Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Released June 28, 2008

Jack Black is Kung Fu Panda, a fat, clumsy noodle chef with martial arts dreams. While Keanu Reeves might be able to learn kung-fu after seconds of being plugged into a computer, for our Panda, “Po”, things will be more difficult.

By matters of fate and story necessity betrayed by its title, Po is chosen as the new “Dragon Warrior” by the mysterious turtle Oogway, master of the temple perched, as they always are, on the side of a mountain in the ranges of China. Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), who will be his master and trainer, and his five disciples, Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane, are none too pleased. It’s a sacrilege, they say, that an unglamorous, unprepared and overweight Panda be chosen. Oogway is wise however, and knows that Tai Lung (voiced by Deadwood’s Ian McShane), a misguided student of Shifu, has escaped from prison and is on his way to battle the one destined as the Dragon Warrior. One does not need to extrapolate too far to see where the story is headed.

It doesn’t matter, however – Kung Fu Panda works because of its charm and humour which riffs on old kung-fu movies and the expected conventions but yet still remains, unlike the Shrek films, within its own universe. The visuals, lighting and landscapes are often truly beautiful, and while the characters lack the nuance of those in Ratatouille, the voice cast, which also includes Seth Rogen and Jackie Chan, are fine.

The story is merely a retread of a thousand other children’s films, but its delivered with such verve and exuberance that it’s the story’s inherent strength rather than familiarity that dominates. After all, what child – or adult – does not dream of being a kung fu master?