Monday, May 16, 2011

Kungfu Panda

Released Year: 2008
Directed by John Wayne Stevenson
& Mark Osborne

Vocal by:
Jack Black as Po
Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu
Angelina Jolie as Tigress
Ian McShane as Tai Lung
Jackie Chan as Monkey
Lucy Liu as Viper
Seth Rogen as Mantis
David Cross as Crane
Randall Duk Kim as Master Oogway
Story:
The story is set in the Valley of Peace, a fictional land in ancient China inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Po, a young, clumsy, overweight panda, is a kung fu fanatic who idolizes the Furious Five – Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane – a quintet of kung fu masters trained by Master Shifu to protect the valley. Because he works in his goose father Ping's noodle restaurant, Po is unable to achieve his dream of becoming a kung fu master himself.

One day, Shifu's mentor, the elderly tortoise Master Oogway, has a vision that Shifu's former student and foster son, the evil snow leopard Tai Lung, will escape from prison and return to the Valley of Peace to take revenge for being denied the Dragon Scroll, which is said to hold the secret to limitless power. Shifu holds a kung fu tournament for the Furious Five so that Oogway may identify the legendary Dragon Warrior, the one kung fu master worthy of receiving the Dragon Scroll and capable of defeating Tai Lung. Forced to take a noodle cart to the tournament, Po arrives after the doors to the tournament arena close and is unable to enter. Desperate to see the Dragon Warrior be chosen, Po straps himself to a set of fireworks and rockets into the sky. Po crashes into the middle of the arena at the moment when Oogway is to point out the Dragon Warrior, and to the surprise of everyone present, Oogway chooses Po, seemingly by accident.

Unwilling to believe that a big fat panda could be the Dragon Warrior, Shifu attempts to get rid of Po by berating and ridiculing him into quitting his training with the Furious Five, who similarly despise and mock Po for his lack of skill in kung fu. After receiving helpful advice from Oogway, however, Po endures his grueling training and slowly begins to endear himself to the Five with his tenacity, culinary skill, and good humor. Meanwhile, Zeng is sent to Chorh-Gom Prison to have Commander Vachir double the amount of guards to prevent Tai Lung's escape. When one of Zeng's feathers falls into his cell, Tai Lung uses it to escape from prison (as foreseen by Oogway). After taking down Commander Vachir and the guards, Tai Lung spares Zeng so that he can carry a message to Shifu. Oogway makes Shifu promise to train Po before disappearing. Still unable to grasp the basics of kung fu and confessing a crippling self-loathing, Po despairs that he has no chance of defeating Tai Lung. Shifu, however, discovers that Po is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food. Using food as positive reinforcement, Shifu successfully trains Po to incorporate these feats into a makeshift yet effective kung fu style.

Meanwhile, the Furious Five set out to stop Tai Lung themselves only to be overwhelmed and defeated. Shifu decides Po is ready to receive the Dragon Scroll, but the scroll reveals nothing but a blank, reflective surface. In despair, Shifu orders Po and the Five to evacuate the valley while he delays Tai Lung as long as possible in a fight to the death. The dejected Po finds his father who, in an attempt to console him, reveals that the long-withheld secret ingredient to his famous "secret ingredient soup" is nothing, explaining that things become special if people believe them to be. Realizing that this concept is the point of the Dragon Scroll, Po returns to the Jade Palace to confront Tai Lung, who has reached the Palace and nearly killed Shifu. Po proves to be a formidable challenge for Tai Lung as he tries to protect the Dragon Scroll. Though the Dragon Scroll eventually falls into Tai Lung's grasp, he is unable to understand or accept its symbolic meaning, and Po ultimately defeats him using the secret Wuxi Finger Hold. Po is praised by the Valley of Peace and earns the respect of the Furious Five, who fully acknowledge him as a true kung fu master. Shifu, exhausted but alive after his fight with Tai Lung, is finally at peace with himself now that peace has returned to the valley.

At the end of the credits, Po and Shifu are eating together under the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, just as a new sprout is seen growing from the seed Shifu planted earlier before Oogway's disappearance.
L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:
Bravo bravo to Dreamwork production for trying very hard to get into the China animation market which i believe is a success :) This animation use China's precious animal - Panda as the main character is a wise choice, especially with Jack Black as the vocal. Beside this, they also used up a lot of Asian artist to features on the sounds characters such as Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Randall Duk Kim & James Hong.

A very meaningful cartoon and i hope the part 2 will be as good as the part 1~

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