Not quite making the Furious Five
From the creators of Shrek and Madagascar comes Kung Fu Panda, heralded as the funniest movie of the year. Po, the panda, is a noodle-slurping dreamer who must embrace his true self in order to become the legendary Dragon Warrior. He works in a noodle restaurant owned by his goose father Mr. Ping, who hopes that Po will one day take over the restaurant. Po is a kung fu fanatic with secret dreams of becoming a great master in the discipline. However, his weight and clumsiness make his goal difficult to attain.

Po is surprisingly selected by tortoise Master Oogway and then works with the Furious Five (Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane) to tackle the evil snow leopard warrior Tai Lung who may escape from prison and return to threaten the Valley of Peace.

From a story-telling point of view this is very good because it tackles an issue that most of us have to face at times throughout our lives if not every single day - that of having a dream and dealing with the obstacles in our way while trying to achieve it. The animation quality is described as 'groundbreaking' and while I thought it was excellent I didn't immediately notice anything so revolutionary that I hadn't seen it before.

First priority for me was its ability to entertain and amuse my children. This is why I have given it 4 stars and not 5, because it didn't quite produce the almost endless laugh-out-loud gags of the film that I thought WAS the funniest movie of 2008, Madagascar 2. The first two Shrek films were funnier too, in our collective opinion, as were both of the Ice Age movies. But this is to compare it with the very best, so it's high praise regardless - this is a must-have for any young child's DVD collection, and there's plenty for the parents to enjoy too. I would give it four-and-a-half stars if I could, the half-star shortfall is possibly due to its 'PG' rating as opposed to the 'U' I am more comfortable with; inevitably, being a film about king-fu and martial arts there is an element of violence to it and it is quite right that this should be considered a film for children but with their parents alongside.

Its a great funny family film
I love this the first 5 minutes and your laughing your head off. If you've got a family and looking for a nice present get this. I loved it and the entire family. I think that annimated films are coming into business now like madagascar wall-e all of them watch this one though its the best!!!

Plucky panda saves the day
Po the Panda spends his days working in his dad's noodle bar and his nights dreaming of being a Kung Fu hero. His dreams start to come improbably true when he is revealed to be none other than the Dragon Warrior - the ultimate Kung Fu hero destined to save the valley from the destructive rage of evil snow leopard Tai Lung; much to the disgust of genuine Kung Fu experts Monkey, Tiger, Snake, Mantis and Crane.

The plot is comfortingly familiar. Po stands firmly in the tradition of Jack the Giant Killer. Many of the supporting characters, too, are familiar and a special mention must go to the rhinos (last seen in Robin Hood) who give a first rate performance as the guards charged with keeping Tai Lung in his mountain prison.

This film takes a while to get started, but once it does, it's a visual feast, drawing strongly on its Chinese setting. Tai Lung's escape from his Mordor-like prison is animation at its best. As with a number of recent animations, though, less care has been taken with some of the crowd scenes, but these don't detract from the overall enjoyment.

When it first hit the big screen, some reviewers criticized this film for encouraging children to think that you don't have to work at success: being true to yourself is enough. This is unfair to the overweight and distinctly un-athletic Po who submits to a rigorous training programme under the guidance of Kung Fu master Shi Fu.

"Kung Fu Panda" is a essentially a children's film that many adults will also enjoy. Youngsters will be delighted by Po and his chums, but parents would do well to note the PG rating as some scenes may distress very young children.

A must for animation aficionados and overweight Kung Fu enthusiasts everywhere.


really funny
My boyfriend originally wanted to get this film and i thought it sounded really ridiculous and vowed never to watch it!! netherless he got it anyway!! and i am glad that he did because it is hilarious and proved me very wrong. In fact it is one of the most funniest films i have seen for a long time.

Kung Fun Panda
'Kung Fun Panda' is your basic fun, family computer animated movie. It has lots of silly jokes, cute characters and a simple, yet humorous storyline. It follows Po the panda as he gets trained to be the dragon warrior and how he is treated by the other kung fun pupils. There is a high 'star' voice-over list for this film, including Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan and they all do a great job bringing life to their various characters. It seems strange to ask Jackie Chan to do a voice over as he is a very physical actor and was barely used in this film, but it lends the film some martial arts kudos I guess. This is a good film for kids and is fun enough to keep parents interested as well. At just under 90 minutes it's not too long so kids will lose their attention or parents will get bored. It does what it sets out to do well, be a fun animated adventure, but there are better animated films out there and this has a great deal to live up to (hence the 3 stars). Worth a look, but not one to rush out to buy the first time you hear of it.

Hide Reviews