Directors: John Stevenson, Mark Osborne
Actors:Jack Black, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogan, David Cross
Studio:DreamWorks Animation, Paramount
Release Date: November 8, 2008

This is how I remember it.  When I was growing up, I would wake up on Sunday, eat some cereal, watch some cartoons, and then the real fun began. I would watch at least one or two kung fu movies, and while they were always entertaining from an action stand point, a lot of them had comedy embedded in them as well. After watching Kung Fu Panda this is how I felt, like I had stepped back a bit to my childhood and it was a grand Sunday afternoon.  Kung Fu action abounds, with charming characters telling a story that is both uplifting and funny.

Po, a panda in the Valley of Peace, works for his father (a goose) selling noodles to the local villagers.  Po is a kung fu geek though and while he does not do any kung fu, he has action figures of the Furious Five and knows all there is to know from the standpoint of kung fu history.  While, the tournament to pick the dragon warrior is going on, Po is stuck selling noodles and his father is trying to see if Po is ready to learn the secret ingredient (this plays a later role) that makes the noodles he sells so good.  While trying to sneak a peak at the dragon warrior trials, Po puts himself front and center for and ancient prophecy to be fulfilled.   Before the chop sticks hit the table,TaiLung the villainous snow leopard with a past has made his escape from prison and is on his way back to recover the dragon warrior scroll.  It is up to Master Shifu and his students the Furious Five to help Po fulfill his prophecy and not only become the dragon warrior, but also to defeat Tai Lung.  Easier said then done, until Shifu comes up with an interesting way to teach Po the way of kung fu.

Note:  I watched Kung Fu Panda on a Playstation 3 Blu-ray Player hooked up to a High Definition 43 inch television.

Kung Fu Panda gives us some of the best CGI to date (and the Blu-ray allowing you to see it in all its splendor), and there were some times, where I could have confused the CGI for real locations.  It was that good, with fur,fabrics, and body movements during kung fu scenes mimicking real life.  The backgrounds are dripping with character and feel alive and vibrant.  They could be pieces of art hung on someones wall, which I think I even said as I reviewed The Art of Kung Fu Panda.

The voice acting was done well, with each character being distinct and fleshed out.  All necessary nuisances that could be handled from the acting end were done, and the casting of “voice to animal” was well thought out. The voice acting as well as the audio drag us deeper into the overall illusion of this cartoon story.

What I found interesting was the that Furious Five, while not the main focus of the movie became very defined and enjoyable as characters.  The writers did a good job at creating characters that had a full and rich background without overtaking the lead character of Po.  The two fight scenes at the end are some of the best I have seen in any form, either live action or cartoon.  The display of emotions that the characters showed was impressive, especially Tai Lung, with his inner turmoil.  I enjoyed Tai Lung as a villian that was not too scary, but still a villian.  Tai Lung has an interesting background of how he grew up and why he is the villian we see in the movie.  The story was fluid and gave us enough of a background to allow the viewer to feel attached to the outcome of all characters.  The overall storyline is one that is moral and just.  I felt that the scenes in the film were handled well for younger children even with the PG rating on the package.  My children now want to sign up for karate classes at our gym now, so be prepared parents.

From the lush outdoors to the inside of the Jade Palace at night (or the prison scenes as well), the quality of the transfer to Blu-ray is near flawless.  The frames have depth and do not become saturated at all due to lighting.  One particular scene that amazed me was seeing Shifu from the back and having a small braid in his fur behind his head sway a bit with the breeze.  Top notch stuff.  Each one of the different animal types look perfect with swaying fur and clothing texture.  The audio was also amazing and was used to its full advantage to supplement the movie, but never overtaking the video like some audio does.

 

 

Blu-Ray Extras

There were a lot more extras that I had originally thought for a single Blu-ray disc.  That being said I have touched on the main extras in each section, but there was a bit more for everyone to delve into.

Inside Kung Fu Panda

In this section directors get to talk and give you some inside information on the film and why they made some of the choices they did in relation to the story and the look of scenes.  I think it is always insightful and interesting to get an understanding of the people putting the movie together.  As well as this information you have Conservation International: Help Save Wild Pandas, a public service announcement, done by Jack Black.  Pandas like bamboo!

Po’s Power Play Activities

This was a pretty cool section as it was a bunch of games that are perfect for the kids.   If you win or fail you are treated to a clip from the movie telling you if the passed the test or not.  There are tests based on each of the Furious Five as well as a hide the dumpling type game.  They all reminded me of the classic Dragons Lair games when they were on laser disc.  Both my kids had fun playing them.  Learn to draw was something that you could actually follow and you just might be able to draw some of your favorite characters if you pause and practice enough.  This was for the older kids or the adults.

Sounds and Moves of Kung Fu  

This part of the extras showed how they created the sound effects of the film.  The Moves of Kung Fu also taught you a bit of kung fu in each of the animal styles seen in the movie.

Land of the Panda  

How to use chopsticks for the kids and how noodles are made (Alton Brown intro) we neat to watch for a learning experience.  There was also a Chinese Calendar, as well as what animals influenced kung fu.  There was also a test to see what fighting style was akin to your personality.  I was Panda, but I do not know if that is because I am lazy or collect action figures.

Dreamworks Animation Video Jukebox  

Just as the title suggests, they are music videos of some of the Dreamworks movies

Trailers  

Monsters vs Aliens - I want to see this… very badly, it looks awesome.

Madagascar 2

BD-Live

Using the Playstation 3 I downloaded both of the BD-Live sections.  One was Po Around the World and A Day In The Life: Shaolin Monks In Training.  Po Around the world is just part of the movie dubbed in different languages, but A Day In The Life: Shaolin Monks In Training was a very interesting look at the monks and their lifestyle.

Final Thoughts

Kung Fu Panda was like comfort food for me, harkening back to my childhood and kung fu films.  There are a few running jokes going on throughout the movie involving food and then Po’s lack of cardiac exercise, where he always tired after running to the top of the Jade Palace.  The jokes never actually become old and seem to gain steam each time we see them used in the film.  I could relate to Po as he runs up those stairs that last time, out of breath.  One of my favorite funnies is where his father thinks Po has had his first noodle dream, therefore he is ready to learn the secret ingredient.  This works on many different levels, both children and adult.  This is a true action film though, just spinkled with a moral message and some fun loving (and often funny) animals.  There does not have to be guns, drugs, gory violence to make a good action films, and other studios should take note of that.  Kung Fu Panda is a movie for both kids and adult to savor and enjoy, the quality of the characters, the story, and technology make this one to pick up.

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Topics: Angelina Jolie, David Cross, DreamWorks Animation, Dustin Hoffman, Ian McShane, Jack Black, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Paramount Studios, Seth Rogan