Artist Quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson
![“Oriental DreamWorks did a lot of the surfacing of the village [in Kung Fu Panda 3] and you know all the little paintings on all the gables and everything? They have meaning, and they could do that because they know what that means, we don't necessarily know about that over here.” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c0c/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_artist_oriental-dreamworks-did-a-lot-of-the-sur_2469620.jpg)
“Oriental DreamWorks did a lot of the surfacing of the village [in Kung Fu Panda 3] and you know all the little paintings on all the gables and everything? They have meaning, and they could do that because they know what that means, we don't necessarily know about that over here.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Discussion on Kung Fu Panda 3 production, 2016
Cultural authenticity in animation relies on deep understanding of traditions, which may be lacking locally.
In simple terms: Understanding culture improves authentic art.
Key Takeaway
Learn and respect cultural details in creative work.
Themes
culture
authenticity
artistic integrity
Mood
thoughtful
reflective
Type
educational
artistic
When to use this quote
- film production
- design workshops
- educational programs
Key Concepts
cross‑cultural exchange
visual storytelling
heritage preservation
Questions to Reflect On
- How can creators acquire authentic cultural insights?
- What responsibilities do artists have to represent cultures?
A Different Perspective
Local creators may lack access to cultural knowledge.
![“You have hundreds of artists you're dealing with across the world and the scale of this movie [Kung Fu Panda] was insane - we had a parallel pipeline going on where you had two versions recording Mandarin voice actors, getting it to be funny for Mandarin audiences going beyond a straight…” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/da4/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_actors_you-have-hundreds-of-artists-you-re-deal_233519.jpg)
![“I think we had to push forward to make sure it was different, do something that we had never done before and yet still have the consistency to stay in the same world. This was our chance to do all the things we didn't get a chance to do before. We've been working on these movies [Kung Fu Panda]…” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/699/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_chance_i-think-we-had-to-push-forward-to-make-s_1797999.jpg)
![“When you see all of the pandas in this movie [Kung Fu Panda 3], they are rolling because that is exactly what they do. Not only were we able to watch the pandas play but we had free range to walk around and get a feel for the architecture and get a sense of where they lived ,so there's a lot of…” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/400/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_able_when-you-see-all-of-the-pandas-in-this-m_1757749.jpg)
![“We did two films [Kung Fu Panda], because the first two films were so embraced by the Chinese audiences we wanted to make something we could push further and since this is a co-production, it seemed like the perfect time to create something that felt native to Chinese audiences.” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0ed/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_audience_we-did-two-films-kung-fu-panda-because-t_1507046.jpg)
![“I think it's because Po [from Kung Fu Panda] is such a geek, and he is so relatable. He is so excited by life and is excited to learn new things. I think that accessibility is something that we all can relate to, there are so many things we wish we could do but don't have the means to achieve it.” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7d2/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_accessibility_i-think-it-s-because-po-from-kung-fu-pan_1340754.jpg)
![“Po's [Kung Fu Panda] unending enthusiasm is something we wish we could have. We can't help but root for him because of his geek energy.” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e52/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_energy_po-s-kung-fu-panda-unending-enthusiasm-i_3028482.jpg)
![“We got the best actors imaginable [in Kung Fu Panda]. If we could have made a wish list I don't think there would anyone else we would have added. Yeah, we've been blessed with exactly how amazing a cast of actors we have. To have someone like Bryan Cranston, who is not just an amazing actor, but…” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5f2/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_actors_we-got-the-best-actors-imaginable-in-kun_1127039.jpg)
![“You're right, we both have been working on these films [Kung Fu Panda] forever and we know these characters so well that literally we will react to the same note in the same way. We will have the same answer most of the time.” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/145/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_answers_you-re-right-we-both-have-been-working-o_781166.jpg)
![“One of the things we love about Po [Kung Fu Panda] is that he's vulnerable. He's someone that we can all identify with because he has those insecurities. He's an outsider feeling guy.” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/03a/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_feelings_one-of-the-things-we-love-about-po-kung_464472.jpg)
![“We have those new environments [during Kung Fu Panda 3] that give a scale to the movie, that are the spirit realm and the panda village. The spirit realm, having no gravity, having this massive space, allowed us to do huge action shots. All that we just couldn't do before. We just couldn't get the…” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/608/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_action_we-have-those-new-environments-during-ku_358659.jpg)
![“We actually tried to put in [Kung Fu Panda 3] all the things we wanted to put into the first two films. We're all the same people who've been working on the other films and we all had things we couldn't do, and had to leave on the table. We just couldn't achieve them before. This time we have…” quote by Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/199/jennifer-yuh-nelson-9435_achieve_we-actually-tried-to-put-in-kung-fu-pand_306352.jpg)
