Review of Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) by Mikaela C — 19 Mar 2012

Kung Fu Panda 2; while the title might not seem like much, the movie itself it utter gold in the animation cinematic genre. The movie's plot turns out being Po (Jack Black) and the Furious Five traveling to Gongmen City to bring a luecistic peacock, Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) to justice and destroy his invention using gunpowder and fireworks; the canon.

The movie opens to a flashback of Shen's past, beginning with his parents and their invention of fireworks themselves, with Shen delving into them as a use for weaponry. When his parents become concerned, they consult a goat simply known as the Soothsayer, who predicts that Shen will, and I quote, "Be defeated by a warrior of black and white".

Shen, overhearing this prediction, takes his band of wolves to a nearby village filled with pandas and utterly SLAUGHTERS them, creating an event simply known as the "Panda Massacre". This scene is utterly frighting in the beginning, and all the while the opening sequence is told through traditional Chinese Shadow Puppetry, giving the viewer a bit of 2-D animation while also giving a fairly new experience not seen in movies up to this point.

After arriving from his holocaust, Shen believes that his parents would be proud of him for avoiding his destiny, only to be shocked at his actions, leading them to exile him from Gongmen city. The movie continues with Po meeting Shifu in an attempt to reach Inner Peace, a high point in all masters' lives, only to be cut short when there is an attack on a nearby village with the attackers wanting the metal objects in said village.

Po and the Five go and combat the invaders in a musically coordinated battle scene, giving both rhythm and style to the fight while still retaining its eye-pleasing realism. However, the leader of the invaders comes back in an attempt to get away with all the metal they have stolen.

Po attempts to knock the attacker senseless, but is stopped short when an emblem on the wolf's shoulder guard causes him to have a brief flashback. This causes Po to question his father about his origins upon arriving back at the Valley of Peace, creating a whole new plot line within the movie.

The scene then shifts to Shen arriving at Gongmen, where he utterly humiliates Master Thundering Rhino by instantly defeating his students, and later kills him with the canon. Shifu, the Five and Po then receive a message regarding this incident, leading them to travel to Gongmen in an attempt to bring down Shen.

When arriving at Gongmen city, the band of heroes go through a long search through the city attempting to find Masters Ox and Croc, who have been imprisoned by Shen with the threat of the canon looming over their heads.

They are soon discovered by Shen's right hand "man", the Wolf Boss, only for him to flee on a rickshaw as he is followed by the Five and Po, who is chasing him on a rickshaw as well. The chariot-like race is very fast-paced and incredibly coordinated, creating a wonderful scenery while the two constantly combat each other through the city.

Wolf Boss eventually corners Po and the Five, incapacitating them and bringing them to Shen who is in the throne room of the palace waiting for them with the canon, ready to fire. However, the Five and Po easily escape their cuffs and destroy the canon, but when Po has Shen in a position in where he can finish him, another flashback occurs, causing Po to realize that Shen knows about what happened to him and his parents.

I won't reveal any more details due to spoilers, but I will say that this movie is utterly amazing! The characters go through much more development, especially Tigress, whom I personally eventually gains a romantic future with Po, and Po himself, who actually begins to become more serious much like the movie.

The visuals are amazing, as proven over and over again with the kung fu scenes, as well as the scenery of the movie. What also makes a contributing factor is that the movie uses 3-D CGI as well as 2-D animation, as shown in Po's flashbacks and the movie's opening sequence.

The humor is also, in my opinion, improved, seeing as it's less goofy and more thought out, leaving out pop-culture references and focusing more on the story than the smaller details. I honestly say that I can't find anything bad with this movie; it greatly improved form its predecessor, and I can't wait to see what they do with the rest of the series.