As a devoted fan of the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise, I must say that the voice actors behind the Furious Five are nothing short of legendary. Among them, the character of Monkey stands out as a testament to the power of versatile talent.
In the “Kung Fu Panda” series, the story primarily revolves around its main character, Po (voiced by Jack Black), who is also known as the Dragon Warrior. Yet, there are numerous other animal characters in this franchise who practice martial arts, including Po’s key allies, the Furious Five. This group of legendary warriors are based on various well-known kung fu styles and although they often take a secondary role when Po is in the limelight, they remain significant supporting figures throughout the storyline.
Because the Furious Five are well-known characters, their voice actors often seem recognizable too. For example, Angelina Jolie voices Tigress, Lucy Liu portrays Viper, David Cross is Crane, Seth Rogen plays Mantis. As for Monkey, two talented actors have voiced him in the “Kung Fu Panda” series: Jackie Chan and James Sie.
Jackie Chan
In Jackie Chan’s career narrative, there are instances where he does voice acting; however, only a few of his voice characters effectively blend the comedic martial arts elements from his live-action roles with animated humor as seamlessly as Master Monkey, a character he voices in the original “Kung Fu Panda” movie and its subsequent first two sequels.
The seasoned actor and producer’s career started in the early 1960s, and his prop-heavy, lighthearted brand of kung fu has become his calling card. There’s a lengthy laundry list of movie scenes that nearly killed Chan during his career-long résumé of death-defying stunts, and his movies, from his best to his worst, all hold their own charms. But seeing as Monkey’s acrobatic, humorous fighting style bears more than a few similarities to Chan’s own live-action stylings, the “Police Quest” and “Rush Hour” star was a natural choice to voice the character.
James Sie
As James Sie, I stepped into the role of Master Monkey for the Kung Fu Panda franchise, lending my voice to various small-screen adaptations. This includes the 2008 video game based on the movie, its sequel in 2011, and the animated series that followed. In 2012’s Kung Fu Panda: Awesome Secrets Collection, I voiced a younger Monkey, while I provided the voice for the adult version of the character in the three-season Nickelodeon show Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and the 2016 release Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll. Additionally, I’ve voiced several other characters across different Kung Fu Panda shows and films, including the monkey character Sun Wukong on Amazon Prime Video’s Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny series.
It might not be purely by chance that Sie is arguably the most suitable person currently living for voicing a character who gained fame through Jackie Chan. Given that he has voiced the animated version of Chan himself across all five seasons of “Jackie Chan Adventures.” Moreover, he lends his voice to various characters in shows like “King of the Hill,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” and “Stillwater” – just to name a few. He also makes an appearance as a cabbage merchant in two episodes of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” as a wink to his previous role as the same character in the animated Nickelodeon series.
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2024-09-29 21:59