Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Stars (voices): Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogan
Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes
Genre: Animation / Family / Adventure / Comedy
Location watched: Empire Cinema
Synopsis:
Po and his fellow Kung Fu comrades are living the life protecting the Valley of Peace when Po’s inner tranquility is threatened by bouts of his murky past no thanks to the presence of a villain threatening to take over the whole of China with a new and modern weapon.
Po and the Furious Five journey across China to destroy the secret weapon, while Po comes face to face with a formidable enemy who goes to the heart of his identity insecurities.
Mell Says:
(5/5)
I hate to say it, but an animation sequence actually manages to grab my attention for the whole hour and a half! Thinking that this would just be a favour to my niece and nephews, I was overwhelmed with both joy and embarrassment that the experience turned it into something very positive for me.
Being a martial arts enthusiast, I was pleased that the fighting sequences garnered just as much detail as a real kung fu film would. I was left squinting and pondering over certain moves (“is that possible?”). Often times sequels, particularly animated ones, are overshadowed by accusations of just wanting to cash in from the kids but you were more than willing to forgive by virtue of the strong plot as well.
We have much to thank the first installment for setting it up insidiously, i.e. the fact that Po is a Panda raised by a duck, so the transition to the identity issue in Kung Fu Panda 2 wasn’t a surprise or rather appeared to have come from left field. His hidden traumas and identity issues were well entangled in his quest to deal with a sneaky peacock but I would have had just as much to relate to than real life characters could otherwise act out. But make no mistake, Po’s self-deprication is just as much fun to watch as the animators are well in tuned with the Po that we were initially introduced to. In other words, not too much character development yet just enough to keep us teary-eyed.
The attention to detail wasn’t left to just Po either. We are introduced to the villain who is ever so evil and ridden with darkness in the form of a peacock. The creators certainly did utilize the idea of the distracting feathers as a weapon and martial arts style. He was just as intriguing to watch as Po’s Furious Five bunch.
Overall, I have nothing bad to say except a big cheesy double thumbs up coming from me.
(5/5)