But the new main enemy appears, the Chameleon, who is a shape-shifting reptile, so he can be a worthy opponent of the fighting panda. In the American version, Chameleon is voiced by Oscar winner Viola Davis (Fences), and Po is, of course, voiced by Jack Black. p>

Variety devoted a separate article to Chameleon, because its creation was the biggest technical challenge for DreamWorks Animation, the producer of the series. Every part of the new main villain, facial muscles and spikes can be moved separately, the animation team controlled more than 8000 points on the character’s body with a computer. Another challenging task was that the Chameleon, a shape-shifting creature, can transform into ten different characters, and also performs kung fu while transmigrating – these two extremely complex forms of movement had to be perfectly coordinated. “It was a complicated and time-consuming job,” Sean Sexton, head of the animation team, proudly complains to Variety.

To the delight of those interested in Far Eastern cultures, the article also reveals that the creation of Chameleon was inspired by a Chinese mythical monster, Tao-tie , whose stylized figure already appeared on Bronze Age vessels. With this, Tao-tie’s Hollywood career continues spectacularly, because a few years ago, the fantasy monsters The Great Wall, marked by the names of Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe, were modeled after him.

(Kung Fu Panda 4 – domestic release: March 21, 2024.)

Source: UIP Dunafilm