Secrets of the Furious Five
Encyclopedia
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five is an Annie Award
-winning animated short produced by DreamWorks Animation
which serves as a semi-sequel (or spin-off
) to the animated feature film Kung Fu Panda
and appears on a companion disc of the original film's deluxe DVD
release. It was later broadcast on NBC
on February 26, 2009 and is now available as a separate DVD as of March 24, 2009.
The film has a framing story of Po the Dragon Warrior (in computer animation
) telling the stories of his comrades in arms, the Furious Five, which are depicted in 2D cel animation, similar to the opening and credits of the original film.
The only actors from the movie to reprise their roles in this short were Jack Black
as Po, Dustin Hoffman
as Master Shifu, David Cross
as Crane, and Randall Duk Kim
as Master Oogway. Angelina Jolie
, Lucy Liu
, Jackie Chan
and Seth Rogen
do not reprise their roles mainly because their related characters are depicted as their younger selves.
In this short, Monkey is voiced by Jaycee Chan
, son of Jackie Chan
. Jaycee Chan also voiced Crane in the Cantonese version of the original film.
Production of the film was outsourced to Reel FX Creative Studios, who worked on CG animation, and to Film Roman
, who worked on traditionally animated sequences.
is about, while its true meaning is "excellence of self." To illustrate his point, he uses the stories of the Furious Five's individual pasts and the basic philosophical concepts they learned that enabled them to be great kung fu masters.
bandits, the long wait he was forced to endure in his cage allowed him to find the patience
to play dead long enough to ambush his captors.
bandit who wore armor hard enough to shatter his fangs when he tried to bite him. Seeing her father in peril, Viper found the courage
to fight the bandit and defeat him with her ribbon dancing skills.
of a kung fu academy until the star pupil, Mei Ling, encouraged him to try and seek enrollment in the school. Although his nerve failed him at the tryouts, he accidentally stumbled into the intimidating challenge that determined eligibility and suddenly found the confidence
to take the challenge, with his skinny body proving to be an asset that enabled him to succeed.
whose status as an apex predator
and her destructive lack of control of her strength left her feared and isolated in the rest of the orphanage where she lived. Master Shifu came to kindly teach her the discipline
she desperately needed to control her movements until she could perform delicate tasks with ease enough to allay the concerns of the orphanage and the children that lived there. When she was again rejected for adoption by the adults who still feared her, Master Shifu took her in as his student and foster daughter.
to others, as he would want in similar circumstances.
flash through his head; he then proudly says "it was totally awesome."
, of which it received four ("Character Animation," "Character Design," "Music," and "Production Design").
release has received much criticism from consumers confusing it for a feature length production. The UK
DVD release is described on the packaging as "The Next Kung Fu Panda Adventure", implying that it's a sequel to the first as opposed to a spin-off.
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
-winning animated short produced by DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
which serves as a semi-sequel (or spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
) to the animated feature film Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
and appears on a companion disc of the original film's deluxe DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release. It was later broadcast on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on February 26, 2009 and is now available as a separate DVD as of March 24, 2009.
The film has a framing story of Po the Dragon Warrior (in computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
) telling the stories of his comrades in arms, the Furious Five, which are depicted in 2D cel animation, similar to the opening and credits of the original film.
The only actors from the movie to reprise their roles in this short were Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
as Po, Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
as Master Shifu, David Cross
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
as Crane, and Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim
Randall Duk Kim is a Korean-American stage, television and film actor. Kim was also the artistic director and mainstay lead actor at the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, which he founded with Anne Occhiogrosso and Charles Bright...
as Master Oogway. Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
, Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...
, Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
and Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
do not reprise their roles mainly because their related characters are depicted as their younger selves.
In this short, Monkey is voiced by Jaycee Chan
Jaycee Chan
Jaycee Chan Jo-Ming is a Hong Kong actor and singer. In 2004, he released his first Mandarin CD album in Hong Kong. He is currently based in Taiwan to continue his music career.-Biography:...
, son of Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
. Jaycee Chan also voiced Crane in the Cantonese version of the original film.
Production of the film was outsourced to Reel FX Creative Studios, who worked on CG animation, and to Film Roman
Film Roman
Film Roman is an animation studio founded by Phil Roman, best known for producing the animation for The Simpsons, King of the Hill for 20th Century Fox, as well as the Garfield and Peanuts animated TV specials....
, who worked on traditionally animated sequences.
Synopsis
Po is assigned by Master Shifu to teach an introduction to kung fu class for a group of rambunctious rabbit children. Fortunately for Po, it does not take him long to bring the class to order and for the children to calm down, and begins to emphasize to the kids that combat is not the only part of what kung fuKung fu (term)
Kung fu or gongfu or gung fu is a Chinese term often used in the West to refer to Chinese martial arts.Its original meaning is somewhat different, referring to one's expertise in any skill achieved through hard work and practice, not necessarily martial...
is about, while its true meaning is "excellence of self." To illustrate his point, he uses the stories of the Furious Five's individual pasts and the basic philosophical concepts they learned that enabled them to be great kung fu masters.
Mantis
In his youth, Mantis was a petulantly impatient warrior who was prone to jumping to conclusions and making impulsive decisions. When this habit got himself captured by crocodileCrocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
bandits, the long wait he was forced to endure in his cage allowed him to find the patience
Patience
Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the...
to play dead long enough to ambush his captors.
Viper
Viper, the daughter of Great Master Viper, was born without venomous fangs. Her father, who relied on his venomous bite to protect the village, was despondent she could never succeed him as a warrior, making her feel timid. One day during a festival, her father Great Master Viper encountered a gorillaGorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
bandit who wore armor hard enough to shatter his fangs when he tried to bite him. Seeing her father in peril, Viper found the courage
Courage
Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation...
to fight the bandit and defeat him with her ribbon dancing skills.
Crane
Crane was an unconfident janitorJanitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
of a kung fu academy until the star pupil, Mei Ling, encouraged him to try and seek enrollment in the school. Although his nerve failed him at the tryouts, he accidentally stumbled into the intimidating challenge that determined eligibility and suddenly found the confidence
Confidence
Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself. Arrogance or hubris in this comparison, is having unmerited...
to take the challenge, with his skinny body proving to be an asset that enabled him to succeed.
Tigress
Tigress was an orphanOrphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
whose status as an apex predator
Apex predator
Apex predators are predators that have no predators of their own, residing at the top of their food chain. Zoologists define predation as the killing and consumption of another organism...
and her destructive lack of control of her strength left her feared and isolated in the rest of the orphanage where she lived. Master Shifu came to kindly teach her the discipline
Discipline
In its original sense, discipline is referred to systematic instruction given to disciples to train them as students in a craft or trade, or to follow a particular code of conduct or "order". Often, the phrase "to discipline" carries a negative connotation. This is because enforcement of order –...
she desperately needed to control her movements until she could perform delicate tasks with ease enough to allay the concerns of the orphanage and the children that lived there. When she was again rejected for adoption by the adults who still feared her, Master Shifu took her in as his student and foster daughter.
Monkey
Monkey was a troublemaker who tormented his village owing to him being publicly humiliated in his youth. He defied all attempts to force him to leave until Master Oogway confronted and defeated him, deducing the cause of his anti-social behavior. Rather than making him leave the village as per the challenge, Oogway told him to stay and encouraged him to show compassionCompassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
to others, as he would want in similar circumstances.
Conclusion
At the end, Shifu returns to see Po's anticipated lack of progress teaching and is surprised he underestimated Po's talents yet again, considering how much the panda's students have learned. But when the bunnies ask Po how his first day of kung fu was, all the unpleasant memories during the original filmKung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
flash through his head; he then proudly says "it was totally awesome."
Voice cast
- Jack BlackJack BlackJack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
as Po - Dustin HoffmanDustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
as Master Shifu - David CrossDavid CrossDavid Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
as Master Crane - Randall Duk KimRandall Duk KimRandall Duk Kim is a Korean-American stage, television and film actor. Kim was also the artistic director and mainstay lead actor at the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, which he founded with Anne Occhiogrosso and Charles Bright...
as Master Oogway - Elizabeth Ann BennettElizabeth Ann BennettElizabeth Ann Bennett is an American actress.She was born in Westminster, Maryland.-Filmography:* Liberty Heights .... Mary* One Life to Live .... Amber...
as Ant, Bunny - Jaycee ChanJaycee ChanJaycee Chan Jo-Ming is a Hong Kong actor and singer. In 2004, he released his first Mandarin CD album in Hong Kong. He is currently based in Taiwan to continue his music career.-Biography:...
as Young Master Monkey - Jim CummingsJim CummingsJames Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
as Instructor - Jessica DiCicco as Young Master Viper
- John DiMaggioJohn DiMaggioJohn William DiMaggio is an American voice actor. A native of North Plainfield, New Jersey, he is known for his gruff, deep voice and New Jersey accent, which he uses to voice mainly villains and anti-heroes.-Filmography:...
as Crocodile Bandit #1, Gorilla Bandit - Carol KaneCarol KaneCarolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane is an American actress. Kane has worked on the stage, on the screen and in television. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of the character played by Andy Kaufman. She received two Emmy Awards for her work...
as Sheep - Stephanie Kearin as Crocodile Bandit #2
- Max KochMax KochMaxwell "Max" Koch was a German-born Australian botanical collector.-Biography:Born in Berlin, Koch was apprenticed to a merchant's office, but, not liking the work, joined the crew of a Glasgow-based sailing ship at Bremerhaven. He left it at Port Augusta, South Australia in April 1878, taking...
as Young Master Mantis - Stephanie LemelinStephanie LemelinStephanie Lemelin is a Canadian actress. She appeared in the American TV series Cavemen. Other past credits include The 40-Year-Old Virgin, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Me, Myself and Irene, the last in which she appears with her mother, Rona. Her father is former NHL goalie Reggie Lemelin...
as Mei Ling - Meredith Scott LynnMeredith Scott LynnMeredith Scott Lynn is an American actress, producer, and director. She attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York City.-Filmography:-Television:-Producer:* Designing Blind TV series...
as Master Viper's Mom - Tom OwensTom OwensThomas William Owens is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6'10" center from the University of South Carolina, Owens played five seasons in the American Basketball Association and seven seasons in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Carolina Cougars, Memphis...
as Ladybug - Eamon Pirruccello as Impatient Bunny
- Grace Rolek as Shy Bunny
- Will ShadleyWill ShadleyWill Shadley is an American child actor, perhaps best known for his role in the 2010 film The Spy Next Door.Shadley was born in Winter Park, Florida to Shari and Rick Shadley, a landscape architect. He has an older sister. Shadley's first acting role was in a play of A Christmas Carol in which he...
as Nerdy Bunny - James Sie as Grand Master Viper
- Tara StrongTara StrongTara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
as Young Master Tigress
Awards
Secrets of the Furious Five has received eight nominations in the "Animated Television Production or Short Form" category at the 36th Annie Awards36th Annie Awards
The 36th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation for 2008, were held on January 30, 2009 at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. Below is a list of announced nominees...
, of which it received four ("Character Animation," "Character Design," "Music," and "Production Design").
Criticism
The individual DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release has received much criticism from consumers confusing it for a feature length production. The UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
DVD release is described on the packaging as "The Next Kung Fu Panda Adventure", implying that it's a sequel to the first as opposed to a spin-off.
External links
- Kung Fu Panda - Official Website