“Kung Fu Panda” was an instant hit when it came out nearly three year ago and it’s one of my favorite DreamWorks animated movies of all-time. Coming-up with a sequel to match or even be better than the original would not be easy. And “Kung Fu Panda 2” isn’t as much fun as the first one, but it’s still well worth watching.
Jack Black is back as the voice of Po. This time he and the Furious Five are called upon to prevent an evil peacock named Lord Shen (voiced nicely by Gary Oldman) from taking over China and ending the reign of Kung Fu. Shen has discovered a way to defeat the masters of martial arts – by blowing them up with cannons.
Before he sets-out on this journey Po learns what everybody else already knew – that’s he’s adopted. But we all find out for the first time – through flashback scenes and Po’s dreams – how Po got separated from his parents when he was a baby and how he ended-up with Mr. Ping, the goose, as his father. And the evil Shen played a major role in this as well. But before Po can defeat Shen he must find “inner peace”, which doesn’t come easy.
“Kung Fu Panda 2” is filled with nicely choreographed and entertaining action scenes. The problem is there are just too many of them, and they overshadow the story lines, some of which are pretty serious. And there isn’t the same amount of humor this time around. Younger kids either won’t understand the scenes involving Po losing his parents or they will and could be scared by them. This is clearly a more adult movie than the original “KFP”.
The story lines involving Po’s parents, his relationship with his adopted father and his search for “inner peace” are very effective. You can add “KFP2” to the long list of recent films that center around the relationship between a son and his father (already this year “Hop” and “Thor” have used that theme).
Along with Black, who does his best to keep Po funny and goofy even during these dark times, all the voices from the original are back, including Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogan and Jackie Chan. The Furious Five characters actually have a few more lines in this sequel, but Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) is hardly in the film at all.
The animation in “KFP2” is spectacular, though much of the action happens at night and so the scenes were rather dark. That shouldn’t be a problem at home. New Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson provides stunning visuals, including the dream sequences and flashbacks.
I haven’t written this too often lately, but “KFP2” may actually be too short. The film is listed at 90-minutes, but nearly 10 of those are the end credits. I was suprised when I realized the final scene (which is a bit surprising) was the final scene. It’s rated PG for the action violence and serious themes. As previously mentioned, this isn’t non-stop laughs like the first one, which older kids and adults will appreciate, but the younger ones won’t.
On “The Official Kid Critic Report Card“, “Kung Fu Panda 2” gets a B-.
There are plenty of fun extras on the DVD/Blu-ray, including the all-new short, Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters, a look at the new Nickelodeon TV series “Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness” and two games.
Hopefully the song “Kung Fu Fighting” will be included somewhere, since it is not in the movie.