WASHINGTON, D.C. —
After 8 years, DreamWorks has released the 4th new “Kung Fu Panda” film featuring the new adventures of Po, the kung fu fighting panda. This time, Po, who was chosen as spiritual leader, had to train new soldiers.
One day he is confronted by Chameleon, a powerful wizard who tries to steal the strength and kung fu abilities of the fighters. Po then realized that he needed a hero who could help him fight the witch.
This image released by Universal Pictures shows the characters Po, voiced by Jack Black, left, and Zhen, voiced by Awkwafina, in a scene from DreamWorks Animation's “Kung Fu Panda 4.” (doc: DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures via AP)
American film and video game reviewer Zach Pope, who has more than 48 thousand followers on YouTube, said in his review that “overall this film brings back the greatness of “Kung Fu Panda.”
“Some of the scenes in (this film) are amazing and it is also the best animation ever in this film franchise,” he added via a review on YouTube.
A person wearing a Po costume attends the premiere of the film “Kung Fu Panda 4” in Los Angeles, California, USA, March 3, 2024. (doc: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)
The film “Kung Fu Panda 4” again attracted actor Jack Black who voiced the character Po, as well as a number of other actors and actresses such as Ian McShane who voiced the characters Tai Lung, Viola Davis, Awkwafina, and Ke Hyu Quan.
The Forbes site states that this animated film franchise is predicted to earn more than 2 billion US dollars worldwide, with an opening in the first week reaching domestic revenues of almost 59 million US dollars, surpassing the second and third films.
According to the Associated Press website, the film Kung Fu Panda 4 managed to occupy the number 1 position at the American Box Office for its second week in cinemas, with ticket sales reaching 30 million US dollars.
Effect artist from Surabaya
The DreamWorks Animation studio, which is located in Glendale, not far from the city of Los Angeles in the state of California, is famous for producing animated films which always explode at the American Box Office, including “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Boss Baby,” ” Abominable,” “Trolls,” “Puss in Boots,” and the film franchise “Kung Fu Panda.”
Yorie Kumalasari, FX (effects) artist/Effects Lead DreamWorks who was involved in the production of “Kung Fu Panda 4” (doc: Yorie Kumalasar)
For the film Kung Fu Panda 4, DreamWorks hired an effects artist or FX (Effects) artist from Surabaya, Yorie Kumalasari, who has joined this company since 2018. As an FX artist in the world of 3-dimensional animation, Yorie is tasked with creating various effects such as fire, explosions, smoke, water, and many more in films.
For the production of the 4th Kung Fu Panda film, Yorie was trusted to be the Effects Lead or head of the team, where the total FX artists involved exceeded 40 people.
As Effects Lead, Yorie worked on this film project earlier than the others, and was trusted to work on the effects in 5 sequences, including the most difficult.
The scene with the most difficult effects was Yorie's responsibility (doc: Yorie Kumalasari/DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)
“I made the effects when Chameleon stole power from Tai lung. That's in the trailer as well,” Yorie told VOA.
“So I made the set up from the start, I got the frame style from the Art Department. From there we started working on, what would it look like in 3D? What kind of magic moves can he make? “So it was brought to life from that one image,” explained this woman, born in Riau in 1981, to VOA.
Yorie also worked on the effects for the scene where flower petals fall from the peach tree where Po is meditating.
“I (worked on) several main scenes, then other artists completed other scenes, using my set-up earlier,” he explained.
Effects by Yorie Kumalasari in the film “Kung Fu Panda 4” (doc: Yorie Kumalasari/DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)
Yorie himself admitted that he was happy to be able to create magical effects in films, which according to him had its own challenges when compared to creating other effects, such as smoke from a house chimney, which could be completed in one to two days.
“If it's magic it can last up to a month, two months. “So it depends on the head effects who distributes their duties, 'oh, who is the smartest at making magic, who is the smartest at making explosions,'” said Yorie, who has lived in the United States since 2005.
Challenge your imagination
Even though he has been heavily involved in creating effects for DreamWorks films, such as “How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World,” “Abominable,” “Trolls World Tour,” “Croods 2,” and “Puss in Boots 2,” This is the first time Yorie has participated in the production of the film “Kung Fu Panda.”
Yorie Kumalasari (left) and director of “Kung Fu Panda 4,” Mike Mitchell (right) at the screening of “Kung Fu Panda 4.” (doc: Yorie)
As preparation, he then watched the previous “Kung Fu Panda” films to learn the characteristics.
“(The Kung Fu Panda film) has more characteristics of Chinese art, Chinese culture, (because) this is the location, the story is in China. So there is a lot of (influence) from Chinese culture, such as Chinese paintings, pictures of Chinese symbols, like that. “There aren't any in other films,” said this master's graduate majoring in Digital Imaging and Design from New York University in New York.
What's interesting is that the film “Kung Fu Panda 4” has many hidden messages or what are often called 'easter eggs,' such as symbols that appear in the smoke or magical effects or smoke that is made to twist like a typical Chinese painting.
Yorie Kumalasari with her husband at the screening of the film “Kung Fu Panda 4” (doc: Yorie Kumalasari)
Yorie was also challenged to use his imagination when animating the image, so that it looked interesting to watch. As Effects Lead, Yorie usually provides various input for the effects he will create. However, according to him, his imagination is not necessarily the same as the imagination of the scene artist.
“Usually we get pictures. Everyone imagines it differently. I imagined, 'oh maybe it's curved or straight' like that. “But other people, who take that picture, might imagine it differently,” explained this bachelor's degree graduate majoring in Computer Science Engineering from the University of Surabaya in Surabaya.
Yorie Kumalasari with the DreamWorks FX team for “Kung Fu Panda 4” (doc: Yorie Kumalasari)
According to Yorie, the key is to communicate with each other to reach mutually agreeable decisions among the various opinions submitted.
Another challenge that Yorie also faced was the change in technology and software used for this film, considering that there was an 8 year time gap from the previous film.
“So we can't take the old setup to the new software. That can't work. “So we have to start from the beginning and follow the effects so that they are the same,” said Yorie.
Impeded by Strike
The process of creating the effects for the film “Kung Fu Panda” took 6 months, which according to Yorie was quite short, considering the busy schedule, because it was hampered by a strike by Hollywood filmmakers and actors.
“The problem is that the actors are not allowed to record sound. So we use (temporary) sounds. So the animation is a bit slow from the top (department). “From the department before us, animation, then we make the effects,” explained the woman who also worked at Walk Disney Animation Studios.
Yorie Kumalasari with the DreamWorks FX team for “Kung Fu Panda 4” (doc: Yorie Kumalasari)
Fortunately, the strike process ended soon and the actors were able to start working again. Yorie and his team were immediately flooded with tasks.
“So the animation started to take a lot of work, so we got a lot of shots,” said Yorie, who was also involved in the production of the film “Moana”.
Even though the release was postponed until May 2024, it turns out that this film can be completed this March, considering that not many children's films have been released.
Yorie Kumalasari's name at the end of the film “Kung Fu Panda 4” (doc: Yorie Kumalasari)
The hard work of Yorie and his team paid off. He felt happy and proud to be able to finish this film on time, especially when he received lots of comments from viewers who saw his name displayed at the end of the film.
“Yesterday, many friends in Indonesia also tagged me on Instagram or Facebook if they had seen Kung Fu Panda. Keep taking photos of my name on (film). “So I'm really happy to be able to connect with friends who are far away even though I'm in (America),” said Yorie.
Angela Thenaria, Yorie's friend since kindergarten in Riau, said she was really proud and moved when she watched the film “Kung Fu Panda 4”.
Angela Thenaria, Yorie's friend in Jakarta (doc: Angela Thenaria)
“Especially looking at Yorie's name in the credit title. And I'm very proud, not only is he my friend, but I'm also proud that there are Indonesian people whose work can be successful in America. And the effect is really cool,” said Angela, who now lives in Jakarta, to VOA.
As a tradition, DreamWorks Animation usually holds a party to celebrate the release of their new film by transforming the DreamWorks campus to match the film's theme.
“The day before it was released in the theater, we had a lot of events at the office. There are toys on campus so you can get “Kung Fu Panda” dolls, and Chinese food in the cafeteria, such as dumplings. Pleasant!” Yorie's story.
After “Kung Fu Panda 4,” Yorie is currently involved in the production of the animated film “The Wild Robot” directed by director Chris Sanders, who is famous for “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Lilo and Stich.”
This film, which is adapted from the novel by Peter Brown with the same title, tells the story of the adventures of a robot named Roz who finds herself on an island and tries to adapt to her new environment. The plan is that “The Wild Robot” will be released next September. (di/dw)