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Review: ‘Kung Fu Panda’ a treat for kids and adults alike
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“Kung Fu Panda” isn’t on the menu at your favorite Chinese restaurant — let’s hope — but it’s probably one of the top movies your kids want you to take them to see this summer.
Indulge them. You’ll find it a treat yourself.
The film tells the simple story of a young Chinese male who dreams of martial-arts greatness but each day wakes to life as a pudgy klutz working in his family’s noodle shop.
The twist is, “Kung Fu Panda” is set in an animated world where animals of different species live together in anthropomorphic fashion. Think of it as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” with actual instead of just metaphorical animals — and a lot more laughs.
Po (voice of Jack Black) is fascinated by all things wushu, but he’s definitely a spectator rather than a participant. He’s a big fan of the Furious Five — Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross) and Monkey (Jackie Chan) — students of the great martial-arts master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) at the temple on the mountain that overlooks his town.
On the day Shifu’s mentor, Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), is revealing which worthy student will fulfill destiny and become the long-prophesied Dragon Warrior, Po huffs and puffs his way up the mountain and is shocked — along with everyone else — when Oogway says Po is the Dragon Warrior.
Shifu is aghast, especially since one of the Dragon Warrior’s duties will be to protect the valley from the vengeful snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane), who was once Shifu’s most promising student. Shifu follows Oogway’s wishes and begins training Po, but he expects Po to give up quickly.
The screenplay by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger takes its cues from Eastern philosophy rather than Hollywood plot formulas. Characters show respect for their elders and teachers. They act for the common good rather than their own interests. The heroes seem to feel humble rather than entitled.
Directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson convey these messages subtly, in the midst of timeless comedy and amazing martial-arts maneuvers. There’s no preaching, though Po’s journey toward self-confidence is uplifting.
Black and the rest of the vocal cast perfectly fit their computer-generated characters, which look so real sometimes it’s easy to forget they’re animated. The “sets” boast beautiful architecture and breathtaking views. “Kung Fu Panda” isn’t just a film; it’s a feast.
Rated PG for sequences of martial-arts action.
Four stars (out of five)
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Contact Knoxville News Sentinel film critic Betsy Pickle at pickle@knews.com.
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