
There’s a level of visual beauty here that’s a notch above anything DreamWorks has attempted before - a sequence where the ancient master, Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), blends with a cloud of cherry blossom is achingly gorgeous.

In fact, ignore the fact that you’re seeing combinations of panda, snake, tiger, snow leopard, crane and monkey duking it out, and chances are that the kung fu action sequence of your dreams is here.įrom a devilishly clever sequence where the ‘Furious Five’ take on Tai Lung on an unravelling rope bridge, to a hugely enjoyable training sequence between Shifu and Po and the final showdown between Po and Tai Lung (featuring the funniest use of slo-mo we’ve seen in ages), directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson take advantage of the limitless possibilities of CGI to bring us action on a scale, and of a type, rarely seen before.īut it’s not all about (surprisingly violent) fisticuffs or roundhouse kicks.
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In an exhilarating sequence, Tai Lung manages to negotiate the three fiendish levels of the jail in a flurry of punches, kicks and gravity-defying leaps that culminate in a magnificent series of vertigo-inducing shots. That something is an escape attempt by the movie’s villain, Tai Lung (voiced with relish by Ian McShane), a psychotic snow leopard so dangerous that he’s been imprisoned in a mountain hellhole constructed especially for him. In fact, it’s pretty rote stuff, as Po topples over, bumps into things and sends stuff flying like a fat, furry version of the Chuckle Brothers.īut then something rather wonderful happens, ratcheting the film up to the dizzying heights where Pixar and a few select others reside. There’s nothing particularly compelling here, as Jack Black’s Po gets accidentally selected to become the fabled Dragon Warrior, and tries desperately to prove himself to wise old Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and his new, sceptical dojo-mates. And, apart from an excellent Manga-style dream sequence that opens the picture, it seems after the first 25 minutes or so of Kung Fu Panda that the run is going to continue. Shark Tale, Bee Movie and Madagascar were mediocre efforts, stranded in a morass of quickly dating pop-culture references, uninspired gags and a general absence of the spirit and visual acuity that sets John Lasseter’s mob apart. For the kids, of course, all this stuff is much of a muchness, and here they go again.With the exception of the first Shrek and Aardman’s efforts under its aegis, DreamWorks Animation has tended to pale considerably when compared to the Pixar monolith.

But it's elegantly drawn, the action sequences are packed with energy, and it's short enough that older viewers will be forgiving. The story is way too predictable, and truth to tell, Po himself didn't overwhelm me with his charisma. "Kung Fu Panda" is not one of the great recent animated films. There's an extended combat with Tai Lung on a disintegrating suspension bridge (haven't we seen that before?), hand-to-hand-to-tail combat with Po and Tai Lung, and upstaging everything, an energetic competition over a single dumpling.
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The story then becomes essentially a series of action sequences, somewhat undermined by the fact that the combatants seem unable to be hurt, even if they fall from dizzying heights and crack stones open with their heads. Anyway, it's up to the temple master Oogway ( Randall Duk Kim), an ancient turtle, to make the final selection, and he chooses - yes, he chooses the hapless and pudgy Po.

All five have been trained (for nearly forever, I gather) by the wise Shifu, who with Dustin Hoffman's voice is one of the more dimensional characters in a story that doesn't give the others a lot of depth. Mantis in particular seems to weigh about an ounce, tops. Tigress looks like she might be able to do some serious damage, but the others are less than impressive. Five contenders have been selected, the "Furious Five": Monkey ( Jackie Chan), Tigress ( Angelina Jolie), Mantis ( Seth Rogen), Viper ( Lucy Liu) and Crane ( David Cross).

But climb them he does, dragging a noodle wagon, because all the people of the valley have gathered up there to witness the choosing of the Dragon Warrior, who will engage the dreaded Tai Lung ( Ian McShane) in kung-fu combat. They live in the beautiful Valley of Peace with an ancient temple towering overhead, up zillions of steps, which the pudgy Po can barely climb.
