Dir. Jennifer Yuh Nelson, 2011, 90 mins, USA
Cast Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, James Hong, Gary Oldman
Review by Michelle Moore
From the producers of How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek and Kung Fu Panda comes another action-packed family comedy. This one documents the latest adventures of Po the panda and unravels the mysteries of this unlikely hero’s past.
After Kung Fu Panda hit the big screen, audiences were left with a lot of unanswered questions. Why is Po the panda’s father a goose? Why is he the only panda in the village? All is answered in this second instalment. Po is living as The Dragon Warrior and, along with his fellow kung fu warriors The Furious Five, protects the village from all threats, including a peacock who wishes to conquer China and destroy kung fu for good. Po must delve into his origins to unlock the power within and overcome this villain.
Voice acting is a tricky skill, as each voice must fit in with his or her character’s appearance and personality. Kung Fu Panda 2′s actors have managed to achieve this. Jack Black had a huge impact late last year with the highly anticipated remake of Gulliver’s Travels and his contribution as Po is first class, giving the character the sort of comedy that only he is able to achieve. Jolie is one of the world’s most famous actresses and although lending her voice to an animated feature is nothing new – she also took a voice role in Shark Tale – as Tigress she makes a welcome return. Rogen has taken the world by storm as a comedic actor and he brings those skills this to his voice performance as Mantis. No Kung Fu movie would be complete without the incredible Jackie Chan (Monkey). He is an actor, choreographer, filmmaker, comedian, producer, martial arts expert – the list goes on. His presence alone sets the kung fu on fire – as does the contribution of Jean-Claude Van Damme as Master Croc.
Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson has helped to create numerous animations over the last two decades including Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. She has made this not only a sequel worth watching, but one that is possibly better than its predecessor, giving it the extra bonus of 3D. This 3D technology makes buildings appear realistic and brings the kung fu fighting sequences alive. At times every character is moving so fast that all is blended into one fast moving vision of black and white and a few tones of orange from the tiger.
Watch out for a surprising finale with a possible Kung Fu Panda 3 storyline instantly discernible. With witty comedy, beautiful animation and a whole lot of action sequences, Kung Fu Panda 2 is a wonderful family film that will hopefully be followed up by another soon.
love to know what you think of some of my work and music videos 
