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| Movie: Kung Fu Panda * Site * Gecko Preview & Trailer | In Theaters: | June 6, 2008 |
| Runtime: 92 minutes | Directed by: | Mark Osborne |
| MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of martial arts action | Gecko Rating: |  |
Jack Black is such a big kid, and this animated movie is the perfect vehicle for his awesome talents.
The story is set in ancient China, and Black voices the part of Po, a big, fat panda who’s not happy about working in the family noodle-making business. He’d rather fight alongside the legendary Furious Five stars of the Kung Fu world: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross).
Through a weird twist of fate, Po is chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy — protect the valley where he lives from the vicious snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane). But how can a big, fat panda be expected to take on such a job? He’s none of the things required of such a hero — agile, mentally focused, and lighting fast. Instead, he’s plump and lazy and can barely move through the family’s noodle restaurant without knocking things over.
More after the jump…
But Po is enthusiastic and eager to learn, so he travels to a temple in the mountains and is taken — albeit reluctantly — under the wings of a Kung Fu guru, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman).
The training trudges along until Shifu realizes that he’ll have to meet Po on his own level. He sets up a session whereby Po is rewarded with dumplings for his feats. Pretty soon, Po is gaining the confidence and strength needed to complete his mission.
While I wouldn’t say this is the best family movie I’ve ever seen — Finding Nemo and The Incredibles still jointly hold that title — it’s still a fun movie with great characters, plenty of action and, of course, some good lessons about believing in yourself, even if all the odds are stacked against you.
It offers a positive message for kids and a good reminder for adults: Be your own hero. Don’t look outside yourself for the answer. And don’t expect someone else to make things right for you.
And even though the story is set in ancient China, it applies to anyone in any time period. Po doesn’t have any big physical transformation, but he does learn the secret to greatness: Be yourself. Simple, huh?
Note to Parents: This movie is fine for kids 5 and older. The story includes lots of martial arts action, including punches, kicks, falls, and other thrilling stunts. Language is fairly mild, although “suck” is used throughout, and Po is the victim of insults.
Images: Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks Animation, 2008
918 days ago
[...] Ok, the "Harry Potter" movies and a stand-out here and there, like "Up" or "Kung Fu Panda." But most family movies fall in the mediocre category, the kind you either forget about the next day [...]
1078 days ago
[...] though sales of “Kung Fu Panda” DVDs generated $102 million during the quarter, revenue still fell 31% to about $200 million, down [...]
1101 days ago
[...] "Kung Fu Panda" wins best animated feature, Annie Awards. In fact, it picked up ten awards, which seems surprising to me, given that one of the other nominees was "Wall-E." [...]
1149 days ago
[...] 1) “Kung Fu Panda” – a really cute animated movie featuring the voice talents of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, and Angelina Jolie. Read my review here. [...]
1175 days ago
[...] recently directed “Kung Fu Panda,” which went over well as a family movie. I dunno … is “He-Man” pegged as a family [...]
1272 days ago
[...] is also discussing the idea of a sequel to the summer hit Kung Fu Panda, which recently topped $560 million. Not quite the caliber of “Madagascar,” in my mind, [...]
still gotta see Kung Fu Panda… Jack Black is classic for sure; he’ll be forever famous for his work in School of Rock
1313 days ago
[...] Hoffman was on Jay Leno last night, talking up Kung Fu Panda, in which he voices a part. On the subject of voiceovers, Hoffman doesn’t like them, because [...]
1338 days ago
[...] Black delivered some awesome knock-outs at the box office this weekend with Kung Fu Panda. I liked it, too. Here’s the rundown from Box Office [...]
Your a great writer and MOVIE REVIEWER, I love your pictures and desighns, your soooo colerful!!