Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom (***½)
Directed by: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Starring (voices): Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary
Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Michelle
Yeoh, Danny McBride, Dennis Haysbert, Victor Garber, Jean-Claude Van Damme
Seen: June 11th 2011
***½
Out of ****
The original Kung Fu Panda told of Po’s (Black) rise from being an
unknown panda to his being named the Dragon Warrior and his subsequent
protection of the empire from Ian McShane’s Tai Lung, a very threatening Kung
Fu Master. Kung Fu Panda 2 takes Po’s legend even further; with him now established
as the Dragon Warrior, the new threat against the empire comes in the shape of
a force that can end Kung Fu itself. Lord Shen (Oldman) has harnessed the power
of fireworks to such an extent that he has built a weapon powerful enough to
conquer mighty Kung Fu warriors, as he does soon enough, killing Master
Thundering Rhino (Garber), the head of the Kung Fu Council protecting Gongmen
City. This feat is so inconceivable that Master Rhino’s two council members Master
Storming Ox (Haysbert) and Master Croc (Van Damme) have all but given up,
resigning themselves to being imprisoned, even refusing rescue for fear of Shen’s
weapon.
Po and the Furious Five are revered all through the Valley of Peace,
but as Shen’s dark influence starts filtering into China the six Kung Fu
warriors are forced face Lord Shen and his seemingly invincible weapon. The Five
depend on Po’s Kung Fu prowess to assist them in difficult times, but Po has
some dark secrets haunting him and the truth of his origins and how that
intersects with Lord Shen’s violent beginnings starts to overwhelm him. Years
ago, a Soothsayer (Yeoh) predicted that Shen would be killed by a Panda, and
Shen went on a rampaging hunt to kill all Pandas, and so attempt to beat the
prophecy of his death. Po survived, but with very little memory of this monumental
event he happily lived as part of a small family with Mr. Ping (Hong) as his
father. Through the movie Po experiences flashbacks (in beautiful hand drawn
animation) that initially confuses him but eventually reveals to him his true
heritage, and he has to overcome this and find inner peace to save all of
China.
Kung Fu Panda 2 references two very dark periods in our own history,
with Shen’s Panda extermination almost a carbon copy of Herod’s hunt of Jesus Christ
just before our current day calendar kicked in; and Shen’s obsession to build
his weapon overwhelming China with a search for metals, reminding of the dark time
in China’s not so distant history when families were forced to collect daily
quotas of metal or risk punishment. The overall sense of dread is increased
with some relatively dark scenes for a large part of the movie, but it is also
punctuated with beautiful colour and excellent humour. The movie is just about
on par with its predecessor, and I am quite a fan of this franchise, as it is
both hilarious and heartfelt, delivering not only laughs, but also something
deeper – in this case a lesson around family and forgiveness/making peace.
I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda 2 greatly, and have to say that even though it
doesn’t topple a few mighty Pixar films, it comes very very close…
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