Kung Fu Panda (PG)
Posted by xxrosannaxx on Mon, 25 Aug 2008.
Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Ian McShane
Directed by: John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
Produced by: Melissa Cobb
DreamWorks Animations' latest blockbuster, Kung Fu Panda tells the story of Po, a clumsy, overweight Giant Panda who secretly dreams of becoming a Kung Fu warrior. Played by Jack Black, Po is fed up of working in his father's noodle shop and secretly longs to train with the Furious Five- a group of highly skilled martial arts masters who have been trained by Master Shifu, played by Dustin Hoffman.
But this is only a far-fetched fantasy, until one day, through a curious turn of events, Po is named as the valley's "Dragon Warrior"- a highly trained master of the martial arts who must defend the valley against Tai Lung, a snow leopard warrior who has escaped from prison. Despite Po insisting that he is not the dragon warrior, and Shifu and the Furious Five insisting that one of them must be the rightful dragon warrior, Master Oogway (played by Randall Duk Kim) stands by his decision that Po is the chosen one.
Faced with the jealousy and scepticism of the Furious Five, the ruthlessness of Master Shifu's intense training regime and the lack of support from his father (who for some reason, is a goose), Po must search deep inside himself to find the wisdom which will transform him into the true Dragon Warrior, and help him to fulfil his destiny. Po will discover that sometimes, this kind of wisdom will come from the most unlikely of places.
To find out whether or not Po manages to defeat Tai Lung, I'd suggest that you watch the film, as it is guaranteed to make you laugh, smile and maybe even cry a little. The soundtrack is fantastic and evokes a real feel of the Chinese culture. Striking colours and an amazing line-drawn animation sequence at the beginning of the film make this one of the most unusual animations that I have seen for a long time, in a world where most animations have become one of many non-descript pieces of CGI.
I'd give Kung Fu Panda 10/10 and recommend it to anyone with a sense of humour.
