Kung Fu Panda 2

I'd not seen the first Kung-Fu Panda film since it had come out in the late noughties, and I hadn't seen any of the other ones at all until it my toddler started watching them and I picked up 2 and 3 for her. After watching the first one loads, I managed to move her to the second, for my own variety as much as anything else. The plot sees Po trying to settle into his new role as Dragon Warrior, at the same time as a banished son returns to the city to use a new powerful weapon to seize control of the city and country. It has a slightly darker tone than the first film, because it touches on Po's backstory, and it carries itself with more dramatic sequences than the first film did (where we only got to see the power and anger of Tai Lung in a handful of scenes - mostly the film was about Po's training).

This slightly extra weight adds to the characters and the narrative, and at the same time the scale of the film feels bigger as we move into a city, with the stakes high. This means the action sequences feel like they mean more, and in return the actions is bigger, more polished, and fits well with the gravity-defying excess of the genre that the film is referencing and drawing from. It did this well in the first film too, but here it feels much more satisfying in the scale of it all. At its heart though the film remains funny, entertaining, easy for families, and with good moral messages throughout. As with the first film, the use of Chinese culture swings from mostly feeling well used and cleverly adopted, to being a bit cheap - but mostly it works well.

Animation and production is of a very high standard, and the voice cast is even deeper than in the first film, with people like Oldman, Yeoh, Haysbert, Garber, Van Damme, and McBride joining an already very starry cast. Black doesn't always work for me, but he keeps Po funny but likeable, while Oldman manages to bring gravity to his performance and have good comic timing too.

In my mind, the Kung-Fu Panda films were sort of 'lesser' films because I always saw Pixar's deeper content as being superior to Dreamworks stuff, however this second film lifts from the already good first, and is a very enjoyable and satisfying family film.

If kung fu panda was star wars then this one is esb . This was back when jack black was at its peak with Angelina back when she was married to brad Pitt. This is also the first DreamWorks cartoon to be directed by a woman and has found great success in China. The success of this and the end of the trilogy has spawned a t.v. series and countless merchandise.

If I knew that I would give a sequel about a panda doing kung fu a 9 out of 10 I wouldn't believe it But my god this is how you do a sequel. I love the first movie, but the blend of comedy, Acton, atmosphere, plot and heart gives an actual emotional experience that completely trumps its predecessor There is no obvious flaws about this movie, it takes what 1 did good and improves it flaws to create an experience that's great for both kids and adults

The question that has been floating around about Kung Fu Panda 2 is if it is Shrek 2 or Toy Story 2 of animated sequels? Well, I'm happy to say it's Toy Story 2 kind of animated sequel - a genuine good movie that takes risks and succeeds rather than rehashing the first movie.

Po isn't as much of a gastro-kung-fu fighter and fanboi from the first movie but has grown in his personality; he's less the Jack Black as a panda and more of a character that stands on it's own. However, Po is now the tragic hero in a Greek style prophecy which foretells of a warrior in black and white who would defeat a certain Lord Shen who has invented a new weapon that could spell the end of kung-fu. As Po learns that he is adopted, he struggles to find out about his past and the strange symbol from his nightmares. The heavy subject matter doesn't weight down the movie and is continually and cleverly able to escape into funny moments without losing gravitas. It successfully weaves the topics of fatherhood, friendship and family into a colorful story that even though we know how it will end, it gets there very very emphatically.

I'm really glad that Kung Fu Panda 2 didn't go the route of being a purely children's movie and didn't go the route of being built on jokes of Po's eating and Po's weight. I suppose the fortune cookie philosophy of master Shifu is slightly missed but purely a small quibble in a good movie. As a final note, maybe it's because of my eyesight with a weaker left eye, I barely noticed the 3D at all. Highly recommended movie.

Having seen and enjoyed (if not been bowled over by) the original, I was surprised and delighted by this movie that seems to prove that Dreamworks, while still not quite on a Pixar level (Yet!) could soon catch them up. It handles much more sensitive material than the first movie and tackles some truly dark and heavy subject material, but manages to keep it from becoming a drama by dropping in comedic material in a manner that is never jarring, out of place, or desperate. Lord Shen made for one of the most delightful villains of recent movie history. His push against the future contrasting with Po's struggle with the past was wonderful to watch. Po's talks with his father brought a tear to my eye in more than one moment in the film. This company and production team have firmly established themselves as formidable storytellers and I'm eager to see what's next.