Kung Fu Panda
A panda has to start somewhere, right?
Official Synopsis
Jack Black is perfect as the voice of Po, a noodle-slurping dreamer who must embrace his true self – fuzzy flaws and all – in order to become the Dragon Warrior.
Back in 2008, I was incredibly skeptical of how Kung Fu Panda would work out. First, I think the majority of the world had been animated to death by the likes of Shrek and the likes of everything Pixar. Stylish animation had about run its gambit and it felt like there was nothing really unique the genre could offer. The humor was light in most of the digitally animated films, the scripts were formulaic and there wasn’t really a lot of separation with the entertainment from movie to movie.
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The other problem that I had with it, and bless him for proving me wrong, is that I was very unsure of how Jack Black could handle a kids film and keep a good balance of obnoxiousness, humor and sincerity in check for nearly two hours. That’s a tough task for someone who had just gone through a series of films where he was a bit of a, and I mean this respectfully, spaz (see Tenacious D and Be Kind Rewind for details). He was known for that in movies up to this point and that was kind of his ‘thing’.
So, before the poor movie even arrived, it had a lot going against it.
With that said, as most reviewers do, we jump the gun and judge before giving the movies their proper day in the court. What came out of Kung Fu Panda’s initial release was a fun family film that tugged a bit at one’s heart strings. And despite the bias at the beginning, a new found respect for Jack Black was found through his lovable fun panda Po.
The first Kung Fu Panda is purely about Po’s journey from lost panda to redeemed hero. The film lays out a well thought-out three act path that develops our hero from a lovable lost loser into a tough fighter that is comfortable within his own pudgy skin/fur. Directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson do a superb job of balancing the transition for Po, as they show him going against the odds over and over and over again.
The first obstacle is convincing himself that he is more than just a noodle cook.
The second obstacle is convincing himself that he actually can be a dragon warrior and fit in with the other heroes, even when they believe he can’t.
The last obstacle is convincing himself he can take down the fiercest leopard in the land, Tai Lung (Ian McShane).
The trio of trouble for Po is laid out in such a good, naturally progressing way that by the time the journey ends, you truly believe Po is who is believes himself to be. The solid writing from Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger helped a lot, as they knew what was best for each character they put down on paper. What also helped the film out quite a bit was the solid lead from Jack Black, as well as his supporting cast (which included Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan and Seth Rogen) and the main villain played by the always intimidating Ian McShane. The combination of good writing and acting, plus solid direction helped to see this film through.
On top of the story, the movie does a great job with extending a positive message to the younger kids watching it. A sort of ‘believe in yourself’ deal is what came out of the initial film and, folks, the world can use a bit of that every chance it can get. The message is pretty powerful and does its job.
Anyway, the first film was truly a solid stepping off point for the trilogy. Jack Black and company came through and established the Kung Fu Panda series as a force to be reckoned with, which is about as much as you could ask for from it.
Kung Fu Panda 2
The noodle slurping panda hath returned.
Official Synopsis
In his biggest challenge since becoming the Dragon Warrior, Po must lead his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five, on a mission of epic proportions to defeat his most threatening rival yet!
The thing about sequels is that rarely do they capture the same personality, freshness and magic that the first movie captures. Movies like Cars 2 and Shrek 2 are good examples of such things. While not total disasters, they still fall short of original movie expectations.
Kung Fu Panda 2 is not that movie, thankfully.
With characters established, minus the main bad Peacock, Shen (Gary Oldman), the sequel was able to stretch out Jack Black’s Po a bit. Giving more dimension to the character, as well as adding a bit more to his supporting cast, which allowed for the entertainment value to be upped a bit overall.
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Having said that, the one thing you have to watch out for in sequels like this is running into filler comedy, which is usually replaces character development. Again, thankfully, the comedy is fresh. The fighting and moments leading up to the third act in the film are a bit more complex, though sometimes repetitive, but the delivery is just as amazing as the first film.
One impressive part of the movie is how the animation stays true to the 2008 movie. While there were some visual improvements, the style and concept of the world that Po resides in is still the same, which is great. Too often advancements in technology/animation tend to move past previous efforts, which disrupts the feel of the worlds previously created. KFP2 stands true to its visual nature, but it does show off its peacock feathers here and there at times (the falling building scene is gorgeous).
Anyway, a good story, a strong lead and anther vicious antagonist help to make Kung Fu Panda 2 just as good and entertaining as the first.
Can’t wait for the third.
In terms of special features, here’s what you should expect from both releases:
• “Secrets of the Scroll” – an all-new animated adventure.
• Martial Arts Awesomeness Music Video
• Mash-Up of Awesomeness: Slo-Mo
• Mash-Up of Blunders
• Exclusive Sneak Peek of Kung Fu Panda 3
Honestly speaking, the features included with these releases are incredibly solid. The 22-minute additional adventure, “Secrets of the Scoll”, is worth the price of DVD admission, especially if you haven’t owned the first two films before.
Overall, though, not bad at all.
