The Legendary Awesomeness of Kung Fu Panda

By / / Home Video
  • Title: Kung Fu Panda
  • IMDB: link

“Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose Kung Fu skills were legendary.  His enemies would go blind from over-exposure to sheer awesomeness.”

The son of a noodle making goose (James Hong), Po (Jack Black) the Panda dreams only of Kung Fu.  His wishes are granted when Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) names him the Dragon Warrior.

The pronouncement is met by skepticism by the Furious Five, the best warriors of the valley who include Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross), and sheer incredulity by their teacher Shifu (Dustin Hoffman).

Despite his large size, and even larger heart, the Panda is destined for greatness and possibly the only one who can stop the evil Tai Lung (Ian McShane) who has broken out of prison and is returning home to face the newly proclaimed Dragon Warrior and take the Dragon Scroll (which holds the secret of ultimate skill in Kung Fu) for himself.

Although a Kung Fu story about a Panda bear on the surface might seem strange it becomes a terrific vehicle for Jack Black and one of the most entertaining movies of the year.  Po is the prototypical fanboy.  He’s us, and through him we get to live out his greatest dream come true as he follows in the footsteps of those he has idolized his entire life.

DreamWorks steps up in both animation and story to deliver their most complete animated film to date which is the perfect realization of a kiss ass animated flick and a touching story of an unlikely hero.  The animation is flawless and the amount of work which went to creating all the furry folk in the film, along with the best action sequences I have seen in a movie like this, must have made several of the animators go both giddy with excitement and insane.

Before Kung Fu Panda I would have been at a loss if you asked me my favorite DreamWorks animated film (this one puts even the best of the Shrek franchise to shame).  Sure I enjoyed most of their offerings, but for the first time they stepped up and delivered something so good I was simply blown away.  The DVD comes with some nice features and is a terrific film which the whole family can enjoy.  You can also find it in a two-pack with Secrets of the Furious Five.  Kung Fu Panda belongs in everyone’s DVD collection!

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