Hollywood What If-Chapter 435

Kung Fu Panda is an animated film. The story is about a fat panda named Po, who dreams of becoming a Kung Fu Master.

Unexpectedly, Po is chosen as the Dragon Warrior and is trained by Master Shifu. Through training and trials, Po discovers his true strength and learns to accept himself.

When the Furious Five and Master Shifu are defeated by Tai Lung, Po steps up and fights the villain to protect the city.

The movie explores themes such as self-acceptance, action, comedy, perseverance, and self-belief.

Being a master of comedy and action, of course, Kazir used his strengths to come up with the plot of Kung Fu Panda... Erm, he copied it from the original creators, but who cares? He had been doing the same thing since 1995. There was nothing to feel guilty about.

For this project, 20th Century Fox invested $130 million in production costs.

The Big Six realized the massive profitability of 3D animated movies, and they also understood the high costs required to produce them.

So why was 20th Century Fox willing to spend such a large amount on a 3D animated film?

Because, unlike most live-action films, 3D animated movies had strong merchandise-selling potential.

Their toys, t-shirts, keychains, and other merchandise related to these movies were often sold out quickly.

Blue Sky Studio experienced this firsthand when Ice Age became a massive hit. All of the toys on their shelves were gone in just a matter of weeks. As for the amount of money they made? It was definitely in the 9-figure range.

That fact alone was enough for 20th Century Fox to invest in Kung Fu Panda. The profit they could make might be twice, or even three times of their investment.

There was a reason why Walt Disney remained such a dominant force. Despite facing numerous setbacks, they were known for being family-friendly and having signature products, animated movies.

And now, most of the Big Six were trying to replicate Disney's accomplishments.

Walt Disney had Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar under its banner.

Warner Brothers had Warner Bros. Animation (responsible for Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and the DC animated universe), Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera.

Universal Pictures had Illumination Entertainment (which would be created in 2007) and DreamWorks Animation (acquired by NBCUniversal in 2016).

Paramount Pictures had Nickelodeon Studios.

Sony-Columbia had Sony Pictures Animation, which was known for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Emoji Movie, and Hotel Transylvania.

20th Century Fox had Blue Sky Studios.

See what's happening here? Most of the most famous cartoon and animation studios were under the control of the Big Six. This clearly showed how powerful their influence was, even in the animated media space.

Even Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon were under the banner of the Big Six. They dominated the entertainment industry for a reason.

Now that traditional hand-drawn animation was becoming less popular, 20th Century Fox understood that investing in 3D animation through Blue Sky Studio was essential if they didn't want to be left behind by their competitors.

Kazir entered the workshop and saw more than a hundred people glued to their monitors, animating the scenes they were assigned.

It was a tough job. These people had to sit for hours creating scenes that the audience would only see for a few seconds.

Although, not going to lie, the animators in the West had it better than the average animators in Japan. Japanese animators were often considered the epitome of corporate slaves. Truly, a cruel world we live in.

Kazir and Carl Ludwig discussed the progress of Kung Fu Panda, which was already 80–90% complete.

Perhaps due to 20th Century Fox's confidence in the project, the funding was flowing smoothly, which significantly sped up production.

Kung Fu Panda was expected to be released next year. The project had been in development since last year, around the time Pirates of the Caribbean was released. So it was no surprise that the movie was nearing completion.

The voice actors cast in this project were actually A-list celebrities.

Po was voiced by Jack Black.

Tai Lung was voiced by Ian McShane.

Master Shifu was voiced by Dustin Hoffman.

Master Tigress was voiced by Angelina Jolie.

Master Mantis was voiced by Seth Rogen.

Master Viper was voiced by Lucy Liu.

Master Monkey was voiced by Jackie Chan.

The cast was stacked with top-tier actors. This clearly indicated how important this project was to the studio.

Kazir smiled when he saw a recorded clip of Angelina voicing her character, Master Tigress. She was genuinely having fun. He was happy that she seemed to be doing well. It showed that their separation was the right decision. They simply weren't compatible.

Carl felt awkward, knowing Kazir was the one who helped Angelina land the role of Master Tigress.

Anyway, their conversation continued, and both Kazir and Carl confirmed that production was proceeding smoothly. Once everything was finished, 20th Century Fox would select the best release schedule for the movie. Another several million dollars would be spent on promoting Kung Fu Panda.

After his meeting with Carl and checking on the progress of Kung Fu Panda, Kazir had another meeting to attend.

The next projects from Grey Pictures were extremely important, as they would determine how the entire Continental Cinematic Universe (CCU) would evolve. Naturally, Kazir, being the mastermind behind the CCU, needed to be present.

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[Second chapter of the day.]