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Firecat15

Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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Holy s***, to say the least.


After seven years.


After the announcement of a live-action remake.


After having heard way back in 2020 that they were making a Disney+ series.

Whoa.


I just can't take it in.


Of course, like everyone, I have thoughts and expectations regarding this unexpected sequel.


First things first.


According to Disney,


"Moana 2 takes audiences on an expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced."


So there's the first synopsis. Let's delve in a little deeper.


Moana gets a message from her ancestors. Okay, then. She must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure "unlike anything she's ever faced."


So that means the film will be taking us to the farthest corners of the Pacific Ocean. Does that mean its edges, like continental Asia or North America? Or Australia? Or even the chilly subantarctic waters? I'd love to see Moana and the gang to to China (which, as you may know, I'm obsessed with thanks to Kung Fu Panda), or the Americas (especially the west coast of the Andean region, which actually may have been landed on by Polynesians in the precolumbian era). It fits her peoples' role as explorers and discoverers.


Of course, all of us have been wondering where Moana would go ever since 2016. Then in late 2020, like I mentioned earlier, they announced a Moana series on Disney+, set to release this year. Well, it looks like this movie will be the reworking of that very series.

Now let's talk about some concerns I have.


  1. The original directors and Lin-Manuel Miranda aren't returning.

  2. It's probably a reworking of the series.

  3. Sequels have a habit of not living up to the original.

  4. Disney's recent animated works have failed.

  5. It may have a Woke agenda.



  1. The original directors and Lin-Manuel Miranda aren't returning.


Longtime veteran director pair John Musker and Ron Clements directed the first movie. With the help of a five-year research trip to Polynesia and countless consultants on all things Polynesian, combined with their refined directing skills, Musker and Clements made Moana the (however imperfect) masterpiece it is. Of course, they couldn't have made it a masterpiece music-wise without the help of acclaimed songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda. It's when sequels lose their predecessors' original directors-a key guiding star to a movie's success-that they go down the wrong path. Look at Ice Age, for example. The latter sequels of that notoriously apostate franchise weren't directed by the original directors, Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha. That alone wasn't the sole reason for the franchise's apostasy, though.


But enough about Ice Age. Without Lin-Manuel Miranda, I doubt the songs will live up to those of the original. I'm not exactly a fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda, but if the success of Moana and Encanto are any indication, I can trust him with a film's music. Without him, the music probably won't feel the same. On the other hand, at least Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina are returning. The former, a Polynesian and patriarch of world-renowned band Te Vaka, helped immensely to give the first movie's music an authentic Polynesian feel, with songs partially or entirely in Samoan or Tokelauan. In other words, I'm thankful for him and his band. I also trust Mark Mancina, who has worked on films like Tarzan and Brother Bear. Still, that being said, I'll try to keep my expectations for the music sub-par.


2. It's probably a reworking of the series.


This isn't the first time a planned series has been reworked into a series. After Atlantis: The Lost Empire's release in 2001, Disney planned to make a series, but cancelled it and reworked it into a suckish sequel, with poor animation and stories literally just grafted together from 3 episodes. When the Moana series was announced in 2020, I felt a part of myself leap for joy. We all know TV series don't give as much hype as movies, but they have strengths that movies lack, one of them being the format in which the story is being told. A movie's story has to be abridged and crammed into a timeframe of about 2 or 3 hours, whereas a series can space the story out and give plenty of room for development of many aspects of the story over several episodes, something that a movie can't do. If Moana 2 does the same thing that Atlantis: Milo's Return did and poorly graft a few episodes' stories together with poor, if any, consistency flowing between the stories, I'm going to puke. We can hope that's not the case, but there's no guarantee of that.



3. Sequels have a habit of not living up to the original.


We've seen this trend all too many times. From Frozen 2, which did a mediocre job at best, to the Ice Age and Land Before Time sequels, which utterly ruined their franchises, sequels prove time and time again that they're not child's play. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Kung Fu Panda 2, but they are few and far in between. With how Frozen 2 turned out, I unfortunately expect this movie, too, to be downgraded from the original that I came to love so much.



4. Disney's recent animated works have failed.


Strange World flopped and Wish was, simply put it, suckish. In other words, looks like Disney is slowly but surely going down the drain. And for a sequel, of anything, to be made in this particular struggle means serious concern. Is Disney truly losing its charm like so many people fear it is? I certainly fear the answer is yes. I'd like to hope that this movie will be untouched by this crisis, but I just can't be sure.



5. It may have a Woke agenda.


I encourage left-wingers to steer clear of this section, lest they get upset and call me a Karen.


Since about 2020, the beginning of the Woke era, Disney has increasingly integrated Woke ideologies such as the LGBT+ movement and radical feminism into its once-family-friendly content, with examples being Onward, Lightyear, and Strange World. That's why I'm very, very thankful that the first movie was made-and finished-when it was. Otherwise, it, too, very likely would've been defiled by Wokeness. We're a few years into the Woke era now and the results on society and culture haven't been pretty. I fear this film will be pushing an unnecessary and unhealthy agenda that the first film was safe from. There's no guarantee that this film will be Woke, but there's no guarantee it won't be, either.




So there you have my main concerns for this film. Being a hardcore Moana fan, I want to be excited. This official confirmation was made literally less than a year away from its release date and the fandom has been waiting close to a decade for this. But, like with any sequels, there are concerns to be addressed, and addressing the concerns is exactly what I've just done.


So, will Moana 2 live up to its predecessor? Or will it meet the same usual fate as countless other sequels before and yet to come? Only time will tell.

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Eleven years ago on this day, Dreamworks Animation released its then newest film, Kung Fu Panda, into American movie theaters. The beginning of Po’s epic journey as the Dragon Warrior captivated millions of fans around the world, including China, the amazing place and culture that Po and company call home, on account of all the effort put into making it so respectfully accurate to Chinese culture. Later in the year, it came out on DVD, along with Secrets of the Furious Five. 

I, myself, wasn’t quite a KFP fan from the very beginning. I first found out about it during the previews of the Shrek the Third DVD, then saw trailers from time to time on the Internet. Then I finally saw the movie itself one fateful night shortly after its home media release, when my mom rented it from Blockbuster. 

 I could’ve been a mere casual fan. I could’ve merely had a fleeting love for it then moved on, with it only a mere side interest from time to time.

But I wasn’t. 

It consumed my soul, has now for nearly nine years. It is what spawned my immense fascination and knowledge of Chinese culture. It’s changed my life forever.

Anyway, KFP was so successful and popular that a sequel was announced, preceded by a Holiday Special in November 2010, and it came in 2011, continuing Po’s saga for the second time with his fight against Lord Shen. Afterwards, another short sequel, Secrets of the Masters, was released with the DVD. 

Then three years ago, the long and intense “weight” for the third chapter of Po’s story finally ended, rewarding us with more beautiful than ever visuals, new characters, a badass new villain, more unlocked secrets about this fascinating world, and a flood of cutie baby pandas! It was released five months later onto DVD, along with the short “Panda Paws,” and the short “Secrets of the Scroll,” which tells the story of how young Tigress brought the furious Five together.

Last year, “ Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest" opened on June 15th at Universal Studios. This epic multi-sensory attraction brings guests along on a journey with Po, Shifu, and Mr. Ping to deliver the Liquid of Ultimate Power to the Emperor. But the task is easier said than done when our heroes face a villain on the way-a wolf bandit named Kang who wields the Ming Hammer, a relic so powerful it can knock a victim into the Spirit Realm!

And I’m pleased to tell you that earlier this year, plans for "Fu Panda Spectacular Live (or just “Kung Fu Panda Spectacular”) were announced. This live show was initially conceived in 2009, but in 2012 the plans were cancelled. But they decided to resurrect the idea and the show, now in production, is expected to debut at the end of this year!

We’ve all grown over the past eleven years, just as Po and his friends have throughout the franchise. I’ve gotten better and better at Chinese cultural knowledge and am even learning the Chinese language.This day marks the eleventh anniversary of not only the first movie, but also the very beginning of the KFP franchise, the beginning of pandamonium-pun intended-the beginning of an exciting journey of adventure, butt-kicking, and awesomeness. 

Happy eleventh birthday, Kung Fu Panda!! Eleven years have passed, but my unending love and adoration for KFP hasn’t changed and never, ever will!


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Three years ago this day, the third chapter of Po’s butt-kicking saga came out in movie theaters across America and China(and some other select places, too), wowing children and adults, old KFP fans and new, absolute KFP gods and casual fans, but overall capping off the Dragon Warrior’s story in a bodacious, epic manner!

Some of you went to see it on that very day, some of you didn’t. No matter when exactly you saw it, surely our collective KFP world was changed forever, adding awesome new characters, including Po’s unforgetable biological father, Li Shan, awesome villain Kai(or The Collector), and adorable little Lei Lei, finding out why Oogway truly chose Po to be the Dragon Warrior, out-of-this-world animation and visuals, and seeing a new era ushered in not just for Po and his friends, but us the fans as well! My KFP world certainly was changed forever!

I can still remember that day, one of the most joyous days of my life. I remember picking out a special outfit to wear, looking fabulous, and going to the local cinema at 4:00 PM, taking it in in all its bodacious awesomeness, then going with my mom to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate it up afterwards.

Again, I want to wish a this awesome movie a happy third birthday, and let's all allow this entire awesome fictional universe to continue to entertain, inspire, and influence us as much as it always has! My unending love for KFP hasn’t changed and it never will!


Happy First Birthday, Kung Fu Panda 3!!!Birthday cake  icon 

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So on October 1st, the promotional poster, detailed synopsis, and trailer for Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny were released, even though some of us have known months in advance thanks to an earlier article:deadline.com/2018/04/new-rocky…, and in some cases a little over a year now thanks to some generous person: thepeachtree.tumblr.com/post/1…
 





Let's see, four panda kids, including Bao from KFP 3, a vulture thing named Jindiao for the main villain with water deer minions, a red four-armed demon, a wealthy elephant lady, the Four Constellations based on the mythological creatures of the same name...and Master Oogway(with a different voice actor, mind you! Why couldn't Randy reprise the role?!) But no Shifu or Furious Five. 

Then this was released:


It introduces Jade Tush, a female water deer villain and her minions.

Then this:


Just Mei Mei being...Mei Mei.

And this interview with her new voice actress:people.com/tv/chrissy-metz-lan…

Not to mention these adorable little...wombats? What are they?
File:Mei-mei-pod1.jpg

And also these character bios from the official site:




And some little video things available on this page's Twitter box:kungfupanda.wikia.com/wiki/Kun…

And this: 




Now we've got less than two days before this next installment of Po's journey premiers on Amazon Prime-all thirteen episodes of it! Now some people are wary of this, because the first trailer looks a little juvenile, or so they say, and the Furious Five and Shifu are absent. But I, for one, have hope. The animation, while nowhere near the perfection achieved by the movies, is an improvement from LoA, and more importantly, the characterization. At least Po is in character. 

Maybe you've known about this for over a year now, or maybe you've just recently found out. Perhaps you're excited, perhaps you're anxious, or perhaps you're both. In any case, it's now just days away. Let's hope that Dreamworks has learned from their LoA mistake and that this does the franchise justice.
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Ten years ago on this very day, the newest of Dreamworks Animation's many fantastic films, Kung Fu Panda, entered into movie theaters everywhere. It told the story of Po(voiced by the hilarious and popular Jack Black), an enthusiastic though clumsy panda, working in his adoptive goose father(voiced by James Hong)'s noodle restaurant, who longs to be a legendary kung fu warrior. Then one day, his dream becomes reality, sort of, when Master Oogway(voiced by Randall Duk Kim), the elderly Galapagos tortoise sage of the Jade Palace, chooses him to be the fabled Dragon Warrior( as opposed to the renowned Furious Five-Monkey, Crane, Viper, Mantis, and Tigress, voiced by Jackie Chan, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, and Angelina Jolie, respectively), much to the shock of Master Shifu(voiced by Dustin Hoffman), the Furious Five's red panda teacher, as well almost everyone else's shock. 

But what Po lacks in kung fu experience, he makes up for in passion, and the potential to learn. Shifu sees this in Po's eating habits when he ends up doing a perfect split just to get to Monkey's cookie jar-he'll do anything for food. So he takes advantage of this fact, and trains Po in a unique way by motivating him. And sure enough, Po masters sit-ups, push ups, balance, everything you need in a kung fu hero. And when time comes to defeat the antagonist, rogue snow leopard and former Dragon Warrior wannabe Tai Lung(voiced by Ian McShane), all these skills, along with his father's timeless advice("to make something special, you just have to believe it's special"), not to mention the mysterious Wuxi Finger Hold, ultimately pay off.

Now everyone finally respects Po as the true Dragon Warrior and a hero to all, thus is his dream fulfilled-but his old comical, mundane side stays with him as he asks an exhausted but enlightened Shifu if they'd like to get something to eat together.

The film was an instant hit with audiences worldwide. Captivated by its story, characters, humor, heart, and teachings, the world fell in love, including the Chinese, who were impressed and honored by the film's respectful cultural accuracy, and all the effort in research that one can tell was put into the movie just by watching it. 

But Po's story didn't end there. It only just began.

A few months later, after it was released onto home media, a short unofficial sequel, Secrets of the Furious Five, came along, in which Po gives the inspiring backstories of how each of the Furious Five members found their own potential to become what they are today.

Then, to the worldwide fandom's collective joy, Dreamworks announced that Kung Fu Panda 2 was being planned(with working subtitles Pandamonium and The Kaboom of Doom, later dropped), and would be released in 2011. Thence began the world's three-year-long wait for Po's continuation in mastering kung fu. 

To break the wait for just a while, a Holiday Special was aired November 2010, featuring Po et. al celebrating the beloved Winter Feast, and encouraging viewers to put family above all else during Christmas, just as Po does. 

Slowly but surely over that wait, information came out about Kung Fu Panda 2, including the peacock villain, Lord Shen(voiced by the talented Gary Oldman), and a bit on the mysterious power that threatens our heroes. Then in early 2011, the synopsis was released-Po must come to terms with his tragic past to succeed in stopping Lord Shen and his mysterious weapon that threatens to destroy kung fu. Then in time, the trailers were released, wowing the fans with the awesome villain, the animation, the story, and more. 


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Finally, the day came. Friday, May 26, 2011. Kung Fu Panda 2 entered movie theaters everywhere, not only capturing fans' hearts once more but also accomplishing the unlikely-surpassing the original film. Later in that year, the awesome sequel was released onto DVD and Blu-Ray, along with the awesome Secrets of the Masters. The latter tells the story of how Gongmen's Kung Fu Council, Masters Croc, Thundering Rhino, and Storming Ox, came to be heroes they are in #2.

Also in late 2011, that mediocre Legends of Awesomeness premiered on TV. That show is now an unpleasant memory, nothing more.

#2 left us with a cliffhanger, and in 2012, to the fandom's joy, Kung Fu Panda 3 was confirmed, set for March 18, 2016. The story was only briefly explained as having two conflicts: one supernatural and the other a little closer to home.

Once again, we all waited a couple years for the next step in Po's journey. The release date was changed to an earlier one-December 23, 2015, then back to March 18, 2018. Then in early 2015, along with leaked images of the villain, Mei Mei, Bao, and Tigress' new outfit, the precise synopsis was revealed, giving a more detailed synopsis and villain-The Collector, an evil spirit who steals the powers of every kung fu master he defeats, with his sights set on Po. Then the release date was changed to January 29, and The Collector's name was changed to Kai(as was his voice actor-J.K. Simmons took over from Mads Mikkelsen).

Then the first trailer was announced for June 20 on June 11. But merely two days later, on the thirteenth, the epic Chinese teaser trailer was leaked into America, wowing the crowd and giving America early glimpses of Kai's finalized appearance, as well as the Spirit Realm with Oogway, and what, exactly, Kai's supernatural ability is. Then on the 20th, the not-so-epic English teaser trailer, featuring Po's biological father, Li Shan(voiced by Bryan Cranston), was released. 

As the months went by, we got more information-more trailers(including another leaked Chinese one, albeit not as epic as the first), more new character info, and more leakings. 



Image result for kung fu panda 3

Then the day came. January 29, 2016. The world was awed by Po's adventure in finding his roots, becoming the true Dragon Warrior, defeating Kai, and mastering the great power of chi. A lot of people didn't quite like it as much due to the slight decline in critical quality, especially given the very high bar set by #2, but that was masterfully made up for by the stunning animation, music, lessons, and loyalty to Chinese culture.

Five months later, this epic third was released onto DVD and Blu-Ray, along with the hilarious Panda Paws short.

Around that time, Dreamworks also released the animated short Secrets of the Scroll, telling the story of how a young Tigress brought The Five together by a twist of fate.

Now here we all are exactly a decade since this journey began. It's been seven years since the second and two since the third. The movies may be over, but the story isn't.

In mid-2017, the KFP attraction at Universal Studios was announced, then in November, the confirmation of a web series on Amazon Prime was leaked. Those of us who were particularly tormented by Legends of Awesomeness were relieved to learn that the tone and consistency would lean towards the movies.

Earlier this year, the title and synopsis for the Amazon Prime series were announced. The Paws of Destiny tells the story of four panda kids who accidentally absorb the chi of ancient kung fu masters known as the Four Constellations in a cave under the Panda Village, and must use their newfound powers to save the world from an evil force. Meanwhile, Po is faced with his biggest challenge yet:teaching four little panda kids how to wield their powers.

And just these last couple of weeks, we've learned that Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor's Quest is set to open at Universal this summer, and it already has by now, though the official opening date is June 15th. This epic multi-sensory attraction brings guests along on a journey with Po, Shifu, and Mr. Ping to deliver the Liquid of Ultimate Power to the Emperor. But the task is easier said than done when our heroes face a villain on the way-a wolf bandit named Kang who wields the Ming Hammer, a relic so powerful it can knock a victim into the Spirit Realm!

From what guests are saying, along with videos of the attraction, the experience is awesome, with state-of-the-art immersion and excellent animation.

Now The Paws of Destiny has yet to be released, but from what we've heard, it'll be amazing, true to the movies, and absolutely worth it.

I myself wasn’t quite a fan from the very beginning-I became one in late 2008, when my parents rented the movie from Blockbuster, and I came to fall in love, my journey began from there.

In conclusion,   this day marks the tenth anniversary of not only the first movie, but also the very beginning of the KFP franchise, the beginning of pandamonium-pun intended-the beginning of an exciting journey of adventure, butt-kicking, and awesomeness.

It’s been a long time, but our love has never lessened and never, ever will!

HAPPY TEN YEARS, KUNG FU PANDA!!!  🐼🎍🍜🐉🎂🎁🎉


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