Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Directed by Mark Osborne
Chosen by prophecy but doubted by all, Po is an unlikely choice for the mystical title of the Dragon Warrior—a clumsy panda thrust into the world of kung fu as a deadly enemy threatens the Valley of Peace. Under reluctant guidance by Master Shifu and the Furious Five, Po must embrace who he is to unlock the power that no scroll can teach.
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What critics say influenced Kung Fu Panda
There are nods to the fighting styles of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, as well as homages to the wire-fu and computer enhanced approaches used in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix .
There’s very little here that conjures up specific scenes—though there are clear echoes of Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)—but rather an overall sense of the tropes of the genre.
Kung Fu Panda references underdog sports movies such as Karate Kid and martial arts epics such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and while its storyline might seem familiar (in fact, very familiar if you've seen the recent live-action Jackie Chan/Jet Li hit, The Forbidden Kingdom), there's enough invention and irreverence to make the film feel fresh.
On the plus side, the movie takes itself seriously and doesn’t try to distract its audience with pop culture references that wouldn’t exist in the story’s universe (like the “Shrek” movies).
Though the dialogue is contemporary (and often very funny), it avoids pop culture references and contemporary in-jokes of the Shrek variety.
Blessedly free of the smarmy pop-cultural references of Dreamworks Animation Studios' 2004 release " Shark Tale " and their by-now-long-in-the-tooth " Shrek " series, "Kung Fu Panda" is a snappy, amusingly witty family comedy.
The near genius of the film—big-name stars doing voices to one side—is that it almost completely eschews the snarky postmodern, pop-culture-referencing sensibility that seemed pretty fresh and cheeky when Shrek (2001) first appeared on the scene, but now looks more tired and desperate than a dateless working girl at last call in a dive bar.
After a series of animated features ranging from dull to dismal (the Shrek series, Madagascar , Flushed Away , etc.), Dreamworks cooks up their first good film since Antz (1998).
(After all, it's the place that teamed Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in "Shark Tale" and loaded the "Shrek" franchise with the dulcet tones of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.)
KFP, from a clever screenplay by ex-King of the Hill writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, is a tribute to the literally hundreds of '70s Hong Kong martial arts dramas that flooded Saturday-morning U.S. TV in the wake of Bruce Lee's success with Enter the Dragon.
This time, though, even with a surfeit of battle sequences riffing on live-action martial arts iconography dating back to "Enter the Dragon," the energy captivates.
KFP, from a clever screenplay by ex-King of the Hill writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, is a tribute to the literally hundreds of '70s Hong Kong martial arts dramas that flooded Saturday-morning U.S. TV in the wake of Bruce Lee's success with Enter the Dragon.
The screenplay is by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, a duo that has written for TV’s “King of the Hill” and “MAD TV,” from a story by “Bulletproof Monk” writers Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris.
Hoffman clearly relishes his role even more than Black does Po, but he's not given much from screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who were far funnier as scribes for TV's King of the Hill.
"Kung Fu Panda" comes from the creative people responsible for episodes of TV's "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "King of the Hill."
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It reminded me of Steve Martin in "The Jerk," where his parents were black, and it never occurred to him to question the matter).
The oafish-guy-attempts-a-lithe-sport premise has been mined before, most similarly in Beverly Hills Ninja, a fairly awful Chris Farley vehicle that managed to stomp all the fun out of the concept.
A CGI, furry version of Beverly Hills Ninja, then, though a vast improvement over such previous DreamWorks dreck as Shark Tale and the Shrek flicks, thanks to a couple of kinetic action sequences worked out in spatial moves out of House of Flying Daggers and to some uncommonly good voice acting (Black is in routine Baby Huey autopilot, and Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, and Seth Rogen all barely register, but Hoffman, McShane, and James Hong have delightful bits).
But here it is: I prefer "Kung Fu Panda" to any of the "Shreks," along with moderately diverting entertainments such as "Bee Movie," plus more grating items such as "Madagascar," "Shark Tale" and "Over the Hedge."
The Panda creative team displays a keen reverence for chopsocky and Asian cinema with the elaborate action scenes repurposed from Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle and the bold opening and closing credits paying homage to Miyazaki’s unique hand-drawn animation.
I’d add that the conventions are taken to their illogical extreme, but after Kung Fu Hustle (2004) and The Protector (2005), the only illogical extreme left is the bulk and shape of this film’s hero.
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After a series of animated features ranging from dull to dismal (the Shrek series, Madagascar , Flushed Away , etc.), Dreamworks cooks up their first good film since Antz (1998).
DreamWorks Animation, the studio behind hip-and-edgy cartoons such as "Shrek" and "Antz," may not like to hear this, but there's something old-fashioned about its latest feature.
Antz was okay, until you saw A Bug’s Life.
Black’s Po is an example of perfect vocal casting along the lines of Tom Hanks as Woody in Toy Story and Robin Williams as the Genie in Aladdin.