Kung Fu Panda (***½)

Directed by: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson (Spongebob Squarepants, Father of the Pride)
Starring (voices): Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross
Seen: July 7th 2008

***½ Out of ****

Po (Black) is a panda with extreme dreams, as we are introduced to the film with a very entertaining and amusing 2-D animation sequence reminiscent of Samurai Jack, but not by the same animators. This is Po’s dream, as he suddenly awakes as he falls out of bed, and we are now in a full 3-D animation world. Po works in a noodle restaurant for his goose father Mr. Ping. He is clumsy and awkward and funny, and he is a kung fu fanatic, secretly dreaming of becoming a master.

One day, when the Tortoise Master Oogway arranges a special ceremony to select and announce the Dragon Warrior, a supreme master who’ll be able to defeat Tai Lung, Po accidentally “wins” this honor, and becomes, despite his lack of skill, the new Dragon Warrior. This greatly vexes Tigress (Jolie), who was certain that she would be the new Dragon Warrior. The rest of the Furious Five – Monkey (Chan), Mantis (Rogen), Viper, (Liu), and Crane (Cross) accept it, but are also wary of what may come.

Po needs to go through a lot of training and character development, and while he does, Tai Lung, the Snow Leopard (McShane) escapes from his incredible fortress prison – he is the only prisoner, guarded by 400 Rhino’s! According to legend only the Dragon Warrior can defeat him, and this befalls Po. Will he be able to do it?

The odds are heavily stacked against him, and the whole race to get there is real fun. The moral of the story is also quite educational, once again, like WALL·E, quite unobtrusive to the whole story and the telling of it. Everyone will enjoy this one for its humor, heartfelt story, and the unlikely hero standing up out of his situation and the beliefs that others hold over him.