Aug 17 2008
Kung-Fu Panda
Dreamworks attempt at chipping away at the Pixar monopoly on CGI animated features is a much larger success than one would expect. It, of course, doesn’t really hold up against WALL-E, but the star studded cast of voices and a clever story come together to make a charming, humorous film somewhat reminiscent of Pixar’s earlier incantations.
Kung-Fu Panda is the story of Po, a noodle serving Panda, raised by a goose, who is incredibly obsessed with kung-fu. The day he lies to his father and says he had his “noodle dream” – the dream which indicates the heir is ready to take on the family business – he finds out that the dragon warrior is about to be crowned. The dragon warrior is to be the greatest of all warriors, and will be given the coveted dragon scroll, an event that Po (voiced by Jack Black) must see. Things go awry for the over-weight panda and he doesn’t get there in time, and finds himself flying through the sky on a chair strapped with fire-works, and becomes the Dragon Warrior. The mishappened adventures begin there, as he undergoes training to defend the Valley of Peace against those who would like to see it undone.
The film is well put together with lots of celebrity voices that never get too distracting. At the heart of the film there is a solid story, with typical children’s fare themes, but it’s engaging nonetheless. Dreamworks puts together a solid film, with some great animation. With this film it seems as though Dreamworks is poised to challenge Pixar’s stranglehold on quality kids films. Kung-Fu Panda may not be the best children’s film of the summer, but it’s good, and most importantly it can be enjoyed by any age demographic.
