Review

Review Date: 29-May-11
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

The China depicted in the Kung Fu Panda movies is both beautiful and enticing, a land of majestic waterfalls and graceful settlements where happy creatures lead uncomplicated lives. I loved looking at the animated creatures in the first movie, and the sequel is even more stunning. There is a capital city, a stately palace; the villain is a peacock. This time the visual effects serve a purpose, lending weight to the continued story of Po (Jack Black), rotund champion of awesomeness and bunnies in peril. Po is a simple guy who appreciates happiness, and when called upon to defend his homeland and kung fu itself, it's as if he's defending the beauty around him and everything that makes him who he is.

The peacock (Gary Oldman) has a tail that recalls the clan colors of the Nazis: red, white, and black — no soothing sapphire for him. He represents technological advancement, the classic enemy of tradition. He has discovered that gunpowder isn't only good for fireworks and that cannons can render kung fu warriors obsolete. On top of that, he has dishonored his parents and remembers them with bitterness. In this he is linked to Po, who was raised by a noodle-selling goose (James Hong) without knowledge of his true origins. Not only does the peacock hold the key to Po's history, but Po is also haunted by memories of his parents and fears that they might not have loved him. (Baby panda flashback!) To face the new threat Po must find inner peace, a commodity which seems inherent in the world he was chosen to protect and antithetical to the world his enemy is trying to create.

To say that Kung Fu Panda 2 has more meat on its bones than its predecessor is not to say that it lacks the prime Panda's comic flair. Po is naturally endearing because despite being a skilled fighter he's a fat bear and bumbles accordingly. In one scene that smacks of Jackie Chan (who contributes voice talent to the film), Po and his fellow warriors fight the peacock's minions from inside a dragon costume, ingesting them through the mouth end and ejecting them out the tail end. The other action scenes are fun even in 2D, and the camaraderie between the kung fu team gives one the sense of having fallen in with old friends. (The friendship angle focuses on Po and the tigress whose growl is provided by Angelina Jolie.) Kung Fu Panda 2 builds on the strengths of the original to make the unlikely hero's world seem not just pretty, but something worth fighting for.

Copyright © 2011 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.