Hard work is still better than a big butt
Film review: Kung Fu Panda
There was no Spidey or Jack Sparrow but the summer of 2008 is actually turning out to be a good one for the movie. There is a Marvel superhero, Iron Man, enlarged versions of Carrie and her friends in Sex & the City, a visit to the Chronicles of Narnia with Prince Caspian and even Indiana Jones resurrected from 20 years ago.
There is an Incredible Hulk but after my experience with the last one, which was I think with Eric Bana, it would take a lot to convince me to watch this one. Probably good for some laughs is Mike Myers as The Love Guru and Steve Carrell in the movie version of the old TV series Get Smart.
They say though that the one to watch out for is Wall-E, which is a sci-fi tale about a little robot left to clean up the earth. Now a janitor robot is not that interesting a character but this is a film from Pixar, which has certainly mastered the animation genre. Remember Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Toy Story and others.
But since there is no sign of Wall-E yet and local kids have come to the end of their vacation, the only flick around to haul them out to before classes get serious is Kung Fu Panda. This one is not by Pixar. Maker is Dreamworks where animated flicks sometimes miss, Road to El Dorado, sometimes hit, Shrek and are mostly just nice, Over the Hedge, Madagascar, Shark Tale and others.
So you go to watch Kung Fu Panda because there is nothing else to see and prepare for a so-so hour and a half to please the kiddies. But wait, voicing this panda named Po is Jack Black. You know Black from Nacho Libre and School of Rock. He is one of the hot comics in the movies nowadays.
Like other funny guys, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson or Vince Vaughn, Black also tends to push the envelope as much as he can. But unlike them Black never turns obnoxious or gross. He is always cute and lovable. He is also a big guy who should be able to pass his voice off as a panda’s, which come to think of it, is also cute and lovable.
Po is a kung fu freak. He knows everything about it, the history, the stars and all the trivia. But Po is all lip service about kung fu. He cannot make the moves because he is very lazy. In fact it is almost agony getting him to help out in his father’s noodle shop every day. There is just no way that Po could ever do kung fu, let alone become a kung fu master.
Through some twist of fate though, Po is chosen to fulfill an old prophecy and become the Dragon Warrior. The honor comes with free kung fu lessons with the small but formidable Master Shifu, the trainer to all the great warriors. Among these are Po’s idols, the legendary Furious Five, Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Crane and Mantis.
As the Dragon Warrior, Po will lead his heroes in a deadly battle against Tai Lung, the revenge-driven snow leopard. This should be exciting. But there is no way you could expect kung fu fireworks from Po, a large, 6′2", 260-pounder panda. What on earth is a panda, who waddles instead of walks, doing with kung fu anyway?
Well kung fu is a Chinese martial art, pandas are from the forests of China and they are mostly in the news these days because of the Olympics in Beijing. Maybe Po would be able to do for pandas what Happy Feet did for penguins. Besides, this story makes some sort of statement about there being no difference as far as race, color or specie is concerned. Po has no resemblance at all to his noodle making father and could be a Dragon Warrior even if he were not a panda.
But before that happens, Po has to learn kung fu. Not easy and it would be easier for Master Shifu to replace him with his other, better equipped students. The whole village is after all in danger. But Po is the chosen one and Shifu does everything, including bribe him with food, which Po truly loves, to get him moving.
The movie is basically a series of action scenes depicting Po’s road to the mastery of kung fu and the fight against Tai Lung. I see Mr. Miyake and Karate Kid or Yoda and Luke Skywalker. Nothing surprises here. The only surprise I see is the fact that instead of fidgeting while the kiddies laugh, the adults find themselves, smiling, glued to their seats and being thoroughly entertained. Looks like Dreamworks got this one right.
The first thing that makes everything work and seem like new are the actors. Not Jackie Chan as Monkey or Angelina Jolie as Tigress. All they do is voice a few lines. The key stars are Black, Dustin Hoffman as Shifu and Ian McShane as Tai Lung. I do not know how much they influenced the animators but their work here is proof of what great performances can do to what is really a tired and sorry plot.
There are also other things that should keep adults happy with Kung Fu Panda. The comedic timing is impeccable. This holds true not just in the hilarious stunts or the crisp dialogue, but even in the clever use of slo-mo footage insertions reminiscent of old kung fu movies. Then the lovingly limned scenery is so beautifully done they resemble ancient Chinese art. Both CGI and hand-drawn pictures were used to good effect.
Best of all, the movie teaches homespun virtues like faith in oneself, loyalty and bravery without being preachy. And those slacker kids whom their parents fear might grow up into slobs, should find inspiration in the story of Po. Of course, it should also be explained to them that food is sustenance and not a reward and that hard work is still better than a big butt.
