My Movie Review on Kung Fu Panda

Greetings, my friends.

This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

Today, for my 140th film analysis, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "Kung Fu Panda".

Here's the rundown of this tale:

Po is a clumsy but kind-hearted panda who works at a noodle shop runned by his adoptive father, Mr. Ping. Secretly, though, he deeply dreams of being a master of Kung Fu and to be more than who he is. Especially to be like his heroes, the Furious Five.

After he unwittingly crashes a kung fu tournament while trying to get in the arena, though, Po's life is abruptly changed when the wise Master Oogway declares him the "Dragon Warrior", despite him not knowing how to do kung fu. With this in mind, Oogway's student, Master Shifu, is given the task of training Po in spite of his reluctance and doubts.

Meanwhile, a former student of Shifu called Tai Lung has broken out of a prison, and he vows revenge for being imprisoned long ago and being denied the "Dragon Scroll", which is said to give the Dragon Warrior power beyond compare.

With Tai Lung coming, Po could very well be the only hope to defeat the rage-driven Snow Leopard.

Will Po become the warrior he dreams to be? Or will Tai Lung have what he wants?

Before I get into what I think of this movie, I just want to say that this film is one that I'm so happy to finally get around to reviewing. It's one of my very favorite animated films by Dreamworks, and it's something I've been wanting to analyze since the very beginning.

Here's why:

The performances of the cast, casting, characters, and character development were among the things I found to be 100% compelling! I love how the performers were able to deeply throw themselves into their characters with their voices alone, not only to where their portrayals fit the personalities of their characters, but also in a way that perfectly matched the emotions they were feeling and the physical moments they were in. Not only that, but the characters themselves had a spark inside of them that helped them be alive and fully-realized, and they all developed so well throughout the movie. As an honorable mention, I'd like to say that Dustin Hoffman did a dynamic job portraying Master Shifu, and he brilliantly aided the character as a whole in being as three-dimensional and full of life as possible.

Additionally, Ian McShane was incredible in the role of Tai Lung. The way McShane portrayed him was like he was able to be Tai Lung himself and not just be the guy voicing him, which made the character feel and seem so real. As I watched the film again recently, I couldn't help but even note how much of an alternate reflection Tai Lung appeared to be with Po, and McShane's performance gave the villain a sense of someone very classical and realistic at the same time.

But, perhaps the best out of all of the performers and characters...was Jack Black and his character of Po. Black was literally born for the role of Po, as he not only gave a lot of the best comedic-timings but incorporated an innocence and kindness in the character that made him instantly lovable. Along with that, Po is someone that I can't help but find to be a lot like...me. We both do share similar personalities and senses of humor, but...much like what Po has gone through, I can't help but wonder what my role in life could be, if I have any worth as a person, and if there's a way I can make myself better than before, and those are things that I believe make Po such a relatable character. And not just with me, but with others as well. Especially teens and young adults.

The animation of this movie was amazing, if I may add. When I read that Dreamworks apparently wanted to use a more complex style and approach with the animation than their previous films, I was absolutely astonished by the results. The visualization of it all appeared to have quite a storybook and comic feel to it, which is something that only hand-drawn animated films were often able to catch. Likewise, Dreamworks captured a resonance to the animation that was perfect for a film taking place in China.

The direction by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson, the story by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, and the screenplay by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, were remarkable too. For instance, the comedy that they incorporated throughout the film was hilarious! The jokes were excellently executed, innocent, fun, and they matched the film flawlessly as a slapstick comedy. Along with that, there was genuine emotion, moral, and heart that helped the movie be alive and have a great balance in tone. In many ways, the film did feel pretty straightforward, but yet...there was a noticeable complexity to it as well.

Finally, the music done by Hans Zimmer and John Powell was magnificent. Similar to the late Jerry Goldsmith's work in Disney's "Mulan (1998)", I love how the melodies Zimmer and Powell created captured a resonance that brilliantly honored Chinese culture and the purity it held. Everything about the music was likewise cinematic on a deeply emotional level. Plus, the film's version of "Kung Fu Fighting" is so fun to listen to it's worthy of being part of one's music collection, and CeeLo Green and Jack Black did a marvelous job singing for it.

In conclusion, "Kung Fu Panda" is undeniably one of Dreamworks's best films, and it has a good reason for being classified as such too. The characters and voice acting are awesome, the humor is entertaining, the animation is incredible, everything!

So, I rate "Kung Fu Panda" a solid five out of five stars.