Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
The last time I doubted Jack Black's sanity in choosing worthy roles I did so because I thought he was pandering to children. How could my beloved tenacious JB make a kiddie movie? It felt like a betrayal. Well, that movie turned out to be THE SCHOOL OF ROCK, and I'm always ready and willing to admit when I'm wrong. Rather than restrain himself to fit the mold of a kids' film, Black made the kids raise their energy to his level. Still, when the ads for the animated KUNG FU PANDA started popping up last year, I got a chill.
This time, I was sure Jack Black has gone too far. How could a movie about a cuddly, oversized black-and-white bear attempting to learn kung fu be any damn good? And once again, I have short changed Black and the creative team he is working with on this massively enjoyable, visually zippy tale about believing in yourself and overcoming a self-image that has held you back for so long. Might this be the first animated work to tackle body image issues? Probably not, but it is definitely the first to do so with such gusto.
Black voices Po, a panda who works in his father's noodle shop in China, but always thought that he was destined for more. His village is at the base of a temple that houses the greatest fighters in the land, The Furious Five, animals who make up five fighting styles of kung fu: Crane (David Cross), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Tigress (Angelina Jolie), and Monkey (Jackie Chan, whose vocal talents might leave something to be desired, but I'm guessing the filmmakers liked having around for the vibe). Their master is the small, rodent-like creature Shifu (Dustin Hoffman, doing his best work in years, I kid you not).
When word gets out that the evil snow leopard Tai Lung ("Deadwood's" Ian McShane) has escaped from prison, Shifu's master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) decides it is time to select a new Dragon Warrior, the only fighter who can defeat Tai Lung. Everyone presumes that the Dragon Warrior will be selected from among the members of the Furious Five, but at the selection ceremony, Oogway accidentally selects Po (although according to Oogway, there are no accidents), and Shifu is charged with training the rotund panda in the ways of kung fu, much to the chagrin of the Furious Five, the townspeople, and Shifu himself.
I never would have guessed it in advance of seeing KUNG FU PANDA, but Black and Hoffman make a great comic team. Both their banter and their more inspirational moments are equally strong and effective, and their training sessions are hilarious. And even with Cross and Rogen in the lineup, neither really tries to be too silly or outrageous. That may not sit well with some of you, but in the case of this film, less is often more. Jolie's Tigress is made to be the most serious of the characters, since she seemed the frontrunner of being tapped to be the new Dragon Warrior before Po stepped in. Her restraint is quite good, and I may never be able to look at a tiger again without getting a little turned on.
Aside from the surprisingly strong writing (relatively speaking), I truly dug the animation style. What it lacks in realism, it make up for with nonstop creative, kinetic energy. The fight scenes are magnificent, and, as I said, Po's training sequences are my favorite scenes in the movie. Shifu realizes that Po does his best kung fu when he believes food will be his reward, and he uses that to his advantage. Po had never met a dumping he didn't like. I'm not sure how parents are going to feel about the idea of food as a reward for good behavior, but it works in the context of the film.
Of course, the entire story is working up to the ultimate showdown between the perhaps ill-prepared Dragon Warrior Po and seemingly indestructible Tai Lung, and it is spectacularly realized, with a concluding secret move that had me howling. I don't think it's absolutely necessary that you are an old-school martial arts film fan to appreciate KUNG FU PANDA, but it sure doesn't hurt. I loved the detail in the set and costume design, as well as tasty little touches like Shifu's enormous white mustache and eyebrows.
If a smile of recognition is creeping across your mouth at the mention of this extreme facial hair, you'll eat this movie up. And don't be afraid to see this movie with a theater filled with children that aren't your own. People think kids are the worst audience to see any movie with thanks to their short attention span (that's actually false; the worst audience to see any movie with is old people…thank you). If the movie is engaging, kids will sit back and enjoy it with minimal disturbances to those around them.
KUNG FU PANDA is an experience I think kids, their parents, and any other adults will enjoy equally. And there's just enough insane kung fu to keep even us geeks entertained.
Capone
