Kung Fu Panda 2

Chinese martial arts can make a great story, or since the days of Bruce Lee a great motion picture. Mystical abilities and incredible fighting techniques have inspired and astonished American audiences for decades, children especially. In 2008 Dreamworks Animation was looking for a follow-up to their hugely successful “Shrek” franchise and came across “Kung Fu Panda”. Originally intended to be a parody, lead actor Jack Black (The School of Rock, Tropic Thunder) took the titular role and made it an instant classic. Now in 2011 we have a sequel with a bigger budget and a leaner bear.

“…Panda 2″ reunites all the old heroes of the first film identified by their animal form and fighting style. We have Po (Black), Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen), and their Master Shifu, a Red Panda voiced by Dustin Hoffman. In the first film Po struggled to be an effective warrior, whereas here he can pull his own weight (so to speak). Enemy wolf soldiers are stealing up pots, steel guitars, anything metal from poor innocent villagers and Po’s Furious Five have no problem clearing out the bandits…until he suddenly has a dark vision. He begins to have nightmares and flashbacks to a time much earlier than his memory. Po questions his father, a Goose, who reluctantly reveals that he was adopted as a baby. However, even Father Goose doesn’t know everything, but Po does have a hazy recollection of a distinctive red pattern. This happens to belong to the metal thief, an evil Peacock by the name of Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). Shen plans to manufacture advanced weapons in the form of cannons to overthrow the country, so Master Shifu sends out the six champions to combat Shen and defeat this industrial evil.

When sequels are made there is inevitable comparison between both movies. Technically the new movie has many more locations and bigger battles of spectacle. The visually striking production paints ancient China with a wide color palette, especially with explosions. The characters are still fun, adding comic relief at just the right moments. Oldman’s is a worthy villain to add nastiness to Shen. Now the one aspect that stands out above all else (even the eye-popping 3D) is the back story of Po.  His unknown past becomes dark, very dark for a cartoon. I won’t reveal all the details, but there is a specific reason why there are no more Pandas around. Shen is responsible for separating Po from his biological parents, while Shen has family issues of his own. While this seriousness drains away much of the movie’s fun, it also gives us lots of pathos. It all culminates with Po facing an entire armada of ships, armed with large cannons, and he does it single-handed (literally).

“Kung Fu Panda 2″ is a worthy successor, but still not as good as the first. A deeper movie is attempted as in “The Empire Strikes Back”, and while it’s not as entertaining we do have a more involving film. There is even an implied third film on the way, so stay tuned for even more Awesomeness.