The third installment of 'Kung Fu Panda' movie series gets concept arts, giving a look at the mysterious panda village which is inspired by Sichuan, a region in the west of China.
- Jul 28, 2015
AceShowbiz - Some concept arts for the animated comedy "Kung Fu Panda 3" have surfaced online. Making its way out via EW, the concept arts reveal the hidden panda village as well as its panda inhabitants.
One of the images gives a look at the village which is seemingly located in a valley of a windy and snowy mountain. Po (voiced by (Jack Black) appears in the picture alongside other pandas such as the female one, Mei Mei (voiced by Rebel Wilson), and a number of baby pandas.
The design of the panda village was inspired by Sichuan, a region in the west of China. The filmmakers did a 10-day trip to the venue to observe real-life pandas. Besides Sichuan, Mount Qingcheng, which was covered in mist with beautiful rustic architecture, provided big inspiration for the village.
"We used that as a jumping off point for what you saw at the very end of the second film, and then we kind of kept drawing on that experience," said production designer Raymond Zibach. He also hinted that the landscape for the village was influenced by the idea of a Shangri La where the pandas are hidden from the rest of the world.
There is a reason why the village has earthy and very natural feel. The team behind the highy-anticipated movie said that they had to build a perfect village for a particular reason. "We try to experience this through Po's eyes, so we want to make it really special for him," Zibach said. "The fact that he comes back to other pandas and is going to learn their way of life was kind of magical to him because he thought none of this ever existed."
The third installment of "Kung Fu Panda" movie franchise centers on Po reuniting with his long-lost father who brings him to a secret panda paradise. When the supernatural villain Kai defeats all the kung fu masters, Po has to train a village full of fun-loving pandas. The voice cast also includes Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross and Lucy Liu. Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, the movie is slated for a release in the U.S. on January 29, 2016.
