The film was released in 62 countries, and was the first Chinese animated feature ever to be shown internationally. The film was a box office failure in China, managing to gross CNY16.2 million compared to its CNY120 million budget. Some noted its similarity to the Kung Fu Panda film franchise.
A rabbit named Fu has an occupation of cooking pancakes in Beijing. He is trained by kung fu master named Laoguanzhu, so he can defeat the master's enemy. Fu, surprised at this discovery, confronts Laoguanzhu; furious at these accusations, Laoguanzhu begins to enlarge until he becomes a giant and devours Tu'er.
Legend of a Rabbit was directed by Sun Yijun, president of animation at Beijing Film Academy. It was made over the course of three years, with a crew of 500 animators.[3] The film was produced on a budget of CNY120 million, with 80% of it used for production equipment, while the rest was used for marketing.[4] Yijun said that he was not completely satisfied with the film, but it would still get attention to the Chinese animation industry.[5] He also said:
What made me proud is that The Guardian had an article that was titled '"China Picks Cartoon Fight with Hollywood". It means that, as a Chinese, I am competing with the United States. It's just like Liu Xiang competing in the 100 meters – this is definitely a proud thing for Chinese.[5]
Legend of a Rabbit was first presented in December 2010, at a conference held in Beijing.[6] The first teaser was released in February 2011,[3] and a seven-minute preview was later put online in June.[7] The film premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.[8] It was later shown at 3,000 theaters in China,[8] and was released in more than 80 countries,[9] making it the first Chinese animated film ever to have an international theatrical release.[10] Tianjin North Film Studio signed a deal with Cartoon Network to air the film in Australia, New Zealand, India and Taiwan,[11] and merchandise such as a line of toys were also made.[8]
The English version for Legend of a Rabbit stars the cast of Jon Heder, Tom Arnold, Rebecca Black, Michael Clarke Duncan, (all pictured) and Claire Green.
Legend of a Rabbit was a commercial flop at the Chinese box office, managing to gross CNY16.2 million against its CNY210 million budget. It had earned over CNY10 million on its first week. The film's director considered that the reason for the very little amount of viewing for cartoon movies was due to the audience's habits.[1] However, in March 2013, it was #6 on Redbox's Family Top 20.[13]
Many have considered the film to be a rip-off of the 2008 American film Kung Fu Panda. Reacting to this, Yijun denied that "Legend of a Rabbit" was even based on the film and said he was confused by the netizens' response.[4]
Response of the film from critics was mixed to negative. The Hollywood Reporter said the film had "potential to be a cheeky finger-up to the Kung Fu Panda franchise", but noted the lack of "eye-popping action, incident or humor to nourish the congee-thin plot," saying that it was "sweet but not enough of a funny bunny."[14]The Sun called it "a commendable effort. It's only fault is that it has to stand up against the technically-slick productions from Hollywood."[15] Japancinema.net graded it a D, calling it an "unoriginal, messy, waste of time, waste of money film that hopefully I can forget as fast as I watched it."[16] Linus Tee, writing for moviexclusive.com, criticized the film's humor and CGI quality, stating it would've been better if it had more-polished technological resources and dialogues.[17] Writing for the magazine Starburst, Andrew Pollard named it "one of those movies that you will regret giving your time to, and it will have you thinking of all the other, better ways you could have spent ninety minutes of your day, such as chewing glass or repainting the house and then watching the walls dry", giving it three out of ten stars.[18] On the positive side, the Dove Foundation awarded the film a score of 3 out of 5, saying that the "characters are memorable and the theme of loyalty is not to be missed in this movie!" However, they warned parents about the amount of violence in the film, suggesting it for kids at the age of 12 years or older.[19]
A sequel of the film, Legend of a Rabbit: The Martial of Fire came out in 2015. A sequel was first announced in November 2011.[12] The film was sold to Turkey, Indonesia, Iran and the Middle East in February 2012, and was originally announced to be released under the title Legend of a Rabbit 2: Mysterious City Of Stones.[21] In May 2013, it was stated that Xu Zheng would play the main character, and that the film would premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19. The sequel was also to be directed by Yijun.[9] Neither were actually involved in the final film. It released on February 21, 2015, with many citing improvements over the first film with the higher quality animation and voice acting.
An Untitled Third Film is currently in development that was scheduled for a 2017 release but not much has been said since its announcement.
^ abLegend of Kung Fu Rabbit (2011). Amazon.com. Accessed on July 29, 2013.
^ abYoung, Al (15 February 2011). "First Teaser For Chinese Animated Action Comedy LEGEND OF A RABBIT". Twitch Film. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
^ abMing, Lifang (July 7, 2011). 被批山寨熊猫，“兔侠”喊冤：就你能胖？ (in Chinese). Xiaoxiang Morning News. Accessed on July 29, 2013.
^ abHo, Stephanie (June 12, 2012). Hopes of Chinese Animation Ride on 'Tofu Boy'. Voice of America. Accessed on July 29, 2013.
^《兔侠传奇》造型曝光 导演扬言欲打“熊猫” (in Chinese). yule.tom.com. December 20, 2010. Accessed on July 30, 2013.
^Young, Al (June 27, 2011). Watch Seven Minutes Of LEGEND OF A RABBIT. Twitch Film. Accessed on July 30, 2013.
^ abcA Chinese 3D rabbit ready to run all over the world. China Screen News. April 25, 2011. Accessed on July 29, 2013.
^ abcShackleton, Liz (May 17, 2013). Xu Zheng hops to Rabbit. Screen Daily. Accessed on August 5, 2013.
^ abChina's answer to 'Kung Fu Panda 2': Kung Fu rabbit. CNN. July 12, 2011. Accessed on July 29, 2013.
^Coonan, Clifford (May 11, 2011). 'Legend of a Rabbit' acquired for Oz, NZ, India, Taiwan. Variety. Accessed on July 30, 2013.
^ abWiseman, Andreas (November 6, 2011). Michael Clarke Duncan, Rebecca Black join US voice cast for Legend of a Rabbit. Screen Daily. Accessed on July 29, 2013.
^Armstrong, Josh (March 17, 2013). Kung Fu Rabbit fins success via Redbox. animatedviews.com. Accessed on August 5, 2013.
^Lee, Maggie (August 23, 2011). Legend of a Rabbit: Film Review. The Hollywood Reporter. Accessed on July 29, 2013.
^Choo, Mei (August 27, 2011). . Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). The Sun. Accessed on July 30, 2013.
^Legend of a Rabbit – Review. japancinema.net. September 8, 2011. Accessed on July 29, 2013.
^Tee, Linus. KUNG FU RABBIT (Legend Of A Rabbit) DVD (2011). moviexclusive.com. Accessed on July 30, 2013.
^Pollard, Andrew (August 10, 2014). 'Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit". Starburst. Starburst Magazine Limited. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^Legend Of Kung Fu Rabbit. Dove Foundation. Accessed on July 29, 2013.
^Coonan, Clifford (September 29, 2011). China’s toon biz is growing up. Variety. Accessed on August 1, 2013.
^EFM's Latest Hot Deals: More sales from Dogwoof, Tianjin, Parlay. Screen Daily. February 16, 2012. Accessed on July 30, 2013.
legend, rabbit, chinese, 兔侠传奇, tùxiá, chuánqí, released, united, states, legend, kung, rabbit, 2011, chinese, computer, animated, film, directed, yijun, film, features, original, cast, zhang, fengyi, zhang, yishan, cunxin, english, version, stars, voices, hede. Legend of a Rabbit Chinese 兔侠传奇 Tuxia Chuanqi released in the United States as Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit 2 is a 2011 Chinese computer animated film directed by Sun Yijun The film features an original cast of Fan Wei Yan Ni Zhang Fengyi Zhang Yishan and Pu Cunxin In the English version it stars the voices of Jon Heder Tom Arnold Rebecca Black Michael Clarke Duncan and Claire Geare Legend of a RabbitDirected bySun YijunScreenplay byZou Jingzhi Zou HanProduced byDong Fachang Xue Jiajing Jiang Ping Zhou ChaoStarring Chinese Dub Fan Wei Yan Ni Zhang Fengyi Zhang Yishan Pu CunxinEnglish Dub Jon Heder Tom Arnold Rebecca Black Michael Clarke Duncan Claire GeareMusic byPeter KamDistributed byCDF Pictures EU Release date11 July 2011 2011 07 11 China Running time89 minutesCountryChinaLanguagesEnglishMandarinBudgetCNY120 million 1 Box officeCNY16 2 million 1 The film was released in 62 countries and was the first Chinese animated feature ever to be shown internationally The film was a box office failure in China managing to gross CNY16 2 million compared to its CNY120 million budget Some noted its similarity to the Kung Fu Panda film franchise A sequel to the film Legend of a Rabbit The Martial of Fire was released in 2015 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production and release 4 Reception 5 Awards 6 Sequels 7 References 8 External linksPlot EditA rabbit named Fu has an occupation of cooking pancakes in Beijing He is trained by kung fu master named Laoguanzhu so he can defeat the master s enemy Fu surprised at this discovery confronts Laoguanzhu furious at these accusations Laoguanzhu begins to enlarge until he becomes a giant and devours Tu er Cast EditCharacter Mandarin voice actor English voice actorTu Er Fu the rabbit Fan Wei Jon HederMudan Peony Penny the tuxedo cat Yan Ni Rebecca BlackLaoguanzhu Shifu the old capuchin monkey Pu Cunxin Tom ArnoldXiong Tianba Slash the polar bear Zhang Fengyi Michael Clarke DuncanGao Liangmi Biggie the rabbit Zhang Yishan Claire GeareGou Zi Doggie the chihuahua Feng YuanzhengZhu Dachu the pig chef Huang HongLiaoya Mr Tooth the groundhog Lin YongjianCrocodile bandit Xu ZhengToad bandit Yang Andy Nathan BarnattProduction and release EditLegend of a Rabbit was directed by Sun Yijun president of animation at Beijing Film Academy It was made over the course of three years with a crew of 500 animators 3 The film was produced on a budget of CNY120 million with 80 of it used for production equipment while the rest was used for marketing 4 Yijun said that he was not completely satisfied with the film but it would still get attention to the Chinese animation industry 5 He also said What made me proud is that The Guardian had an article that was titled China Picks Cartoon Fight with Hollywood It means that as a Chinese I am competing with the United States It s just like Liu Xiang competing in the 100 meters this is definitely a proud thing for Chinese 5 Legend of a Rabbit was first presented in December 2010 at a conference held in Beijing 6 The first teaser was released in February 2011 3 and a seven minute preview was later put online in June 7 The film premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival 8 It was later shown at 3 000 theaters in China 8 and was released in more than 80 countries 9 making it the first Chinese animated film ever to have an international theatrical release 10 Tianjin North Film Studio signed a deal with Cartoon Network to air the film in Australia New Zealand India and Taiwan 11 and merchandise such as a line of toys were also made 8 nbsp Jon Heder nbsp Tom Arnold nbsp Rebecca Black nbsp Michael Clarke DuncanThe English version for Legend of a Rabbit stars the cast of Jon Heder Tom Arnold Rebecca Black Michael Clarke Duncan all pictured and Claire Green It was announced in 2011 that an English dub of the film was in the works with Michael Clarke Duncan Rebecca Black Claire Geare and Jade Lianna Peters 12 Other candidates were Daniel Craig Robert De Niro Ralph Fiennes Hugh Grant Madonna Shaquille O Neal and Michael Tyson 10 It was the first ever Chinese picture to have it be dubbed English on its North American release 9 The DVD of the English dub was released by Lions Gate Entertainment on September 24 2013 2 Reception EditLegend of a Rabbit was a commercial flop at the Chinese box office managing to gross CNY16 2 million against its CNY210 million budget It had earned over CNY10 million on its first week The film s director considered that the reason for the very little amount of viewing for cartoon movies was due to the audience s habits 1 However in March 2013 it was 6 on Redbox s Family Top 20 13 Many have considered the film to be a rip off of the 2008 American film Kung Fu Panda Reacting to this Yijun denied that Legend of a Rabbit was even based on the film and said he was confused by the netizens response 4 Response of the film from critics was mixed to negative The Hollywood Reporter said the film had potential to be a cheeky finger up to the Kung Fu Panda franchise but noted the lack of eye popping action incident or humor to nourish the congee thin plot saying that it was sweet but not enough of a funny bunny 14 The Sun called it a commendable effort It s only fault is that it has to stand up against the technically slick productions from Hollywood 15 Japancinema net graded it a D calling it an unoriginal messy waste of time waste of money film that hopefully I can forget as fast as I watched it 16 Linus Tee writing for moviexclusive com criticized the film s humor and CGI quality stating it would ve been better if it had more polished technological resources and dialogues 17 Writing for the magazine Starburst Andrew Pollard named it one of those movies that you will regret giving your time to and it will have you thinking of all the other better ways you could have spent ninety minutes of your day such as chewing glass or repainting the house and then watching the walls dry giving it three out of ten stars 18 On the positive side the Dove Foundation awarded the film a score of 3 out of 5 saying that the characters are memorable and the theme of loyalty is not to be missed in this movie However they warned parents about the amount of violence in the film suggesting it for kids at the age of 12 years or older 19 Awards EditAward Subject Result RefHuabiao Award Outstanding Animation Won 20 Sequels EditA sequel of the film Legend of a Rabbit The Martial of Fire came out in 2015 A sequel was first announced in November 2011 12 The film was sold to Turkey Indonesia Iran and the Middle East in February 2012 and was originally announced to be released under the title Legend of a Rabbit 2 Mysterious City Of Stones 21 In May 2013 it was stated that Xu Zheng would play the main character and that the film would premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19 The sequel was also to be directed by Yijun 9 Neither were actually involved in the final film It released on February 21 2015 with many citing improvements over the first film with the higher quality animation and voice acting An Untitled Third Film is currently in development that was scheduled for a 2017 release but not much has been said since its announcement References Edit a b c Wei An 22 November 2011 Behind China s domestic animation slump China Internet Information Center Retrieved 5 December 2012 a b Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit 2011 Amazon com Accessed on July 29 2013 a b Young Al 15 February 2011 First Teaser For Chinese Animated Action Comedy LEGEND OF A RABBIT Twitch Film Retrieved 5 December 2012 a b Ming Lifang July 7 2011 被批山寨熊猫 兔侠 喊冤 就你能胖 in Chinese Xiaoxiang Morning News Accessed on July 29 2013 a b Ho Stephanie June 12 2012 Hopes of Chinese Animation Ride on Tofu Boy Voice of America Accessed on July 29 2013 兔侠传奇 造型曝光 导演扬言欲打 熊猫 in Chinese yule tom com December 20 2010 Accessed on July 30 2013 Young Al June 27 2011 Watch Seven Minutes Of LEGEND OF A RABBIT Twitch Film Accessed on July 30 2013 a b c A Chinese 3D rabbit ready to run all over the world China Screen News April 25 2011 Accessed on July 29 2013 a b c Shackleton Liz May 17 2013 Xu Zheng hops to Rabbit Screen Daily Accessed on August 5 2013 a b China s answer to Kung Fu Panda 2 Kung Fu rabbit CNN July 12 2011 Accessed on July 29 2013 Coonan Clifford May 11 2011 Legend of a Rabbit acquired for Oz NZ India Taiwan Variety Accessed on July 30 2013 a b Wiseman Andreas November 6 2011 Michael Clarke Duncan Rebecca Black join US voice cast for Legend of a Rabbit Screen Daily Accessed on July 29 2013 Armstrong Josh March 17 2013 Kung Fu Rabbit fins success via Redbox animatedviews com Accessed on August 5 2013 Lee Maggie August 23 2011 Legend of a Rabbit Film Review The Hollywood Reporter Accessed on July 29 2013 Choo Mei August 27 2011 Legend of a Rabbit Archived from the original on 18 January 2012 Retrieved 30 July 2013 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link The Sun Accessed on July 30 2013 Legend of a Rabbit Review japancinema net September 8 2011 Accessed on July 29 2013 Tee Linus KUNG FU RABBIT Legend Of A Rabbit DVD 2011 moviexclusive com Accessed on July 30 2013 Pollard Andrew August 10 2014 Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit Starburst Starburst Magazine Limited Retrieved August 15 2014 Legend Of Kung Fu Rabbit Dove Foundation Accessed on July 29 2013 Coonan Clifford September 29 2011 China s toon biz is growing up Variety Accessed on August 1 2013 EFM s Latest Hot Deals More sales from Dogwoof Tianjin Parlay Screen Daily February 16 2012 Accessed on July 30 2013 External links EditLegend of a Rabbit at IMDb Legend of a Rabbit at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Legend of a Rabbit amp oldid 1169200859, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
