Shaolin Soccer

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Shaolin Soccer (Template:Zh-cp) is a 2001 Hong Kong comedy directed by acclaimed HK comedian, actor and director, Stephen Chow.

1 Synopsis
2 Trivia
3 Cast
4 Awards
5 See also
6 External links

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Synopsis

Shaolin Soccer tells the story of Sing (Stephen Chow), a master of Shaolinquan Kung Fu whose mission is to let the world know about the benefits of the ancient technique. He experiments with various methods to mainstream the art, including comedic song and dance routines, until his meeting with a soccer coach, Fung (Ng Man Tat), leads him to think of incorporating it with soccer. Together with his fellow Shaolin brother students, Sing and Fung attempt to put together an unbeatable soccer team.

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Trivia

The humour in Shaolin Soccer involves Mo lei tau; Chinese wordplay, gross-out gags, parodies of popular films (including The Matrix, Saving Private Ryan and Jurassic Park), and many over-the-top action scenes mimicking the wuxia genre and reminiscent of those found in the manga/anime Captain Tsubasa.
With a gross of HK$66M, Shaolin Soccer became the highest grossing film in Hong Kong history, to be surpassed by Stephen Chow's next film, Kung Fu Hustle.
Miramax released an edited version of Shaolin Soccer in the US market on April 2, 2004. Missing over 20 minutes of footage, and featuring English dubbing, the Miramax release came under heavy criticism from Hong Kong film fans (not to mention box office failure from people who had bought the import DVD three years earlier), leading the studio to reinstate both the excised footage and the original Chinese language audio as a viewer option for the US DVD release.
Puma apparel is featured prominently in almost every scene. Every opposing team wears Puma, and the Shaolin team itself has Puma shoes. "The Cat" is also used in a special effects shot, where the soccer ball morphs into a flaming comet and then into a fiery puma.
Shaolin Soccer was referenced in Chow's next film, Kung Fu Hustle. In his first appearance in the film, Chow stomps on a soccer ball after doing a few tricks, deflating it, and yells "No more soccer!". This is believed to be a reference to fans who constantly asked if a sequel was going to be made.