Tai Lung’s escape is brutal and hard hitting, the bridge fight (the film’s key action sequence) is fantastic, and Po’s showdown with Tai Lung balances the film’s humor, the character’s appeal, and the severity of the outcome. Best of all, as the resident kung fu geek in my circle of friends, I was quite impressed with the battle sequences. Whether I found myself chuckling at the film’s clever gags, oohing and ahing at its animation, laughing at its best jokes, or purely enjoying a fun flick with my kid, I was completely smitten with the story, characters, and animation. My son was an uncontrollable ball of joy, hopping around his seat as if all the sugar in the world had settled into his blood stream for ninety-two minutes. Going into ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ I had three pressing questions on my mind: will it appeal to my son, will it entertain me, and will its animated kung fu sequences amount to little more than window dressing or will they genuinely enhance the film? I was pleased to find a positive answer to all three.
However, when a bitter criminal named Tai Lung (a scene-chewing Ian McShane) escapes from a fortified prison and plots his revenge on Shifu, it’s up to the chubby panda to save the day. Tasked with training the tubby bear, Shifu hopes that his more talented students - Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen), and Crane (David Cross) - will intimidate Po and force him to quit. Unfortunately for Po, Oogway’s right hand, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), has trouble accepting such a bizarre declaration. Rushing to see several iconic kung fu fighters, the clumsy panda inadvertently causes a wise sage named Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) to identify Po as the legendary Dragon Warrior. Even though Po doesn’t realize he’s adopted, he holds onto hope that his path will lead him to greater things than tending to his father’s customers. ’Kung Fu Panda’ tells the tale of Po (voiced by Jack Black), an overweight panda learning the ropes of his family’s noodle business from his father, a goose named Mr. Thankfully, animation studios continue to deliver well-written, beautifully rendered family flicks like ‘Kung Fu Panda’ that appeal to kids and adults alike.
As my son has introduced me to the latest wave of preschool entertainment, I’ve come to one conclusion: four-year olds have terrible taste. Over the course of the last year, I’ve become intimately acquainted with a uninspired collection of barnyard animals, a young adventurer who subtly perpetuates offensive stereotypes, and an unbelievably irritating sponge (with square pants, mind you) who apparently has no intention of teaching children anything of value.
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