Kung Fu Panda is a movie set in the intercultural environment. It is a product of the integration of Chinese and American cultures. Nowadays the United States and China represent two of the major cultural types in the world. The United States has become an economic giant since the end of World War II, and its values and ways of life have permeated the globe. Meanwhile, in the past few decades, China has witnessed a vast economic and social development and an enhancement of international status because of which Chinese culture is receiving wide attention from the rest of the world. This movie is an example of Hollywood’s foray into Chinese culture to find box office success, from which we can have a better understanding of globalization. On the other hand, its success in the global market has proved that cultural integration can be achieved with mutual respect and understanding.
2. Traditional Chinese Elements in Kung Fu Panda
2.1 Chinese Characterization
The story in the film took place in ancient China. The characters of the film were small animals with very distinct personalities and characteristics and were full of Chinese elements. For example, these tasks are all dressed in Chinese traditional costumes. The food they eat is also unique to China. The houses are also of ancient Chinese style. There are many other examples of Chinese elements in the movie.
There is no doubt that the panda Po is the most expressive of Chinese culture. The panda is a national treasure of China and a symbol of China. The panda is a very gentle and lovely animal. The first impression of panda Po is clumsy, obese, but it looks very humorous and very attractive to the audience. In fact, this is the first Hollywood movie that is based on the image of a panda. It is clever of the production team to use this image of panda, not only because it is new in Hollywood movies, but it also can add a touch of Chinese elements (Liu 2014:14).
In China, several representative animals of longevity are turtles and cranes. In the movie, master Oogway is portrayed as an ancient Chinese turtle, which is very consistent with Chinese traditional culture. In the movie, Oogway is the oldest creature in the entire universe and is also the Kung Fu master with the highest Kung Fu level. He was called a saint in the movie by people throughout the valley and was worshipped by the whole valley creature. Because of its high level of Kung Fu, it is also called a saint.
Therefore, what he said is full of philosophical implications. This is also consistent with China's traditional culture. Furious Five is a warrior team in the Oogway Masters Palace, which is also very consistent with China’s Shaolin Wulu. This team consists of tigers, cranes, Viper, monkeys and baboons. This design is also very smart, which fully reflects China's martial arts culture, because in China's Kung Fu, tigers, cranes, snakes, monkeys and baboons have their own unique martial arts. Shifu is the master of this warrior team and he is also a respected master.
However, the prototype of this master is a raccoon, which is different from traditional Chinese culture. From a worldwide perspective, this character is the same as the animal raccoon in North America. There are very few animals in China. Judging from the reality, although this figure is different from traditional Chinese culture, his behavior is basically the same as that of Chinese Kung Fu masters. He strictly abides by traditional Chinese ceremonies and etiquette. Equally impressive is that panda Po's father is a duck. Like most Chinese traditional parents, he is very conservative. He hopes that his son will continue to operate the noodle shops passed down from his ancestors. He does not want Po to learn Kung Fu. He thinks that inheriting his noodle shop is what Po should do. From these perspectives, both the character image and the plot design are very Chinese culture. 论功夫熊猫中的中国元素下的美国价值观(2):http://www.chuibin.com/yingyu/lunwen_206638.html
