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By Michael Lopez

There is no doubt that Memorial Day weekend will bring some heavy hitters at the box office. In one corner, you've got the R-Rated debauchery of The Hangover Part II. But for all the younger moviegoers, it's all about the Furious Five from Kung Fu Panda 2! This week, Spanish animator Alberto Corral sat down exclusively with Tr3s to talk about the hard work that went into bringing Master Po back to life.

Hailing from Spain, Alberto has been a DreamWorks animator for over two years. His first project for the company was last summer's smash, Shrek Forever After, but that pales in comparison to the excitement he has for Kung Fu Panda 2.

"I was a huge fan of the first movie," Alberto explained. "Having the opportunity to work on Part 2 was great. It was a dream come true! Believe it or not, this movie took four years to make."

Corral's role for Kung Fu 2 involved creating intricate martial arts battles between key characters. His job required him to animate not just pandas, but rabbits, snakes, crocodiles, and more.

"I did a lot of crowd scenes for the movie. Whenever there were a bunch of people in the city or in the fight scenes, that's probably one of my animations. I worked on sheep, rabbits, and everything in between."

One character that held a special place for Corral was the villainous Croc Master. Not so much for the green slimy scales, but for the celebrity voice that was behind it.

"Jean-Claude Van Damme is the Croc Master in the movie. I’m really a big fan of his movies and of kung fu movies in general. I really didn't have to do a lot of research preparing for this film."

Alberto went on to explain the differences between working on Kung Fu Panda 2 and the most recent Shrek movie. For one thing, animating green ogres requires more of a human touch, while creating furry black belts resembles more of the classic style of cartooning (à la Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck). A self-professed Disney fan, Corral loved the opportunity to create more fluid characters and even dropped in hints of Japanese anime.

"I loved the Disney classics and I love anime,"Alberto explained. "I think one of the keys to succeeding in animation is not watching one thing or one style. Japanese animation is so different from American animation. And if you learn both, you can bring in the best of both worlds."

From just the trailer scenes alone, it's clear that Kung Fu Panda 2 follows that mold flawlessly. You can catch all of Alberto's handiwork in action, when Po and company kick off their next adventure this Friday!

Are you planning on watching Kung Fu Panda 2 this weekend? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Alberto Corral, Dreamworks, Exclusive Entrevistas, Hot Stuff, Jean-Claude Van Damme, kung fu panda, Movies & CineMás, Shrek Forever After, Tr3s Exclusives

By Michael Lopez

Get ready for an epic animated battle this summer. In one corner, you’ve got the popular four-wheeled personalities from Pixar’s Cars 2. But DreamWorks Animation is unleashing another familiar competitor to the mix, namely Master Po from Kung Fu Panda 2!

Mixing Jack Black with witty fast-paced cartoons is a no-brainer. Judging by his success as the host of this year’s Kid’s Choice Awards, you know he can connect with the eager pre-teen audience. And he’s proven it before as the main voice in 2008’s original Kung Fu Panda (which happened to gross over $630 million).

This time out, Black’s furry alter-ego is getting a little help from Tr3s fave Guillermo del Toro, who is an executive producer for Kung Fu 2. He'll also be joined onscreen by the lovable Furious Five squad (Monkey, Tigress, Crane, Viper, and Mantis) and Dustin Hoffman’s wise little butt kicker Master Shifu.

Of course, it’s the new characters that are creating the most buzz for Panda fans. 80’s action star Jean-Claude Van Damme has reportedly signed on to voice Master Croc and he’ll be joined by even more black belts from the animal kingdom, including Master Thundering Rhino and Master Storming Ox.

But if there’s one newbie Po needs to look out for, it’s Lord Shen. An evil albino peacock, Shen looks pretty shifty from the exclusive character design that was provided to Tr3s. Sporting white, red, and black feathers, a silver robe, and some seriously long eyebrows, he’s got his heart on banishing the ancient art of kung fu!

As you can imagine, Po and the Furious Five are determined not to let that happen and they’ll be dishing out plenty of 3D chops and kicks to make sure the evil peacock learns his lesson. We’re confident the Kung Fu Panda will squash the exploits of Shen, but can the animated senseis take down Lightning McQueen? That's the question we really want answered this summer.

Are you looking forward to Kung Fu Panda 2? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Animation, Dreamworks, Hot Stuff, Jack Black, kung fu panda, Kung Fu Panda 2, Movies & CineMás, Tr3s Exclusives

During a press conference for Kung Fu Panda, starring Jack Black, the funnyman was asked about his ‘Viva Mexico’ role in Nacho Libre. Even though the movie was filmed entirely in English, Jack said he still learned Spanish to perfect his role as the humble Luchador. A Latina in the audience asked him una pregunta in Spanish to see if Jack could put his money were his mouth was and he actually replied back…in Spanish! Unfortunately, it was just to say that he hasn’t perfected the language yet so to please keep asking him preguntas en inglés. It certainly is flattering though!

Photo via Getty

Tags Jack Black, kung fu panda, nacho libre