The great Gary Oldman has joined the cast of Kung Fu Panda: Kaboom of Doom. The movie is a sequel to DreamWorks’ animated hit, Kung Fu Panda, which brought in over $630 million worldwide when it was released in 2008.

Oldman will be voicing the role of the Peacock, who helps Po (Jack Black) to discover the location of some enemy bandits on his way to finding other pandas and learning about where he comes from. The Peacock, like most kung fu masters, has more to him than first appears.

It would be difficult for anyone to find an odder pairing than screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and the bumbling hero in Kung Fu Panda, but according to reports, that’s a match that has occurred recently.

Apparently Kaufman was brought in by DreamWorks to pen some touch-ups to the existing script for Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom, the sequel to the surprise animated hit of 2008. Kaufman’s spit-shine of the script, written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, is completely out of the realms that he usually works within.

Kaufman is best known as the writer of two of my own personal favorite movies, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. He also wrote Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Synecdoche, New York, which he also directed.

For the second time in the last year or so, Warner Brothers recently killed off their planned new live-action He-Man movie, which was preferably called Greyskull for a while, and then back to Masters of the Universe. Both moves came as a surprise as, even though it is He-Man, a review of the Justin Marks script by Latino Review claimed that it had a ton of potential and a real Lord of the Rings vibe to it. The reasoning behind Warner Bros. ultimately dispatching the classic property? It looks as if the studio and the creative sides of the project just could not see eye to eye, and decided it would be best to drop it and move on.

Now comes word that Columbia Pictures didn’t wait too long to go right after the property, and at last notice, they are in negotiations to acquire it. If this deal does move through without a hitch, though, there’s a good chance it could come with a price those of you looking forward to the project won’t swallow easily.

Kung Fu Panda
Pandamonium Double Pack
Directed by John Stevenson & Mark Osborne
Starring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, Lucy Lui, David Cross, Ian McShane
Paramount Home Entertainment
Release date: November 09, 2008

Kung Fu Panda tells the tale of Po (Jack Black), the son of a noodle maker who somehow becomes the sacred Dragon Warrior. In order to defeat an unspeakably evil foe, Tai Lung (Ian McShane), Po has to learn the art of kung fu and gain the respect of Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross), Monkey (Jackie Chan), and Viper (Lucy Lui).

When Kung Fu Panda first showed up, most people just assumed that it was another “just thrown together” animated flick for kids with Jack Black as a panda. Fortunately, the movie ended up surprising a whole lot of people and made a killing at the box office. Many considered it to be the best animated movie from DreamWorks Animation since Shrek.

I can admit that I was one of those people who thought it would suck and I too ate my words.

Kung Fu Panda
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by John Stevenson, Mark Osborne
Starring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie
Paramount Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 8, 2008

Any fan of Kung Fu movies is well aware of the fighting styles preying mantis or even the crouching tiger, but I am sure few have heard of the awesome fighting style known as the Kung Fu Panda. Luckily for us, the folks at Dreamworks have decided to make this lost art form as the subject of the latest movie, Kung Fu Panda.

Set in a fictional city in China known as the Valley of Peace, the story follows a panda with a lot of heart by the name of Po (Jack Black). Po works at his father’s noodle shop but his real dream is to one day be a kung fu master, fighting side by side with his idols, The Furious Five. Po gets his wish when wise master turtle Oogway proclaims him to be the legendary Dragon Warrior, a fighter destined to save the valley from the evil Tai Lung. Will Po be able to live up to his role as dragon warrior? Will the Furious Five accept him as one of their own but more importantly, will Po accept himself?