Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2

5/28/11

Carmike Cinema 10

Medium Mr. Pibb

Appropriate A/C

I think Jack Black is one of the funniest people on the planet.  I’d watch him slice bread and laugh.  So when Kung Fu Panda was being made I knew I’d be a quick fan.  Jack Black playing…..well….Jack Black as a giant, fat panda that needed to save Kung Fu and in turn, all of China.  It turned out to be one of the best surprises in a long time (and held that distinction until How to Train Your Dragon came out) and went into my lexicon of movie ownership, a distinct class indeed.

As with any major studio release that has any measure of success, a sequel was planned and announced and all the major stars secured to reprise roles.  And as with any sequel, I was skeptical (see review of Hangover 2).  And this being the Summer of the Sequel, I figured I’d see it and it would be okay and that would be that. 

Well, I loved it.  I’m going to have to revise my list of “Movies Who’s Sequel is Better Than the Original”.  Because this one was.  Darker and a little heavier, but also funnier and more touching.  All of the major stars are back:  Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman.  Throw in Gary Oldman as the villain this time around because he’s awesome at playing a villain every time.  But Shen the peacock and his plan to dominate China are only a side story to this search for truth and the meaning of life.  Yep, you read that right.  Big themes for a movie about a fat, lazy panda.

Po finds himself in the middle of an existential conflict when he starts having flashbacks to his infancy and seeing visions of his mother and father.  He’s forced to finally acknowledge the elephant (or giant panda) in the room:  his father is a duck.  What has been criticized by a few stuffy shirts as a poor lesson in handling adoption conversations, I found to be touching and meaningful.  And the conflict resolution, both with the bad guy and the good guy, is as good as animated movies get.

Like I said, it’s a little darker and there are some intense moments that flash back to why Po came to be with Mr. Ping in the first place.  But overall, it’s a great movie appropriate for all ages and had some huge laughs and some really good animation sequences.  Dustin Hoffman’s Master Shifu isn’t in it enough in my opinion but his presence is always great.

Take your kids and go see this instead of seeing Hangover 2 with your buddies.  I promise you’ll feel better in the morning.

My review: 

3/4, B+, See it in the theater