With Kung Fu Panda 4 releasing this year, it's time to do an old tradition around here, and review the previous films that came before. Let's get to it.
Kung Fu Panda is an animated marital arts comedy movie, and the first entry in the Kung Fu Panda franchise. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Kung Fu Panda was written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger and directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson.
The story is, a giant bumbling panda named Po dreams of being a kung fu master and fighting along side a group named the Furious Five. He unexpectedly gets his wish when he's chosen to be the legendary Dragon Warrior. He needs to complete his training fast, because the deadly Tai Lung is after a scroll that everybody believes grants you unlimited power.
- Negatives
I've got nothing.
- Mix
Nope. Got nothing for this section either.
- Positives
One pro is the voice acting. The cast is a great ensemble of talent. They did a great job with their characters. Jack Black is naturally charming and entertaining, which made him a perfect fit for Po. While Ian McShane as Tai Lung is one of the more underrated villainous performances. He was really able to balance both menacing and comedic. And come on, who doesn't like hearing James Hung? He's always fun.
Then there's the humor. While you do get some more physically bits of comedy, which are actually pretty good. But I found that the best moments of humor was from the dialogue. Lots of hilarious and quotable jokes.
Now onto the animation. Prior to rewatching this for the sake of the review, I did remember the animation looking nice, and oh boy, did my memory not serve me well. The animation isn't just nice looking, it's down right beautiful. You just can't take your eyes off it. It doesn't matter if it's an action or not, the animation is fantastic.
Which brings me to the action. It's awesome. It's both exciting and creative. And while there are instances where it's clear the marital arts are over exaggerated for the sake of entertainment, there are many instances where there's actual, real marital arts put into them. Three excellent action scenes come from Tai Lung's prison escape, the bridge fight scene, and the final fight between Po and Tai Lung. Those three scenes are something you got to see for yourself. Cause there's no way my words are doing them justice.
The last thing I'll praise is Po and Tai Lung. They both have great stories but in two different ways. With Po, he has to overcome his imposter syndrome. For any of you who don't know, imposter syndrome is despite showing you're very highly skilled, you can't help but feel like that deep down you're a fraud. Which causes you to doubt your skills. Which is exactly what we get with Po. He's not only training to fight Tai Lung, but also to fight away his doubts. It made him not only a sympathetic hero, but really added a great layer to his hero's journey. With Tai Lung, what made him a great villain was not only is he a very skilled fighter, but there's also his backstory. He really has this whole weight of expectations. He was not only told he'll achieve great things, but that it's also destiny. But all this talk did was lead to his downfall because he wind up with a massive ego. An ego so big he couldn't accept rejection in a healthy way. So much like Po has an extra layer to his story despite being very standard, so does Tai Lung.
Long ago I really didn't appreciate this movie when it first came out. Sure as a kid I liked it, but I never thought too highly of it. Now as an adult, and taking a step back and think about it, I realize Kung Fu Panda is a great film.
My final rating is, A Must Watch.
That's one movie down, two more to go before Kung Fu Panda 4. That's all for now, come back on Monday, Jan 22nd, for a brand new Is It True? For that one I'll tackle a theory about Spider-Man. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.
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