The Jack Black movie Quentin Tarantino accused of plagiarism: “A parody of Kill Bill in every way”
Being the originator is fun until everyone starts copying you. That’s the curse of being cutting edge, the problem with being a pioneer – your exciting and fresh new idea only stays new for so long before replicas start popping up everywhere. In Quentin Tarantino’s case, that included childish animated form.
There’s no denying Quentin Tarantino’s impact. Love him or loathe him, the director has not only left his mark on cinema but on art and even music, as his stylistic eye is so sharp that it spills over. His use of colour, framing, nostalgia elements, and especially music is seen in so much other work now that it must feel strange to see your brand go beyond you.
“People would ask me about that, and they go, ‘Hey, did that really bug you?’ When, there was a period where it seemed like, five years in the 90s when every crime film kind of had this ironic bit and they talked about TV shows and played music in a weird way. Everybody was a smart-ass,” Tarantino said of that exact feeling. In a moment where his brand was especially trending and, to him, seemed to be everywhere, onlookers wanted there to be drama where the director kicked off about it.
But this is where nuance comes in. Tarantino’s own response is a brattier one born from ego. “They asked me, like, ‘Well, did that bother you?’ And I go, ‘No, it doesn’t bother me.’ One, I don’t think any of them are as good as mine. So it just makes mine look better and better,” he said. To him, any replica is nothing more than a cheap copycat that only makes his look more luxurious. In his eyes, the originator always wins as the best version, so while plenty might try and copy something like Pulp Fiction, it will never outdo his original. He will always be the icon while others are merely false idols.
It’s a bigger issue than that, though. Tarantino talks about people ripping him off by playing music “in a weird way” or having pop culture conversations in the middle of a scene, but does he own that? Tarantino certainly didn’t invent music. He definitely didn’t invent music in cinema, and there will definitely have been iconic needle drops before him. Talking about pop culture in movies isn’t new either, so is Tarantino actually the originator? Surely at some point, his own specific brand was influenced by others too, so is this not just one unending cycle? One big, long stream of influence that all creators both add to and fish in?
The punch line of it all is the example Tarantino brings up as his ultimate proof that no one could ever outdo what he did first. “Frankly, Kung Fu Panda is just a straight-up parody of Kill Bill. In every way,” he claimed, accusing Jack Black’s animated movie about a Panda bear that can do martial arts of plagiarism. By that standard, does it mean that every revenge flick is a rip-off of his? Or does it specifically need to include some kung-fu moves to qualify?
While the mark of ownership here is hazy, Tarantino sticks by his thoughts on the matter, stating of the animated animals, “They’re keeping me pop-culturally relevant. Priceless.”
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