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Pixar is where it is at for me animation-wise in Hollywood. Maybe that makes me a snob, but something about their films resonant on a level that the others can’t even begin to touch. Sure Shrek and Madagascar are funny, but besides the off-belly laugh, they are kind of shallow and hollow. With that said, I went to check out Dreamworks new foray into computer graphic cinema, Kung Fu Panda. Admittedly, I knew very little about this thing other than the fact that Jack Black and Angelina Jolie voiced characters. It could possibly be due to the fact that I don’t watch much tv, but I’ve seen sparse promotion at best until walking into the theatre and seeing a giant 3D panda in the lobby. On the whole, the film plays out much like you’d want a family/kid friendly picture to. We are given examples of friendship, belief in oneself, and humility—all life lessons we hope to inspire our youth with. With a good backbone such as that, along with some humorous bits and stunning action choreography, this panda definitely packs a punch doing his job: entertaining the audience right until the final frame.
As far as the story goes, it is a nice tale to teach the kids about faith and comradery. For us older folk, however, we are treated with some spectacular action/battle sequences to satisfy our want for more than just preaching. The chopstick fight between Hoffman and Black is fantastic, having comedy and tenacity with some nice artwork and fast paced movement. The battle on a rope bridge towards the end, as well as the final confrontation, is also highly enjoyable. Credit the entertainment to the acting and a gimmick that at first made me cringe. Throughout the film we are treated with slow-motion insertions during the action. A nod to old Kung Fu films and the satirical spoofs created as a result, I was thinking I’d grow tired of the maneuver very fast. Fortunately, as the movie continues on, the moments become sprinkled in with perfect timing. The escape from Rhino prison wouldn’t have been half as fun without the speed changes in the action and the slow-mo facial expressions of those getting thrown around. Even towards the end, the filmmakers began to use it as an original comedic device. Capturing Po’s reaction to a charging Tai Lung is absolutely priceless.

Kung Fu Panda is by no means a masterpiece, but for a cartoon that really flew under my radar, I had a lot of fun taking part in the experience. Right from the beginning, with a stylized 2D rendered sequence as an introduction, I saw that this wouldn’t be quite the run-of-the-mill work I was anticipating. Always staying fresh and funny I can fully endorse anyone wanting to check it out as a nice appetizer to what could be a fantastic main course in Pixar’s Wall-E come this summer.