Kung Pow Panda!!!

KUNG FU PANDA is a great movie this 2008. I most concentrate more on reviews than writing on my own life. So enjoy!!!

Everything you need to know about Kung Fu Panda is in its title: there’s kung fu in it, and there’s a panda in it. If that isn’t enough to get you rushing into the theater, you obviously have no heart. But to be serious for a moment, Kung Fu Panda is an absolute joy to watch. Fast, funny, and full of heart, this film is probably the best Dreamworks animated feature yet.

Po is a lazy, clumsy panda who works at his father’s noodle shop, but dreams of becoming a kung fu master. He gets his chance when he accidentally gets chosen to become the Dragon Warrior, a warrior destined to gain unlimited power and defend the town from Tai Lung, an evil snow leopard obsessed with getting revenge with the people who imprisoned him. Po receives lessons from Master Shifu, an old kung fu master who has trained the greatest warriors of the land. But while Po is eager, he shows no skill, and Master Shifu doesn’t quite believe in Po’s greater destiny. With Tai Lung quickly heading to the village, the two must overcome their issues and find the secrets of the very heart of kung fu.

It’s your basic clumsy-loser-discovers-he’s-the-chosen-one story, a pretty familiar trope, but a fitting one for a movie so rooted in a long tradition of films. They make their intention pretty obvious, as the film works as a loving tribute to classic kung fu films. There are bits of Five Deadly Venoms, a little bit of Drunken Master, just a touch of 36th Chamber of Shaolin. But beyond the tribute aspect, the script is also surprisingly tight and remarkably clever at points. The film relies heavily on visual gags, but it doesn’t waste them, strangely managing to tie even the silliest together in the end.

The animation is gorgeous. The problem with most Dreamworks animated features is that they often don’t really have any style. They look good on a technical level, but often fail to portray any sort of artistic vision. Kung Fu Panda finally bucks that trend, giving us visuals that are most than just technically proficient. The film uses a sparser style that helps give emphasis to the action. And there’s a lot of good action in here, too. There are limitations to martial arts that can pretty much be ignored in animation, and what we end up getting are some of the craziest fight scenes ever put to film.

This is a pretty good voice cast. Jack Black as Po the Panda is just common sense. He completely shines through the character, constantly entertaining and just endlessly funny. Dustin Hoffman is a bit of a strange choice for Master Shifu, but he does a fine job here. Ian McShane as Tai Lung is just plain genius, as no one does evil like McShane does. The rest of the voice cast turns up some pretty surprising names, like James Fong, Seth Rogen, Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan. They don’t get nearly as much time as Black or Hoffman, but they do well with what little they have.

Dreamworks Animation has kind of always been the runner up in animated features. They’ve produced some pretty good films, but none of them have even come close to anything that Pixar has ever done. Kung Fu Panda, however, is a somewhat different story. While it would probably be hyperbole to say that it matches up with the gold standards like The Incredibles or Finding Nemo, it certainly does put up quite a challenge with a lot of clever little bits and a ton of heart. This film is just tons of fun for anyone. And really: kung fu and panda. What more do you need?