Kung Fu Panda 2 - 3D Movie Review, moving away from overly simple storytelling and jokes only found funny by those who can count their age on one hand, screenwriters and directors in the animated world are no longer afraid of darker themes, meaningful stories and richer characters. This wonderful shift continues in Kung Fu Panda 2. Deepening the surprising maturity of its predecessor, the movie successfully takes story beats from classic kung fu stories and dials back on the humor without letting things get too dark and dramatic, creating a work that is both meditative and immensely entertaining.
In Kung Fu Panda 2, we catch up with Po (voiced by Jack Black), Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) and the Furious Five: Tigress (voiced by Angelina Jolie), Monkey (voiced by Jackie Chan), Viper (voiced by Lucy Liu), Mantis (voiced by Seth Rogen), and Crane (voiced by David Cross), in the Valley of Peace. But before the new plot is set into motion we get a gorgeously shadow play-animated prologue involving the creation of fireworks amongst Lord Shen’s (voiced by Gary Oldman) peacocks. Shen goes on a rampage wiping out the panda civilization and thus the Soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh) determines a prophecy that Shen will be brought down by a black and white warrior and then Shen is banished from his parents’ kingdom.
Hollywood always sets out to target multiple demographics with its films, but making a one that appeals to both children and adults remains a challenge. There’s a thin line between going over a five-year-old’s head and insulting the intelligence of anybody over 20. Kung Fu Panda 2 not only finds this line but balances on it like a Zen master. In a summer filled with sequels, you’ll be hard pressed to find another as intense, entertaining and visually gratifying.
In Kung Fu Panda 2, we catch up with Po (voiced by Jack Black), Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) and the Furious Five: Tigress (voiced by Angelina Jolie), Monkey (voiced by Jackie Chan), Viper (voiced by Lucy Liu), Mantis (voiced by Seth Rogen), and Crane (voiced by David Cross), in the Valley of Peace. But before the new plot is set into motion we get a gorgeously shadow play-animated prologue involving the creation of fireworks amongst Lord Shen’s (voiced by Gary Oldman) peacocks. Shen goes on a rampage wiping out the panda civilization and thus the Soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh) determines a prophecy that Shen will be brought down by a black and white warrior and then Shen is banished from his parents’ kingdom.
Hollywood always sets out to target multiple demographics with its films, but making a one that appeals to both children and adults remains a challenge. There’s a thin line between going over a five-year-old’s head and insulting the intelligence of anybody over 20. Kung Fu Panda 2 not only finds this line but balances on it like a Zen master. In a summer filled with sequels, you’ll be hard pressed to find another as intense, entertaining and visually gratifying.
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