KUNG-FU PANDA 4 Co-Director Says Hollywood Doesn't Think Audiences Like Anime Stories

Anime is more popular now than ever! It’s so big, that for the first time, anime was represented at CinemaCon this year by Crunchyroll. Regardless, Hollywood still has not really embraced anime and the kind of adult storytelling that it entails.

During a recent Q&A on Discord, Kung-Fu Panda 4 co-director Stephanie Stine talked about anime, and how Hollywood just doesn’t get it. They don’t know what to do with it, and for some reason they don’t think audiences like it.

When asked about anime in Hollywood, Stine said: "I freaking love it!! Especially since so many audiences these days have grown up on more mature stories everywhere.”

She added: “I think in most bookstores for example, the manga/anime section takes up a majority of the floor space. But here's the catch: a lot of people in charge of the finances of making a movie think that audiences don't like these kinds of stories.”

She went on to explain: "I'm not sure why. Every time I've talked to an executive, they've told me that yes they totally see the influence and impact anime has had on the world. But no we will not do that. It's the highest of miracles to me that Spider-Verse was made in America."

Hollywood studios really need to start opening their minds to the potential of anime and what it has to offer. Warner Bros. is actually one of the main studios embracing it and they are currently developing The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim as an anime film.

One day Hollywood might catch up with what anime is doing for storytelling. They just have to open their minds and imagination, which Hollywood executives seem to lack these days.

Hollywood is all about spreadsheets and numbers now, which is funny because if they were really looking at those, they’d see the possibilities with anime.