Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda is the latest CGI-animated film from Dreamworks, the same studio responsible for the Shrek series, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, and Bee Movie among others.

The film is also the second high profile release of the year – after the live-action Forbidden Kingdom – to pay tribute to Eastern martial arts movies. In fact, Kung Fu Panda and Forbidden Kingdom share a similar premise: a dorky young hero is obsessed with kung fu, but with absolutely no talent and no physical conditioning he has resigned himself to admiring the great kung fu Masters from afar. Suddenly, to the disgust of the Masters, he is selected as the “Chosen one” destined to overcome the greatest foe in the kingdom – and as a result is forced to learn to believe in himself.


The storyline is a horrible cliché, but while it felt derivative in the overly Westernised Forbidden Kingdom, it’s much more forgivable in Kung Fu Panda, which, although featherlight popcorn entertainment, is still a vastly more satisfying homage to Asian martial arts flicks.

You see, Kung Fu Panda includes plenty of genre staples sure to please fans of the kung fu movies, from aged instructors who spout mystical sayings, to the existence of paralysing touches, to the literal embodiment of different fighting styles – kung fu Masters in the film include Tiger, Crane, Snake, Mantis, Monkey and Leopard.

Then, of course, there are the fight scenes. Kung Fu Panda offers easily the most exciting action sequences in an animated film since The Incredibles. These include an epic battle of Masters, a physical struggle over dumplings, and, my personal favourite, a dramatic prison escape.


Admittedly my biggest concerns with Kung Fu Panda were whether the filmmakers could resist succumbing to a frantic, forced wackiness that often afflicts Dreamworks’ animated films, and whether Jack Black (as chubby panda hero, Po) would be allowed to run rampant over the project with his distinct brand of humour.

I’m pleased to report that neither happens.

In fact, one of the most pleasing things about the film is the way that most of the voice cast, especially Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman (as Master Shifu), integrate with their characters, and actually play their roles. Too often, probably since Robin Williams voiced the genie in Aladdin, has casting stars become a gimmick in animated films, and resulted in carefully written characters being overpowered by the personality of the celebrity voicing them.

In Kung Fu Panda, while Angelina Jolie is somewhat distracting as Tigress, all the other actors, including Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu and Seth Rogan, fit easily into their roles. Black and Hoffman, in the two roles that really matter in the film, are excellent. Similarly good are Ian McShane as the villainous Tai Lung, and James Hong as Po’s simple, noodle selling father.


Stunningly colourful, authentically Oriental in appearance, and beautifully animated (often you want to reach out and touch characters’ fur), Kung Fu Panda’s only real drawback is that it feels incredibly short. The 95 minute runtime breezes past. And as enjoyable and cute a family film as it is, no sooner have you digested it than it slips quickly from your memory.