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Charlie Kaufman Touches Up the Script for Kung Fu Panda 2

by Ethan Anderton
May 13, 2010
Source: Heat Vision

Though credit is usually clearly given to the screenwriters most prominently responsible for the film's script, there's usually a few big name writers who spend a short time with a script giving it final touch ups before calling it complete. Such is the case with DreamWorks Animation's big upcoming sequel Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom, the follow-up to the action comedy starring Jack Black in animated clothes. In the case of this sequel's script polishing, Heat Vision reports the brilliant screenwriter Charlie Kaufman made a two week pass at the animated sequel's screenplay. This will make things quite interesting, to say the least.

Obviously, it's not as if Kaufman did a complete overhaul, so don't expect Po to be kung fu fighting villains within his memories, only to realize that those memories are just part of an elaborate play being directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (or maybe in this case Dustin Hoffman, since he voices a character in these films) which features himself directing a sequel to Kung Fu Panda. Instead, here's the actual plot synopsis:

Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five - Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. But Po's awesome new life is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. It is up to Po and The Furious Five to journey across China to face this threat and vanquish it. But how can Po stop a weapon that can stop kung fu? He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

I'm not entirely sure how a weapon can stop kung fu, but I'll let them have it since you can't really scrutinize the logic behind a movie that features a panda and other animals speaking and fighting with kung fu. And speaking of the other animals, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross and Dustin Hoffman will all be reprising their roles alongside Jack Black. However, don't expect to see Kaufman's name in the credits on this, because script polishing like this usually is not publicized and is uncredited. Patton Oswalt has even talked about similar work he's done, (referred to as "punch-ups") on animated films. The sequel is already set to hit theaters on June 3rd, 2011 next summer. Anybody excited for this sequel?

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