New Pili Opening Sequence

Zhang Bao-Pin creates stunning opening sequences for Pili, the popular martial-arts themed puppet show in Taiwan.

This is the stunning new opening sequence for the new season of Pili, a martial arts themed puppet show that is insanely popular in Taiwan. According to Kelvin, this sequence was directed by Zhang Bao-Pin, who also created that awesome Chinese martial arts puppet viral video that I linked to last summer. You can also check out Zhang Bao-Pin's previous Pili opening, which is equally impressive.

If you're interested in seeing more Pili puppetry, the AOL Kids site has full length episodes of Wulin Warriors, the bastardized, English-dubbed version of Pili that was created for North American TV a few years ago (see previous post).

Awesome Chinese Martial Arts Puppetry

Chinese martial arts and puppetry can make an incredible combination.

One of the reasons that I always enjoy reading Kelvin Kao's Puppet Kaos Blog because he often writes about Chinese and Taiwanese puppetry, which I've loved ever since spent a couple weeks puppeteering in Taiwan in the late `90s. Yesterday he shared a mind-bendingly awesome video inspired by Jet Li’s Fearless. You can learn a little more about the video and read Kelvin's thoughts on it here.

The identity of the video's creators are a mystery for now, but this style of puppetry is actually a very common form of entertainment both in China and (especially) Taiwan.

Wulin Warriors Returns Online

Wulin Warriors - the English language version of Taiwan's popular Pili series - has returned with episodes premiering on an AOL web site geared to kids.

AOL's PR department dropped me a line yesterday to say that Wulin Warriors has been launched on AOL's KOL site. Wulin is an English language adaptation of one of my all-time favourite puppet shows, Pili. Sometimes called "Pili Puppet Theatre" or "Thunderforce", Pili is an insanely popular series in Taiwan that mixes traditional Budashai glove puppetry with martial arts and special effects.

I first caught a glimpse of the show when I was doing puppetry in Taiwan in the late `90s and although I couldn't understand much of it, I was really captivated by how unique it was. It's virtually unknown here in North America, but huge in Taiwan where it has its own TV channel and was turned in to a film called The Legend of the Sacred Stone, which is one of the most successful Taiwanese movies of all time.

Selected episodes of Pili were originally turned in to Wulin Warriors for Cartoon Network a few years ago, but the show was canceled after just a couple of episodes, so it's nice to see it being given another life online. The unfortunate thing is that Wulin Warriors is a pretty shoddy adaptation that doesn't do the original justice. It has a totally unnecessary hip hop soundtrack and is filled with cringe-inducing dialogue that's really hammy. Watching Wulin and comparing it to the original (which is sadly very hard to find in English speaking countries) it's easy to see why it didn't last long on TV.

Still, despite the problems, I recommend checking out Wulin Warriors if only to get a glimpse of the show's unique puppetry. There's no word on how often new episodes will be released or how many are coming, but hopefully all 13 episodes of the series will be online eventually.

Two episodes of Wulin Warriors online!

Wulin Warriors debuts on Cartoon Network Feb. 4th, but you can watch two episodes online now.

Wulin Warriors (see previous post) - Cartoon Network's retitled, English version of Thunderforce (or PiLi Puppet Theatre) - finally debuts Saturday, February 4th at 8:00pm as part of CN's Toonami block, but you don't have to wait that long to check it out. WulinWarriors.net is a new site devoted to the series and offers lots of information about the series, including a summary, character profiles, a message board as well a video of the full-length pilot episode and second episode.

For those unfamiliar with Wulin Warriors/Thunderforce, it's an extremely popular Taiwanese TV show that mixes traditional Budashai glove puppetry with special effects to tell the story of a band of warriors searching for seven legendary stars and trying to save the world from evil. The series is produced in Taiwan by PiLi (also sometimes referred to as the PiLi Troupe or PiLi Puppet Theatre). The 13 episodes of Wulin ordered by CN are culled from some of the 900 hours of the show that have been produced in Asia. A related feature length movie, The Legend of the Sacred Stone, was also produced by PiLi and is one of the top-grossing Taiwanese films of all time.

Wacky Chinese puppet video

Three traditional glove puppets perform a very untraditional routine on a Taiwanese TV show.

This is...well, I don't actually know what this is supposed to be, but it looks like a clip of three glove puppets performing on a Taiwanese TV show. One of them beats a Pikachu doll to death with a stick, the devil arrives, they try to resurrect Pikachu with a musical number and finally they're all joined by a ladybug. Or something like that.

Trust me, just watch it.

Wulin Warrors pushed back to January

Wulin Warriors did not debut on Cartoon Network last Friday (see previous post) as peviously announced. Cartoon Network has apparently pushed the show's debut back to January without explanation.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in to let me know!

Wulin Warriors debuts Sept. 24th

Wulin Warriors: Legend of the Seven Stars - the redeveloped U.S. version of Taiwan's Pili Puppet Theatre or Thunderforce (see previous post) - debuts on Cartoon Network’s Saturday Toonami programming block later this month on September 24th.

The American version of the series was developed for CN by Animation Collective using footage from the original Taiwanese series. The show revolves around Lone Sword, Scar and Phoenix, warriors from Wulin who set out on a journey in search of great power, the Seven Stars, to help them save the world and is produced using a blend of traditional Chinese puppetry, martial arts and CGI.

27/09/05 Update - Cartoon Network has apparently pushed the debut of Wulin Warriors back to January without explanation.

Thunder Force comes to Cartoon Network!

I was thrilled to learn today that Broadway Video - the production company founded by SNL creator (and fellow Canuck!) Lorne Michaels - has announced plans to bring the Taiwanese hit Thunder Force (better known on these shores as Pili Puppet Theatre) to the U.S. market on Cartoon Network this fall.

For those not familiar with Thunder Force (and not many are) the best way to describe the series is as a saga about several martial arts warriors' quest for seven legendary stars that can be used to restore order in the universe, told using a terrific blend of martial arts, computer animation and traditional Taiwanese glove puppetry. It's awesome and there's nothing else quite like it.

If you've read the blog for a long time you may already know that I've been a huge fan of Thunder Force and it's creator Chris Huang (a member of Taiwan's Huang puppet dynasty) ever since I was first introduced to the show while I was performing in Taiwan in late `90s. The Taiwanese are mad about puppetry and Thunder Force is a HUGE phenomenon there. I think something like 900+ episodes have been produced in the past 15 years. There's a Thunderforce-dedicated TV channel over there and the Thunder Force movie Legend of the Sacred Stone was one of the biggest hits in the history of Taiwanese cinema.

Cartoon Network has placed an initial order of thirteen episodes and retained Animation Collective to produce the North American version of the series, which will be retitled Wulin Warriors: Legend of the Seven Stars (apparently the name "Thunder Force" is already trademarked in North America).

Want to get a little taste of Thunderforce? Check out the trailer for the Thunder Force movie here (most of it is even in English!). The full movie is available on DVD as an import, but it's notoriously difficult to find. You can also check out this site which appears to have been prepared for Broadway Video as part of the pitching process.

I'll be keeping a close eye on this as it develops. Watch for more news here as we get closer to the debut of Wulin Warriors this fall.