When Kung Fu Panda and The Little Prince director Mark Osborne conducted a masterclass at IFFI, his audience comprised not just film students, but filmmakers, producers and directors, many of whom admitted to being die-hard fans of his films. From the influence of Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki in his work, to the role of imitation and inspiration in art, and what makes a movie truly great – Osborne did a deep dive into several aspects of animation and filmmaking.

‘DIDN’T DO KUNG FU PANDA SEQUEL BECAUSE I DIDN’T THINK THAT THERE WAS ANY OTHER STORY OUTSIDE OF THE ORIGINAL’
Many in the audience were eager to share their memories of the first time they watched Kung Fu Panda and the impact the film had on them. Osborne revealed that the film’s journey started from a crew of seven, which expanded to 400.

Showing a picture of a panda on the screen, the filmmaker said, “It all started with this panda. I was inspired by films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Hero was another film that I saw that blew my mind. And all these martial art films – Kung Fu Hustle to Kill Bill – helped to tell this story of Kung Fu Panda. It was like a tribute to all this beautiful cinema and trying to be authentic to the environment, art and true to the culture of China. We were never really clear whether it was an action film or a comedy film. It was like – what if Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had a guy like Jerry Lewis? We made something that was really unique. What I am proud of is that we were able to tell an authentic story.”

Osborne said that when the opportunity to do a sequel to Kung Fu Panda came up, he felt he’d rather do other things. He said, “Wanting to see a film again should be the benchmark of the greatness of the film, not the film’s opening weekend collection. My heart was in stop-motion animation. I was still exploring the world of CG. Besides, I was in the bubble of the story. I didn’t think that there was any other story outside of that story.”

Talking about his 2015 film The Little Prince, and how it was influenced by Miyazaki’s works, Osborne said, “Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro was a huge inspiration – I thought, tonally, this is what we’re going for (in The Little Prince). I love Miyazaki’s films. He always uses female characters to narrate the story, which is very inspiring. I was also thinking about him because I knew he loves this book (The Little Prince), and it would be terrible if I made a bad movie which made him angry with me. So I was always thinking about making something he would appreciate.”

Osborne said that Miyazaki had also been approached by producers to make this film, though he turned them down, saying, “it is too important and I am too old”.

Osborne added, “I thought, well, I am not too old, and he is a huge fan of The Little Prince.”

Osborne did try to reach out to Miyazaki to show him his film, “but Miyazaki famously never sees other people’s work. As much as I have done my best job with the movie and as much as I love it, I am also happy that he has not seen the film.”

‘I HAVE NEVER REALISED WHAT MY MOVIE IS ABOUT TILL IT’S DONE’
Osborne’s advice to aspiring artistes was – “Figure out what’s important to you and try to tap into it. Because if it is meaningful to you, and it’s honest, then it is going to be meaningful to an audience. You are going to find your audience...and you’re going to discover something about yourself along the way. Every single project I have worked on has been a discovery for me. I have never realized what the movie is about until it’s finished. I want to break new ground. If you get comfortable, check yourself.”

Responding to a question on the line between being inspired by and copying other artistes, he said, “If you are going to be honest, and not just tell a story that is copying another or trying to do something like someone else, then it is that honesty that creates fresh takes on things and fresh approaches.”

Martial arts films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon & Kung Fu Hustle inspired Kung Fu Panda, said Osborne