Kung Fu Panda 4

While DreamWorks Animation hasn’t had a consistent track record of quality, I’ve always found an exception in the Kung Fu Panda films. The first film remains one of my favorites from the studio, as well as one of my favorite animated films in general, with an equally good second film and a solid third film that ends the Kung Fu Panda trilogy on a high note. Imagine my surprise, then, when the same studio responsible for recent boundary-pushing efforts in The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish announced a Kung Fu Panda 4, an admittedly unnecessary sequel that still had a wealth of potential for expanding its fascinating world and characters and bringing the series to new heights. Now imagine my disappointment in how the first new main entry in eight years not only failed in living up to the quality of the original trilogy, especially Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2, but also didn’t understand what made the rest of the franchise so appealing and successful in the first place.

Kung Fu Panda 2 - A Sequel With Kick

After the success and popularity of Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks announced a sequel. For a time, it was called Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom, but only for the sake of rhyme. After they dropped that portion of the title, I was curious to see the sequel based on the ads and the fact that I enjoyed the original. After finally seeing the movie, I think Dreamworks has managed to continue keeping this franchise entertaining and keeping the feel of a true martial arts movie.

At the beginning, we learn about our new antagonist, an albino peacock named Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). After the invention of fireworks, he seeks to harness its power to fuel his own ambitions to rule over China. However, he is banished from Gongmen City after committing mass genocide to avert a soothsayer's prophecy that one day, he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white. Outraged, he vows to one day return and reign supreme. We then see Po (Jack Black), who is now living as the Dragon Warrior and working with the Furious Five to maintain safety within the Valley of Peace. While talking with Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), he is interrupted by news of a raid by wolves who seek refined metal. During the ensuing battle, he loses focus and has a memory of his childhood. When the wolves run off, Po learns of Lord Shen and his new weapon, one with the potential to threaten the existence of kung fu. Po and the Furious Five take off for Gongmen City to defeat Lord Shen, while Po tries to seek inner peace and confront the dark mysteries of his past.

The story was executed pretty well, with a good set of voice actors who really sell their roles nicely. It should be noted that out of the Furious Five, Tigress (Angelina Jolie) is more prominent, but it is justified in that she relates most to Po's situation regarding his attempt to figure out exactly who he is. Jack Black still does a good Po, and it helps when during the movie's sad moments he can get that emotion out of his character. I was actually surprised by the fact that Jean-Claude Van Damme voiced Master Croc, but he still did a good job, even if his character didn't have a big speaking part. I also found Lord Shen to be an interesting villain, if more visually because he's a bit more stereotypical than Tai Lung was in the previous installment. While the stereotype does come from a simple act of revenge, it was still fascinating to find out how far he was willing to go in order to make it reality.

Unlike other animated movies, there isn't really that much of a universal color palette. Instead, there is a blend of warm and cool colors that actually make the setting more realistic to the viewer. Different art styles are also used, such as one where everything is made of Chinese paper, but built like a puppet. Similarly, there are times, during Po's memories, where a traditionally animated art style is used to go seamlessly between the past and the present.

The CGI in the movie was absolutely perfect, looking even better than before. It was clear that a painstaking amount of detail was put into the environments, including the weather dynamics on the characters and surroundings. The unique cannon balls in this movie, a combination of a cannon ball and a firework, also display effects in motion, which just looked cool. What really sells the effects however, is the 3D used for the movie. Unlike a lot of other movies where 3D is invoked by throwing objects at the screen to varying degrees, it was used here to create a sense of depth. This was the better route to take, as the movie felt more immersive with this type of 3D and I wish more movies would use it.

As this is a martial arts movie, it was fun to see how creative some of the moves were, such as the different tag team maneuvers used by Po and the Furious Five to take down an entire army of wolves. It was also great to watch them get over the top, such as the effect of gaining inner peace as demonstrated by Shifu and later, Po. Hans Zimmer's score goes well with the onscreen action, although you may be paying more attention to the visuals than the music at that point.

Kung Fu Panda 2 was definitely more ambitious than the first, with upgraded effects and a bigger scale plot, complete with well-handled character development on Po's part and no shortage of humor when infused with the drama. I'm not sure exactly how I would compare it to the first, but I would say that it's at least just as good, if not maybe a little better. Those who saw Kung Fu Panda will enjoy this, as well as those who are curious about a Dreamworks animated film like this. As a final note, the ending is big, if maybe a little confusing, but it also sets up a possible Kung Fu Panda 3, which I would love to see from this studio in the future.

Kung Fu Panda - A Dreamworks Movie That Feels Like an Actual Movie

All too often, Dreamworks Animation has released movies with humor based mostly on celebrity jokes and references, as well as other things that would make a movie seem dated as time goes on. This time, however, Dreamworks managed to make a movie that not only manages to stay fresh after a couple of years, but also has a more immersive plot.

The story revolves around a Panda named Po (Jack Black), who dreams of becoming a master of Kung Fu. To this end, he idolizes five masters of this art known as the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), and Crane (David Cross), all of whom are trained by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) to protect the Valley of Peace. However, he is a villager who works with his Goose father Ping's (James Hong) noodle restaurant and believes that he may never achieve his dream. But when he hears that the temple is going to pick someone to be the Dragon Warrior, he attends, only to be locked outside. By strapping fireworks to a chair, he manages to get into the outer part of the temple, but ends up getting picked as the Dragon Warrior by the elderly tortoise Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim). Everyone, including Po himself, believes this to be a mistake, especially Shifu. At the same time, a snow leopard named Tai Lung (Ian McShane) escapes from a prison built specifically to hold him and makes his way to the Valley of Peace. Now Po must try his hardest to become the Dragon Warrior in order to protect the valley from the wrath of Tai Lung.

I was able to really get into this story, which has just the right blend of drama and comedy to keep anyone watching to see what would happen next. The action, being a kung-fu movie, is very exaggerated but entertaining. I loved the diverse camera angles used to display the over-the-top martial arts, as well as the moves themselves. At the same time, the characters in the movie look very well animated, with colors that help them stand out from each other. Their clothes look as though they came from China centuries ago, which actually suits the genre very well. The scenery also contains a bright color palette, which evokes images of early China that are seen in one's head when they think of the country.

The voice cast was also very well chosen, with Jack Black giving one of his better performances in a movie. The personalities of these characters were also very believable and diverse. It was great to watch them interact with one another, especially when the Furious Five are getting used to Po's presence around the temple. Oogway's dialogue sounds like it comes from a particularly insightful fortune cookie, but can be good lessons to take to heart.

The sound effects matched the events well, if also sounding a bit cartoony in a couple of spots, such as the sound of bowling pins when Tai Lung knocks some guards over during his prison break. The music accompanying the events is scored excellently by Hans Zimmer and John Powell and matches the mood nicely.

As a Dreamworks film, Kung Fu Panda throws you a curveball and defies all expectations, being more serious than the trailers may indicate. As a martial arts flick, it rivals many other animated movies with battle scenes in both style and humor. I would proudly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see one of the best films Dreamworks Animation has put out in a long time, or to anyone who wants some great quality action and story. Going outside of the studio's comfort zone worked with this movie, and I hope they do it again with the upcoming Kung Fu Panda 2.