Jack Black reflects on 16 years of Kung Fu Panda

ODE

The Tenacious D star returns as Po for the fourth time on the the big screen, and he's bringing the music. Report by Nelsonj. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Transcript

00:00 Jack Black, hello mate. Yeah, it is good to see you man, it is good to see you. I'll tell you what,

00:05 congrats on the film Kung Fu Panda 4, we're back, but what I'm most excited about is hearing you and

00:10 Kyle Gass on the soundtrack. When I was in high school, if you didn't have Tenacious D in your

00:15 life, your soul lacked joy as far as I was concerned. I've been singing Wonder Boy to

00:21 myself for the last couple of days. I'm just very pleased to see your face. And speaking

00:30 about this character, speaking about Wonder Boy, you're back for the fourth time with Paul. What is

00:34 the secret to his powers, would you say? Why does this guy still resonate with people after all this

00:40 time? Well, first of all, let me just say I'm glad that means you stayed through all of the end

00:45 credits to hear Tenacious D's version of Britney Spears' hit, "Hit Me Baby One More Time." We had

00:52 so much fun recording that. A little Tenacious D in the Kung Fu Panda universe, if you please.

00:57 Yeah, it was awesome to get back and party with Poe. Kung Fu Panda, Dragon Warrior has been

01:05 very, very good to me, and it's been an incredible journey over the last 16 years, is that right?

01:13 16 years, impossible. It's probably my proudest feather in my cap that I have an enduring

01:20 character that people all around the world love and want to see more of. That's heaven. For me,

01:25 that's heaven. And man, listening to Tenacious D in a soundtrack, especially when you go watch a

01:30 film with some kids around you as well, and to hear that and remember what kind of that music

01:38 has kind of meant to you over time, it's like an Easter egg for adults, almost, even though the

01:44 kids might be a little bit too young to hear some of the finest back catalogue of your fine band.

01:49 Do you still have as much fun with Poe as you did? I know you're kind of like dipping in out of it,

01:53 so I guess it's still refreshing each time, but when you're in the recording booth, do you still

01:58 get those kind of excited flutters for just being as balls out creative as you can be and see what

02:06 comes out of the other side? I sure do. I still have the love for that character and playing it

02:14 and getting in the booth. And it all comes down to the writing and the directing. And Abel and

02:20 Berger have been writing on Kung Fu Panda since the beginning for 16 years, and they came up with

02:25 a doozy. I think it was cool that we had all those years off since the first three. It took their

02:32 time and they gestated and they came up with this really kick-ass idea for a part four. And then the

02:40 directors, we got Mike and Stephanie, they were so fun to jam with. And that's so important because

02:48 it's that relationship that the actor and directors have that make the magic, you know? And it's got

02:56 to be fun. If you're not having fun with those people, it's not going to create fire. And it

03:04 sure did. I was really stoked to work with them. And you still seem like a guy who's having a lot

03:10 of fun in his career. As you mentioned, it's 16 years since Kung Fu Panda 1. So much has changed

03:13 in the industry since then. If you're a performer or a comic or an actor, privacy is sort of a thing

03:20 of the past with the way that everyone is so locked into social media and things nowadays.

03:26 Do you feel for the new generation coming through? Or are you more excited about all the different

03:31 ways in which you can create content and communicate with your audiences and grow

03:37 a fan base and stuff? What's your view on it these days?

03:40 Well, it's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you worry about the new generation being too

03:46 afraid to say or do anything because they'll be judged online. Everyone's watching all the time,

03:52 everything's recorded. But on the other hand, it is an incredible tool to be able to get content

04:00 out there and get people laughing at the drop of a hat with a post. It's so easy to make little

04:07 short stories and little comedy nuggets. And everyone has access to it. That's kind of an

04:13 amazing thing. So it's good and bad. You've got to be careful.

04:16 Yeah. Well, people have been loving your content for the last few years,

04:18 especially over lockdown and stuff. So you definitely seem like a guy who's managed to

04:22 get the best out of it. And finally, Poe's job, Dragon Warrior, in this to pass on wisdom,

04:29 to inspire hope. Is that Jack Black's motus operandi for the forthcoming years, for the

04:35 rest of your career? How do you see yourself now compared to when you started this out back then?

04:40 Yeah, I think I, along with Poe, have reached a time in my life where it's time to move on from

04:51 the Dragon Warrior into the spiritual leader. I can feel that transition, not so much that I'm not

04:59 going to start a spiritual leader thing, but just in terms of the priorities in life now that I've

05:08 got a family and there's things that are important that I didn't have to think about when I was a

05:14 kid. But now it's like, yeah, I'm a full grown ass adult. And it's cool. I love it. It's just,

05:23 you know, a new world.

05:25 We won't be expecting you to turn up on TV in a robe leading like a mass suicide any time soon.

05:31 No, not that kind of thing. No.

05:34 Well, hopefully a few more of these in the future. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next,

05:38 as I do each time you've got a new movie out. I'm a big fan, man.

05:40 Thank you.

05:41 And thanks not only for the laughs, but for the sweet, sweet music. Those early

05:45 noughties were a beautiful time. All right, man. Take it easy. Have a good year.

Category

Transcript

Recommended