Look for the bear necessities
| Published date | 05 April 2024 |
| Publication title | Huddersfield Daily Examiner |
Zhen forms an unlikely friendship with Po, the kung fu fighting panda - voiced by School Of Rock actor and comedian Jack Black - that has been the core of the franchise since the first film in 2008, On face value, the two seem like "opposites", says Awkwafina, real name Nora Lum.
While Po comes from "a place of a lot of positivity and a lot of faith in other people", Zhen "has been let down by people and feels very negative about the world", she explains.
"I like how those energies come together and ultimately they learn larger truths about themselves."
Jack adds: "I was stoked with the chemistry of the characters, because in a lot of ways, they're similar.
They're both orphans, they both had tragic beginnings - but there's also a big difference between the two in the 'haves' and 'have nots' emotionally.
"Because from a very early age, Po was adopted and loved and cared for by a very caring foster parent [Mr Ping, voiced by Everything Everywhere All At Once actor James
Hong]. Zhen was not, and had to fend for herself and hardened."
Jack, 54, and Awkwafina, 35, both come from comedy backgrounds, but have very different styles.
"I love Nora's dry, sardonic sense of humour, that I don't really share," Jack admits. "I'm more like a kid with my physical humour and childish kind of energy.
"Those two dynamics work perfectly for the characters."
Voice actors for Kung Fu Panda 4 taped their parts separately - except one day where Jack and Awkwafina linked up in the recording booth.
"We realised why we don't do it together, because we were cracking each other up so much," Jack says, cheekily. "There was probably too much back laughing on each other's takes."
Sometimes the stars would find themselves in strange situations recording on their own - like when Awkwafina had to record the sound of Zhen careering down 1,000 steps in a cart.
Don't about rear-view Jack philosophy." things
She also remembers "prolonging a scream for like 20 minutes", asking: "Because then you are like, am I a good screamer?"
Jack adds: "At least they always save that for the end - they don't do it at the beginning, because they know you're going to be wrecked."
Awkwafina isn't the only new character joining the cast - there's a new villain, too. Po finds himself...
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