Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Everybody is not kung-fu fighting over “Legend of a Rabbit”, but some of them are scratching their heads and mumbling “rip-off” under their breath. That’s because the similarities between this big 3D animation production, China’s first, and those movies about a certain clumsy, wise-cracking panda are said to be striking. In fact, the goal of the rabbit hero’s quest for kung-fu greatness is to exact revenge upon an evil kung-fu fighter that happens to be….a panda. The film was released in Shanghai on July 11, and some audience reactions are calling the movie shanzhai, the Chinese word for copy or fake. Producer and director Jun Lijun is unfazed by this, and has publicly pointed out that “Rabbit” has been picked up for distribution in 62 countries without one word of protest from “Kung-fu Panda” studio Dreamworks over copyright infringement. That sounds pretty convincing; but what will really be interesting is to see how China’s first effort in the 3D animation blockbuster arena stacks up against the huge movies Dreamworks and Pixar have been releasing for years. (CNNGo – How Will “Rabbit” Stack Up?)
Continue reading