Mists Of Pandaria Is Not A Kung Fu Panda Ripoff!

Lack of research leads many to believe the latest expansion, Mist of Pandaria, is cheesy due to ripping off the movie Kung Fu Panda. However, many fail to realize that Pandarens have been in Warcraft lore long before the release of the popular movie.

Kung Fu Panda was a movie released by DreamWorks Animation back in 2008. It tells the story of a normal panda living with his father back in ancient China. As the story goes on, the panda finds himself wanting more out of life and having a great desire for learning martial arts. He then conquers his stereotype and defeats the great tiger and saves the town.

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne was released in 2003 by blizzard and introduced pandarens with the NPC Pandaren Brewmaster.

From the dates alone, my theory the this expansion is not a rip off has been proven. Furthermore, critics continue to stake their opinion and reference the architecture within the Mists of Pandaria expansion. This Chinese architecture has been referenced to Kung Fu Panda and causes many to believe this movie is where the idea for architecture came from. I am here to tell you right now, this architecture has been around for centuries and is based off of ancient Chinese architecture. It is my opinion that the movie and Blizzard got their ideas for the environment based on history rather than one another.

While there are differing opinions on the latest expansion, I must debunk the Kung Fu Panda claims. It is just silly to knock a game because it reminds you of some cute kiddy movie. The idea of implementing monks is a great idea and has been neglected for far too long within the game World of Warcraft. Although I must admit that I was shocked at first with the choice of pandas. I trust that blizzard will find a way to deliver as they always do.

Do I think that Jack Black will be featured in the latest World of Warcraft commercial for the new expansion? I believe there is a great possibility. I would like to mention first, just because he may show up in the commercial does not validate the claims that the new expansion is a rip off. Just because Ozzy Osbourne appeared in the commercials for Wrath of the Lich King does not mean that WOTLK was a rip off of Ozzy’s persona. I look forward to seeing how this will be played out.