Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Kung Fu Panda (2008) Movie Review

Kung Fu Panda is a story about Po the Panda (Jack Black), a humble noodle restaurant waiter by day and kung fu wannabe by night. Although Po is predicted to be the Chosen One with the powers of the supreme Dragon Master, the kung fu master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) has his doubts as because of Po's lack of will power and clumsiness. In spite of these shortcomings, Shifu reluctantly teaches Panda some of the martial arts suitable for his bulky frame as the Valley of Peace is being threatened by the villainous Snow Leopard, Tai Lung (Ian McShane). Once Po begins to believe in himself, he learns that he can contribute to the defense of the village against the villainous Snow Leopard bent on destroying all the kung fu masters in the land.

Other voice talents behind the Furious Five Legends characters are Master Tigress (Angeline Jolie), Master Monkey (Jackie Chan) and Master Viper (Lucy Liu).

This Dreamworks CGI animation feature, directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson, has a good story line, good animation and is likely to please both the children and adults alike. The fight scenes are hilarious and imaginative - mixing WWF with Chinese martial arts to good effect.

Hans Zimmer and John Powell provides the original soundtrack music to Kung Fu Panda. The most memorable song of the movie however is the re-recording of the classic '70s disco song: 'Kung Fu Fighting' performed by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black.

Kung Fu Panda is rated PG for sequences of martial arts action. This is actually cartoon violence which can be quite intense at time with severe beatings though none of the animated characters seem to die because of it. Generally, the movie can be said to be family oriented by today's standards though there are some sexual references like getting hit on the groin area and noodle bowls alluding to women's breasts. The "believe in yourself" theme may sometimes run contrary to family values.




For a satirical movie review of Kung Fu Panda based on an Asian perspective, visit this link.

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