Last night I finally got round to watching
Kung Fu Panda at the cinema after hearing a ton of hype about how good it was. Watching two of the hottest animations out this summer back to back in one week may not have been such a good idea however. Wall-e set such a high standard that anything I was likely to watch after was going to pale in comparison. To be fair, Kung Fu Panda was extremely funny. Po, an extremely over weight, Kung Fu obsessed panda who works in a noodle restaurant with his father (who is inexplicably a goose), is picked as the dragon warrior and savior of the village. His road to kung fu enlightenment provides a hilarious hour of cartoon entertainment as he trains to defeat the evil snow leopard Tai Lung. Initially ridiculed by his martial arts heroes, the Furious Five (Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey), he eventually earns their affection and respect along with his Si Fu.
Jack Black is, as ever, brilliant as Po and steals the show. The other big names take a definite back seat in the humour stakes, and I wasn't even aware of who played who until the closing credits. The action scenes were fantastic and the animation was clear, crisp and believable but in keeping with Dreamworks philosophy of keeping a cartoon looking like a cartoon. In all it was a very entertaining film with some very funny scenes, but no where near matches the quality of Pixar's Wall-E in my opinion.
And, my favourite line from the film? There's got to be two that stick in my mind.... one serious...
Oogway:
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.
And one hilarious...
Po's father:
We are noodle folk. Broth runs through our veins.
More quotes and one liners can be found
here.
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