‘Kung Fu Panda’ Faces Challenge in China

China’s Internet bulletin boards are buzzing with the debate over whether the film 'Kung Fu Panda' should be boycotted.

Dreamworks’ “Kung Fu Panda” has proven to be a champ in the U.S., where the film has grossed close to $120 million since opening on Jun. 6. But in China, where it’s scheduled for release this Friday, it may face a fight at the box office.

China’s Internet bulletin boards are buzzing with the debate over whether the film should be boycotted. The Hecaitou blog has photos of a recent three-man protest outside the offices of the State Administration of Radio Film and Television in Beijing, along with images of a petition addressed to Sarft calling for the film’s release to be canceled.

“If the Hollywood film ‘Kung Fu Panda’ is released on Jun. 20, it will be just like snatching the necklaces and watches from the corpses of disaster victims,” the petition reads.

The protest and petition were led by artist Zhao Bandi 赵半狄, whose work incorporates panda motifs.


Among the main gripes with the film: Hollywood is exploiting China’s “national treasure” (its pandas) and its martial arts; the film is made by Dreamworks, a studio founded by Steven Spielberg (who withdrew from his role as an adviser to the Beijing Olympics earlier this year over concerns about China’s role in Sudan); and more broadly, it’s a Hollywood film, and Hollywood is the place that produced Sharon Stone, reviled in China for her Cannes comments about Tibet, the Sichuan earthquake and karma.

Zhao Bandi's petition to Sarft：



According to the Beijing News Zhao met with the head of Sarft’s film department yesterday. After the meeting, Zhao said he could accept the release of the film in Chinese theaters but suggested that it be delayed or canceled in areas that were hit by the massive May 12 earthquake in Sichuan (home of the giant panda), noting that the emotions of the people there are still quite raw.

While Zhao appears to have eased a bit, the debate over a boycott continues on the Internet and even on Zhao’s blog, where a Jun. 15 post on the film has garnered hundreds of comments to date on both sides of the issue.

Theme song of the movie 'Kung Fu Panda':


Source: SWJ