The original Kung Fu Panda is one of the only Dreamworks Animation films that actually holds its own in comparison to Pixar films. It managed to capture the look and feel of the classics old and new that martial arts film enthusiasts such as myself admire so much while also offering humor that was actually funny, fantastic animation, and just an incredibly entertaining film overall. It turned out to not only be one of the more enjoyable animated films of 2008, but one of the best films of that year period. So, here we are, three years later with Kung Fu Panda 2 resting on the horizon of its release that actually feels just as strong as the original without all of the endless shortcomings most would expect to plague a sequel.
When it comes to animated films, one of the most important ingredients is the cast. The voice cast can make or break an animated feature. A talented one can make it even better while a weaker one can result in it hurting the overall enjoyment of the film. Fortunately, the cast for Kung Fu Panda 2 is pretty spot on. The entire main cast (Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong) returns from the first film and while it would be nice to see some of them have meatier roles and/or more lines (Jackie Chan and David Cross for starters), just having them return is fantastic. Casting changes between sequels are never really great. They can be pleasantly surprising, but it never feels the same. So it's great to see the entire ensemble back in full form. My personal favorite from the original cast is James Hong as Mr. Ping. The Asian American actor is perhaps best known as the villain in Big Trouble in Little China and was also Hannibal Chew in Blade Runner, but hearing that actor voice a goose who runs a restaurant and is so attached to his kung fu panda/China saving son is awesome in itself. Mr. Ping is an emotional wreck with Po putting himself in danger so often and Hong just makes his heartfelt performance stand out above the rest.
Newcomers such as Dennis Haysbert (Heat, "24") and Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sunshine) were fun additions. Yeoh voices The Soothsayer, who has a few humorous moments with Lord Shen, but realizing that Jean Claude Van Damme voiced Master Croc gave a little more weight to the throwbacks to well-known martial arts films. That influence is definitely there in the Kung Fu Panda films and both of them use that influence as a crutch in the best of ways, but having talent like Van Damme, Jackie Chan, and Michelle Yeoh participate make it all feel a little more genuine. It'd be like bringing in Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, or Sammo Hung. The cast in this is just as much a drawing factor in this as it is in something like The Expendables. It makes that homage mean so much more.
Gary Oldman practically steals every scene that he's in though. He brings that intensity and dark lunacy associated with his roles in Leon and The Fifth Element to the Lord Shen role; those same traits that made fans love his talent in the first place. He fits the role of an evil albino peacock rather well.
The animation is really the film's Tour de force. Every movement flows naturally and everything is so crisp and smooth. Fight scenes are so fast yet easy to digest. Animals talking, portraying human emotion, their hair folding in the wind all look natural. But the art direction of the film is something special. It was already fantastic in the first film, but they really bulked it up for the sequel. It's slightly reminiscent of "Samurai Jack" yet more awesome; more engrossing. It captures the feel of Chinese martial arts perfectly and the use of traditional animation during Po's flashbacks was an extremely welcome addition; having Guillermo Del Toro as the creative consultant on the film surely helped in their benefit.
Kung Fu Panda 2 is beautifully animated, exceptionally cast, laugh out loud funny, and nearly upstages the original at every turn. While certain things in the film like the "inner peace" bit are slightly predictable, it doesn't take away from the overall enjoyment of a sequel that capitalizes and improves on its predecessor rather than feeling like a watered down version of it.
Kung Fu Panda 2When it comes to sequels, it's rare enough that one manages to measure up to the first film. More often than not they end up being disappointing to one degree or another. Particularly when you're talking about animated films (the Shrek and Toy Story films being more the exception than the rule). But Kung Fu Panda 2 is that rarity among sequels in that, in my opinion, it is actually an improvement on the first film in quite a number of ways, which I'll get to later.
In this film, Po (the kung-fu panda of the title) and the Furious Five (Tigress, Mantis, Monkey, Viper & Crane) are called on to face a new threat: the return of the exiled Prince Shen (a peacock), who has come back armed with a powerful new weapon and determined to take over the kingdom. Complicating matters though are the fact that Prince Shen apparently had something to do with how Po, a panda, came to be raised by a goose, Mister Ping, his loving if noodle-obsessed father. In order to find the 'inner peace' he needs to defeat Shen, Po must first find the secret of his past, a past that he only sees in flashes of haunting memory that Shen's appearance has awakened in him.
Beyond the plot though, almost everything in Kung Fu Panda 2 is better than the first film, which was already pretty respectable to begin with. One thing is that KFP2 steeps itself even deeper in Chinese culture and it shows in both the sumptuously colored and detailed art of the backgrounds, in the traditions subtly brought out in the story, and even in the musical score wrought by John Powell and Hans Zimmer. And there is more depth, both philosophically and artistically, to the kung-fu; a particular key sequence by Master Shifu early on is a slow and beautiful thing to watch.
The voice actors are all excellent, with all of the original actors reprising their roles: Po (Jack Black), Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), Crane (David Cross) and of course Mister Ping (the inimitable veteran James Hong). New additions include a sooth-saying ram (beautifully done by Michelle Yeoh), and kung-fu masters Ox (Jean-Claude Vam Damme) and Croc (Dennis Haysbert). And a notable cameo for film buffs is the voice of the Musician Bunny (director Paul Mazursky).
I have to give particular praise though to how well Prince Shen was done. At first thought, the idea of a villainous peacock sounds, well, ridiculous. But Prince Shen, as conceived and dazzlingly executed by the animators of KFP2, and as masterfully voiced by Gary Oldman, radiates arrogant menace and threat, in attitude and physically, in a fashion that is both artful and deadly. Director Jennifer Yuh said that "Shen proved to be a great challenge to animate, so much that the complexity of the character was like that of doing six characters all at once." IMHO, KFP2 is worth seeing just for Shen alone.
And, for what it's worth, this is one of the few 3D movies I've seen that was actually worth seeing in 3D.
My only quibble with the film is that it really didn't develop the Furious Five much as characters, which I would like to have seen. There are hints of things given about Tigress, but they're never really developed, and the rest of the Five are relegated to the same hero-support roles they had in the original.
Highly recommended for anyone who likes a good story and especially for anyone who liked the first film. This one definitely takes it up a notch. - Animation - Movie - Panda'
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