KUNG FU PANDA (Theatrical Release USA 2008)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.7|5.0 Starsììì

Kung Fu Panda—fun and lovable kid’s film—teaches that nothing is a coincidence. Everything happens as planned by a benevolent force that not only chooses unlikely heroes, but makes important dreams come true.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

A Giant Panda named Po (voice of Jack Black) has been reared by a goose, Mr. Ping (voice of James Hong), who runs a restaurant that makes Chinese noodles as its specialty. The Giant Panda named Po is a Kung Fu fan to the bone and desires to attend the big Kung Fu ceremony in the Valley of Peace because he wants to see who will be the next Kung Fu Master Dragon Warrior. But, in a serious of mishaps, Po accidentally becomes anointed as the Kung Fu Master Dragon Warrior instead of Tigress (voice of Angelina Jolie Pitt), so when he is anointed he has to be trained by Red Panda Master Shifu (voice of Dustin Hoffman). Despite physical limitations, Po learns the arts of Kung Fu and then fights the Snow Leopard Tai Lung (voice of Ian McShane), who has broken from prison to acquire the highly valued Dragon Scroll. Po’s overweight, a handicap, turns into a valuable asset when fighting against the Snow Leopard. When Po opens the Dragon Scroll for himself he is disappointed to find it just reveals a reflection of himself. Puzzled, he talks to his father, Mr. Ping, who tells him that when you believe something is special, it becomes special. Po understands that it is important to believe in oneself and he sallies forth to successfully vanquish the Snow Leopard with the ‘Wuxi Finger Hold’. The Valley of Peace, now without any known enemies, returns to peace.

Additional Thanks

Really Good Work for Directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson. Thank you to Executive Producer Bill Damaschke for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Monkey (voice of Jackie Chan), Mantis (voice of Seth Rogen), Viper (voice of Lucy Liu), Crane (voice of David Cross), Zeng (voice of Dan Fogler), Commander Vachir (voice of Michael Clarke Duncan), Oogway (voice of Randall Duk Kim), and Gang Boss (voice of Wayne Knight).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. It’s a good animated feature for child and adult that subtly presents a wise and gentle message.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers