Rated PG for sequences of martial arts action.
92 Minutes

Directed By: Mark Osborne and John Stevenson
Written By: Jonathan Aibel and Glen Berger
Staring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Lui, David Cross, Randall Duk-Kim, James Hong, and Micheal Clarke-Duncan

Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend. -Po

Synopsis

Po the Panda is the laziest of all the animals in the Valley of Peace, but unwittingly becomes the chosen one when enemies threaten their way of life.

Review

Dreamworks is becoming the Michael Bay of animation.  Kung-Fu Panda was lackluster in some places, but it’s animation was top notch.  If the story began to bore you there was always something fantastic to catch your eye or entertain you.  The story was a by the numbers type tale, but with it’s exotic setting and constant Kung Fu battles and training it was difficult not to be at least moderately won over.

The story takes place with an overweight Panda having fantasies about one day becoming a Kung Fu master.  The Kung Fu Five are almost like super heroes to Po, and while he doesn’t see himself as the Kung Fu master material, it doesn’t stop him from dreaming about it.  When a series of accidental events brings him to the master of the five and he is named “The Dragon Master” he can’t comprehend exactly what is happening.  The Five resent his presence and Master Shifu is loathing the idea of training him.  When the villain, Tai Lung, escapes from his prison of solitary confinement, he is out for vengeance after twenty years of being chained up.  All that stands between him and total annihilation is Po.

The character’s were vibrant and lifelike.  They created a lot of potential for this movie to be truly great.  Each of the Kung Fu Five have unique qualities, abilities, and personalities that make them compelling.  It’s no surprise that Po idolized them all.  His new master, Shifu , is not pleased with his new apprentice, but when they finally meet eye to eye, it has a genuine sweetness about it.  The villain, voiced over by Ian McShane , is pretty wicked, and definitely menacing.  Po, played by Jack Black, has moments of over indulgence, but in general is a sweet likable character, that you really do want to root for.

Dreamworks is really making the effort to make epic style films visually, and my thoughts are that they are succeeding.  The beautiful and vigorous colors used are exciting and really catch the moods set in each scene.  The animation used for the Kung Fu scenes were incredibly inventive and utilized in surprising and exciting ways.  It made the entire film worth sitting through and was far superior to other movies Dreamworks has done.

The story is where the movie failed.  It felt like so many other movies jumbled into one.  The Karate Kid, The Lion King, and many other tales where the underdog comes and saves the day.  The concept can still work, but it was executed in such a heartless step by step fashion, that despite the interesting characters, the great animation, and exciting action I became bored at points.

The potential of Kung Fu Panda was far greater than what it actually achieved, but even in spite of that it was a pretty entertaining movie that was visually phenomenal to watch.  This was a pretty enjoyable film that both my kids seemed to like, and since that’s the target audience, I have to say Kung Fu Panda was a success.

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