Kung Fu Panda review

 Number 672 on the top 1000 films of all time is the computer-animated wuxia film Kung Fu Panda.

Kung Fu Panda is set in ancient China. It follows the bumbling, but well-intentioned Po (Jack Black) - a giant panda bear who loves kung fu. When he is inadvertently named the Dragon-Warrior, it becomes his destiny to stop the evil snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian Mcshane.)

I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda a lot more than I thought I would. Generally I find wuxia films more style than substance. Sure the martial arts sequences look brilliant, but the films are always so overly-serious. This wasn't the case for Kung Fu panda. The best thing about the film was that it didn't take itself too seriously. And a lot of that was down to John Stevenson's strong direction.

Rather than making a parody like Dreamworks wanted, he instead created an action-comedy that took all the best elements of Wuxia, but also incorporating a lighter tone. Having Jack Black as Po also helped a lot. His comedy is always so expressive and physical which translated well to an animated role. Yet he also made Po a very sympathetic character.

Po is a kung fu enthusiast. He loves the martial arts. But he is also resigned to spending his life in his father 'Goose's' (James Hong) noodle restaurant. As a side note, James Hong was a delight as the over-protective and overly-affectionate father. Po very much becomes an unlikely hero as nobody, least of all, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) - the Red Panda who has to train Po, has any faith in him succeeding.

Jack Black, Ian McShane, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong - there are some acting heavyweights in his film. But that's not all. Angeline Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and Michael Clark Duncan also all lend their voices. But with such a large cast and so many characters a lot of the acting talent was largely underutilised. Jackie Chan - star of so many kung fu films gave a disappointing contribution, while Lucy Liu and Seth Rogen largely blended into the background. Ian Mcshane's voice performance was nothing noteworthy either.

Having said that, I did enjoy Kung Fu Panda. It had gorgeous animation, and real heart. Unlike so many of its predecessors, it embraced portraying Kung-Fu under a more light-hearted lens.