Learning, Laughing and Growing with Po & Kung Fu Panda 3

 Kung Fu Panda 3 comes out this Friday, Jan 29. We got to sit down with the Screenwriters, Directors, Producer and star Jack Black to talk about what Po has learned and how he has grown (no dumpling jokes) over the last 10 years.  In the first two Kung Fu Panda movies we watched Po become the Dragon Warrior that no one thought was possible. In this film Po must do the impossible again and become the teacher.  When Po's long-lost panda father (Brian Cranston)  suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai (J.K. Simmons) begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!
https://youtu.be/yqN7nHM1YTA

"If you only do what you can do, you'll never be more than you are now," is what Master Shifu tells Po, when Po doesn't believe that he can ever teach Kung Fu to others.  I have thought of and used this quote with my kids, with my friends and with myself numerous times since seeing this movie. I told the filmmakers how this line really resonated with me and asked them about on-going learning as one of the themes of the movie :

Melissa Cobb, a Producer, said "What's kind of nice is that those thematic ideas and those messages are great for kids, obviously, and they're great for Po because he's a big kid.  They also really apply to adults.  And I think we all go through life and then we get to a certain level of accomplishment, and we still are insecure and we still have doubts about what we can do next and can we go to that next level, and we still have to be true to ourselves.  So, there are lessons that don't get old that you don't ever outgrow and Po will never outgrow. "

Director, Ms. Jennifer Yuh Nelson added " That idea of pushing ourselves through things is so important because it's hard.  It's uncomfortable to push yourself outside your comfort zone to learn something new.  Learning is hard. But, I think that's really important for everyone.  I mean, we were talking about how, if a kid masters kindergarten, they can't stay there forever.  They have to go to elementary school, junior high school, high school, then college and get a job or become a parent.  And each one of those steps is frightening.  But, seeing someone like Po struggle with that--and he's not a superhuman character, to see him struggle and win over that I think is wonderful to encourage people that they can go there too."  

"What is the next lesson that Po needs to learn"? was the hardest question to answer according to Screenwriters, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. "Telling Po's story of discovery, self-discovery, who am I, and really exploring the part of the family aspect of who he was" is at the heart of Kung Fu Panda 3. 

Po has many positive influences in his life that help him learn and grow. His teammates, his Dads, his senseis, all contribute to shaping (again no dumpling jokes) and helping Po on his personal quest of self- discovery. When asked who his real life senseis were Jack Black answered, " I've had a lot.  You know, my first acting teacher comes to mind, Deb Devine.  She was great.  And my second teacher in high school was Scott Weintraub.  He was a huge influence.  And Kyle Gass taught me how to play guitar but, I don't like to say he was my sensei because we’ve got more of a sibling rivalry thing going.  But, I guess those would be the big three. " 
When asked for the advice he would give to kids that want to be like him, (the actor, not the dragon warrior) he said " I always try to steer them towards writing and directing.  Acting is really fun and I've always loved doing it, but I got advice early on from a teacher named Deb Devine who said, don't just sit around waiting to be a puppet in someone else's show. You know, you got to go out and tell stories and make your own stuff or else it'll probably never happen.  

It's so competitive out there.  You have to work on all aspects of storytelling.  And even though I'm not, like, a big screenwriter, I do credit the stuff--like, my career with the early stuff that I did write myself.  It helps to find your voice as an actor too if you do some writing, right?  Write sketches and songs and plays, and even a screenplay if you can." 
We loved the messages and the heart in this movie but we also laughed and laughed. The screenwriters talked about how they don't just throw in jokes every five seconds that they think kids will think are funny, but they actually try to make the other filmmakers and crew laugh out loud. That's when they know it works. We agree it definitely worked and we are hoping for many more Kung Fu Pandas to come. 

Full Disclosure- This is not a sponsored post, I was hosted at the press junket by 20th Century Fox & DreamWorks Animation for review purposes. All opinions are my own.