Awkwafina was in San Francisco recently as “Grand Marshall” for the annual San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade:
“A massive crowd showed up to celebrate the Chinese New Year in San Francisco’s Chinatown on Saturday night as Hollywood actress and comedian Awkwafina led the annual parade to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.
From Union Square to Chinatown, tourists and locals packed the sidewalks along the milelong parade route to watch the iconic celebration—one of North America’s largest and few remaining nighttime parades.”
As part of her visit to San Francisco, Awkwafina held a mini-press junket right before the parade. As soon as she got out of the car to get to the Kung Fu Panda 4 backdrop, she was mobbed by fans, including those involved with the parade. I had only two minutes to interview her before she was rushed off to her parade duties.
To my surprise, I wasn’t aware that there had been a Kung Fu Panda 3. I definitely saw the original film and pretty sure I saw the sequel. The fourth installment is about:
“After three death-defying adventures defeating world-class villains with his unmatched courage and mad martial arts skills, Po, the Dragon Warrior (Golden Globe nominee Jack Black), is called upon by destiny to … give it a rest already. More specifically, he’s tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.
That poses a couple of obvious problems. First, Po knows as much about spiritual leadership as he does about the paleo diet, and second, he needs to quickly find and train a new Dragon Warrior before he can assume his new lofty position.
Even worse, there’s been a recent sighting of a wicked, powerful sorceress, Chameleon (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), a tiny lizard who can shapeshift into any creature, large or small. And Chameleon has her greedy, beady little eyes on Po’s Staff of Wisdom, which would give her the power to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.
So, Po’s going to need some help. He finds it (kinda?) in the form of crafty, quick-witted thief Zhen (Golden Globe winner Awkwafina), a corsac fox who really gets under Po’s fur but whose skills will prove invaluable. In their quest to protect the Valley of Peace from Chameleon’s reptilian claws, this comedic odd-couple duo will have to work together. In the process, Po will discover that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places. “
I’ll definitely have to catch Kung Fu Panda 4 now! Kung Fu Panda 4 comes out on March 8, 2024.
