THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Kung Fu Panda was so popular in 2008 that it was the third highest grossing film of the year and received the Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. With such accolades, there was no way Dreamworks would not capitalize making a franchise out of it, which they did with their first of few sequels.
PLOT
The 2011 sequel follows the Dragon Warrior Po now enjoying his life as a kung fu master alongside Master Shifu and the Furious Five (Tigress, Monkey [Jackie Chan], Viper [Lucy Liu], Crane [David Cross], & Mantis [Seth Rogen]). His new journey of achieving inner peace is tested when confronting wolf bandits stealing metal from the Valley of Peace. During the said conflict, the panda would notice a red eye symbol that makes him recount being separated from his birth mother. He would then check in with his adopted goose father Mr. Ping (James Hong) if he knows where he came from, but is only able to tell he remembers finding him in shipment of radishes outside his restaurant and chose to adopt him when no one came for him. Danger continues when a peacock known as Lord Shen has weaponized fireworks with the use of gunpowder and plans to reclaim control of his birthright throne in Gongmen City after being banished by his parents years prior. The reason of his banishment comes from committing genocide on a panda village after hearing a soothsaying goat reveal a prophecy where he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white. Shen would succeed in reclaiming his home when slaying the city's regent Master Thundering Rhino (Victor Garber), as well as imprisoning Masters Croc (Jean Claude Van Damme) and Storming Ox (Dennis Haysbert). When Shifu discovers this, he sends Po and the Five to stop him before he could plan to overthrow all of China. When the protagonist warriors arrive, they try to free Masters Croc & Ox but they refuse to defend the city, worried that Shen will use his weapons on the city itself. They do end up confronting Shen, but Po unintentionally lets him get away when recognizing the same symbol on his plumage, recognizing he was there the last time he saw his birth parents. When he admits to the Five of what happened, Tigress insists on him to stay behind to capture the peacock themselves. Sadly, he doesn't listen and his decision to confront the villain further more causes him to be injured by a cannon shot and the Five gets captured by him instead. Po would be found by the soothsayer who would help him recover and would reveal his family came from the same village Shen wiped out. This revelation gives him the chance to finally achieve inner peace to remember exactly how he was separated: Instead of being abandoned as Shen claimed, it turns out that his father defended his home as long as he could whereas his mother hid him in the same radish crate where Ping would find him, which led to her sacrifice. Now rejuvenated, the panda returns to Gongmen City to save the Five and stop Shen from sailing downriver with his army. Shifu would also arrive and convince Croc & Ox to help when sensing his protege in danger. All warriors are able to block Shen's way and when the peacock demands the Wolf Boss to power through by firing their way out, the latter refuses to make a selfish sacrifice; The decision leads to the villain killing him in return and setting off the weapon anyway which incapacitates most of the protagonists. Po still stands and newfound inner peace to deflect each shot and destroy Shen's ship. Refusing to accept defeat yet, he tries to kill him with his last spear until his own cannon collapses on him. With another successful victory, all of China congratulate the Dragon Warrior. When returning to the valley, he tells Mr. Ping he loves him and accepts him as a father, but the film ends in a cliffhanger showing a secret panda village where his biological father is still alive and senses him for the first time. THOUGHTS
I loved the first film so damn much as a kid I did not mind getting more out of it from then on, which is why I wasn't disappointed with what we got this time. Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson takes the helm to tell the most compelling story yet. The visual effects and cinematography are hand in hand once again as each frame is stunning to make the landscape of this world oh so captivating. The moment you see Shen’s fortress in the opening, you know the game is just getting better year by year. This benefits the action scenes to be just as unique as the ones we’ve seen before. Each sequence that goes down in Gongmen City was purely exciting to see because it took many directions you wouldn’t expect. The funniest of scenes has to be when Po and the Five wear a dragon costume together and fight while wearing it, traveling like Pac Man in homage fashion. It’s hard to not get a cackle when they fight wolves inside the costume and throw them out as if they digested them only to quickly poop them out. That shouldn’t be funny yet the execution pays off. Now the reason I prefer this sequel over the later films is going to be off of its impressive way to tel us to never lament the past misfortune because the present is what defines us more than the past. This is the journey that Po goes through and we admire him overcome such odds. Actor Jack Black still has us smile with his hopeful attitude and is the dreamer we all relate to. Apart from having our laughs when still having a rivalry with stairs, we respect this protagonist for just wanting to have a clear answer to his past and accept it. He wasn’t prepared for the trauma yet after the discovery, he remained grateful of the safe upbringing Mr. Ping gave him for so long. The third film made him very lucky to have the best of both worlds where he gets to reunite with his birth father, but at least we know how content he’d be if he never did and that is the finest example of inner peace. And the best part is that he wasn’t alone on this journey. Shifu ain’t in this film much like before, but I did enjoy Dustin Hoffman make the self awareness that the character is far more patient with his protege, tasking him with the journey he needed to reach. Tigress also had her own growth as well since Angelina Jolie not only expressed her own patience but also respects Po to the point where she’d want more than need to know what’s bothering him because he needs to be focused in order to succeed. She insisted on him to stay behind because that’s her being protective towards him the way Shifu was when it came to Tai Lung. She even took a cannon shot for him which proves how much she cares. It’s hard to find friends that go that far and there’s no doubt Po appreciates the lengths she went for him. It’s even funny how the rest of the Five are in shock of her actions due to how she’s looked at as the toughest. Going into the new characters, it was a treat to have Michelle Yeoh as Soothsayer as she was perfect in making her the most majestic of characters besides Oogway because she speaks the truth and nothing else without really picking a side. She did not tell Shen what to do when it came to what she foresaw. She just wanted him to be cautious on his own actions before it was too late. She wasn’t able to get through to him, but at least she got through to Po that the past will never define him no matter how horrid. Speaking of Shen, I believe Gary Oldman succeeds in making him the franchise’s most distinguished of villains because he was the most ambitious of the bunch. He was so carried away with the power he gained when weaponizing fireworks that he became too sadistic to accept he was in the wrong from the start. He wanted to protect his fate when committing genocide towards panda, but his racial actions only sealed it as the soothsayer would say. He truly was Po’s polar opposite because he was driven by the past and nothing else, thus resulting in his own downfall caused by own wings. Had he trusted the prophecy by not taking any action, that alone would’ve changed fate as it would. I enjoyed this film very much, but there were still a few things that could’ve improved story wise. For example, I don’t believe Shifu when he hysterically said meeting Po was the worst day of his life when he went through hell and back over Tai Lung. There is no way fighting your adopted son can be topped by being in shock of meeting a random panda become Dragon Warrior. I’m even surprised how Shen wasn’t upset when the wolves dumped metal off the cliff when they still could’ve taken it after knocking out Po. Moving on, I appreciate Mr. Ping looking out for his son by setting up a travel pack for him, but how’d he know he was leaving? It didn’t look like Po had the time to tell him yet. If he’s got extremely good hearing for a goose, that should be explored. I’m even surprised how it takes so long for the wolves to follow him in the dragon costume when he started commotion by accidentally triggering local fireworks. And why was there a barrel meant for Mantis’ size? It made no sense apart from the visual gag when he could’ve shared one with the others. I respect Tigress telling Po to stay behind, but it was so pointless when Masters Croc and Ox don't appear to try making the panda stay. I know we need Po to save the day at the end, but it was pointless tension at that point. And how come nobody is in shock with the mayhem of Gongmen City until Shen passes through with his army? It's like they had no idea of the tower going down and it's weird. Other than that, this movie is just as awesome as you think. In short, Kung Fu Panda 2 is one of the 2010s' best animated films for maintaining all the elements that made the predecessor special, while also being it's own thing. If you enjoyed the first one, see this now.
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