Angelina Jolie Talks Adoption, Tattoos, and Kung Fu Panda 2 in Cannes

canneskungfupanda300.jpgThe Pitt-Jolie brood made their way to the South of France this week with matching his-and-hers festival offerings, starting with Angelina's animated sequel Kung Fu Panda 2. (Brad's much-anticipated Tree of Life debuts Monday; follow Movieline's complete Cannes coverage here.) Among the hot topics of inquiry international press had for Angie: Her kids, the state of animation, and that mysterious tattoo she recently added to her collection. Are there more additions to the clan in the works?

One intrepid (and slightly intimidated) journalist posed the latter question to Jolie during the press rounds in Cannes, which you can watch in its full semi-awkward glory below. But first, highlights from Angelina's return to the Croisette:

On the current popularity of animated films -- are we currently enjoying a "Golden Age" of animation?

"I feel like we're all very lucky to be part of these animated films today, especially this one. I feel very emotionally connected to this one and I think it's quite beautiful. I think the messages are very strong and it is important. It takes so much talent for the directors and writers to be able to make a film that just makes the kids giggle and laugh and get excited about all the action, and it's 3-D and it's beautiful, and then somehow underneath it they learn these pretty heavy life lessons. And that, I think, as a parent, is something you really want to be able to give your kids."

On bringing her entire brood (that's six kids for those of you keeping count at home) to Cannes:

"Yes, we're all in France, our whole family is in France and we're very happy. They're running around the hotel right now playing games and making a giant mess, I'm sure, but they're having a great time. They love it here. And Cannes, you know, I think for many people it can be overwhelming and you can also meet a lot of friendly faces and have a good laugh, and you also get a chance to see some great films, so it's very nice."

On the appeal of contributing to the Kung Fu Panda franchise:

"Certainly anybody with children, but at the end of the day we're all big kids and we all just want to play. We all like to do these movies, it's a great deal of fun. But certainly, having my kids -- and we talked about them as being a bar, because they were from 2 to 10 -- we figured it was a good group to get a gauge of whether or not the film was working, when we brought them in. So of course, in so many ways I did it for them and I'm so excited for them to see it. And for sequels, I think the trick of a sequel is you have to make it better than the first one -- and that's a very, very hard thing to do, especially with one that was so successful. And I think our very, very talented director pulled it off."

On whether or not Kung Fu Panda 2, which focuses on themes of adoption and family as Po realizes that he may not in fact be related by blood to the noodle shop-owning goose who raised him, has inspired her own children to ask questions about their adoption:

"I brought my children to see the movie and they absolutely love the movie ... and I wondered whether they'd ask me questions about it... But because 'adoption' and 'birth mothers' and 'orphanage' and all that in our home these are happy words, they're used to these discussions and they just felt that much more proud that they were a little more like Po."

And finally, about that new tattoo, which like her other tats paying homage to the birthplaces of her internationally-born kids, depicts a specific location by longitude and latitude. Is it a sign that Brad 'n' Angie are looking for a seventh Jolie-Pitt?

Click here for all of Movieline's coverage of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, including critic Stephanie Zacharek's reports from the ground!

[EXTRA, Reuters]

[Photo credit: Getty Images]



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