They say the clothes make the man, or maybe that was something we read on the Internet. and in "Kung Fu Panda 3," what Jack Black was wearing while voicing his character was almost as important as what he was saying.
Jack Black returns as the lovable Po, and after two movies, both Po and Jack have mastered kung fu.
Chris Van Vliet: "Jack, I want to ask you, your character moves around so much. What’s it like when you’re voicing this character. Are you able to just stand in one spot and do it?"
Jack Black: "No, it’s important to physicalize. If your character is doing kung fu, you actually have to move around and strike those poses while you talk, or else it doesn’t look right."
Sweet moves, right? Like Jack Black there, Po couldn’t be happier when he’s reunited with his father, voiced by Bryan Cranston.
But then he’s thrown out of his comfort zone when Master Shifu, voiced by Dustin Hoffman, challenges him to go from student to teacher.
Dustin Hoffman (as Master Shifu): "Po, you must take the next step on your journey."
Chris Van Vliet: "Your character is kind of a mentor to Jack Black’s Po. What’s some of the best advice that you got?"
Dustin Hoffman: "You should always aim higher than what you can achieve. In other words, if it’s like a light bulb, it should always be a little bit out of your reach."
Dustin Hoffman (as Master Shifu): "If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now."
Po has to train an entire village of pandas to be kung fu warriors like him, in order to take on Kai an evil supernatural beast played by J.K. Simmons.
Chris Van Vliet: "You’ve had this amazing career. You’ve won an Oscar, so congratuations about that.
J.K. Simmons: "Thank you."
Chris Van Vliet: "But how often do people just know you as the Farmers Insurance guy?"
J.K. Simmons: "I’m telling you, more people will probably see that than any movie. Maybe more people will see "Kung Fu Panda 3," but I bet it’ll be close."
So we know that Jack Black likes to get right into character, and move like his character would, but apparently what you wear — or don’t wear — is very important, too.
Jack Black: "If you hear, like, jeans going like this, that doesn’t look right, ’cause Po doesn’t wear jeans, soIi’ll take off some clothes. I’ll be down in like my skivvies and no shoes, because I wear orthotics and the shoes are a little squeaky."
Jack Black (as Po): "I think i just peed a little."
"Kung Fu Panda 3" is in theaters this weekend. By the way, that was Kate Hudson who told us that she read all of her lines while in a bikini.