Kung Fu Panda director Mark Osborne talks a martial arts obsessed panda named Po who, much like Luke Skywalker, goes through his own heart-felt hero's journey. Osborne chats with StarWars.com about his appreciation for the Star Wars saga and explains how it still continues to influence him as a filmmaker.
That film opened up a lot of doors for me, and to this day it's still a great calling card. Even when I was meeting people about Kung Fu Panda, More is part of the conversation. It's great to have that six minutes still live on.
I made More while I was at CalArts teaching stop-motion. Previously, CalArts called me asking if I would be interested in teaching a stop-motion class and I was shocked that anyone was still interested in that because I couldn't find work in it. There will always be this underground cult that worships stop-motion. So when I was teaching, the kids were so into it, and that was so inspiring to me and eventually led me to make More.
What do you remember as a kid when you first discovered Star Wars?
I grew up in Vermont so we always got movies really late. My mom's aunt was visiting and she brought me a Star Wars T-shirt. I loved the imagery on it but I hadn't seen the movie yet. The shirt had a montage of images on it including Darth Vader and an X-wing. I loved Star Wars just based on the shirt imagery! Kids who had seen the movie were pointing at my T-shirt and excitedly explaining it to me as I looked at it upside-down. My brother saw it first and came home and told me everything. So I was pretty primed for the movie when I finally got to see it.
Considering how much you loved the T-shirt, were you big into the toys as well?
I basically got every single toy as it came out all the way up to Jedi. I didn't collect die-cast toys, only action figures and the vehicles. When I first saw the AT-AT on-screen I pretty much lost it. So when I got the giant AT-AT toy for Christmas from my dad I thought he was the coolest dad on the planet. I was collecting toys that I displayed on shelves in my room, and I was also hanging things on my wall like posters and any magazine imagery from the films I could find.
My collecting habits continued until I was 13. One day my brother brought over all his friends home after baseball practice when I wasn't there and they saw all my toys. I think it kind of blew their minds that I was still into it. And the next day everyone at school started calling me Toy Boy. After that, I kind of shut down a little bit and packed up some of my toys.
That's so sad! You buckled!
Yeah I know. I packed up even more of it when I went to go live with my dad in New Jersey. So I just left my collection hidden in boxes for awhile. But as I was getting involved in Kung Fu Panda I kept thinking that the character Po is a fanboy too and that was something I could really relate to. You never see it in the movie but it's the imagined backstory that he used to try to do Kung Fu and he got laughed at so that is why he keeps that part of him a secret. So the big question was, what if someone knocked on my door and said, "Hey, you could actually become a Jedi," what would I do? I remember when I was seven years old trying to use the Force. I would lie in bed and try to move stuff; especially after Empire Strikes Back. They really explain how to do it. I should be able to do it because I heard everything Luke was told!
So if someone did come to my door and offer me a chance to become a Jedi, could I deal with the world still judging me and calling me "Toy Boy?" Or will this be a chance that my fandom will be validated? Because there's a huge chance I may not make it as a Jedi. (laughs)
That was my personal connection to Kung Fu Panda regarding my love for Star Wars and letting my freak flag fly.
When did you decide to get out your Star Wars collection again?
I started collecting again pretty hardcore when the Special Editions were released. I shifted mostly to collecting Yoda stuff. The Force was the closest thing I had to religion in my life. Yoda became a big inspiration to me when I was filming More, because it was such an impossible task. I had a Yoda toy with me on set. In the press photos for More you can actually see Yoda in the background on the set. My mantra while filming was "Do or do not, there is no try." I had to finish this film. It was pretty apparent at that point I was embracing my Star Wars heritage. It was really helpful.
Well, once I had children I had to stop collecting. That was a great struggle for me to justify the expense. Now I buy Star Wars stuff for my son. I did not push him into it, but I think he has the Star Wars gene because he's obsessed it like I was.
My most-prized possession is still my original AT-AT because it was the most iconic and significant toy for me. The first time I saw it was in the Boston Globe Weekend Magazine with the cover story being all about The Empire Strikes Back. I obsessed over that image for weeks before I saw the film.
It's impressive that you've managed to hold on to your original collection all these years, instead of having to tell the tale about your mom selling everything by accident during a garage sale after you went off to college.
That collection was pretty special to me, and it was clear to my mom that I was hardcore about it. While I collected the action figures, my older brother collected the 12" dolls. I remember there was a point where he sold his collection at a yard sale and I didn't think to buy them. I wasn't a completionist type of collector where I had to have everything, and I let it go. I kind of kick myself for that.
On some level though isn't buying stuff off of your siblings kind of a jip? He should have just given you those toys instead of selling them all to the kid down the block for $5!
True. (laughs)
