Kung Fu Panda 2 - A Film Review - Because I Don't Want to Look at Twilight

I have not given up on Twilight. I'm merely taking a break from it...
   But anyway, I am going to review one of the greatest animated children's movies that I have ever seen: 'Kung Fu Panda 2'.
   I can hear you saying "Hmm... But what about the first Kung Fu Panda movie? Why are you leaving that out?" Those are some pretty valid questions, and the simple reason is that I feel that I know a lot more about the second movie rather than the first because I am an absolute loser and I watched the Director's Commentary on the second film.

   But anyway, let's get started. The storyline follows Po, the Dragon Warrior now famous for defeating one of the Valley's most feared villains (if you want to know about that, go watch the first movie). But now he's not only protecting his village but now the whole of China as the evil lord Shen plans to take over. However Po also fights the emotional battle as he finds out why his dad is a goose...

The story of this movie is brilliant. My summary just there did not do it justice. Usually I have found that when a good original movie has a sequel, the storyline in said sequel is flimsy and terrible. One example of this kind of thing is the 'Shrek' movies. The first movie was brilliant, but afterwards they just proceeded to milk it dry. Meanwhile, the creators of 'Kung Fu Panda' have outdone themselves and made a sequel that is, in my opinion, so much better than the first. The first movie was funny and made me laugh. The second movie did not only make me laugh but also made me cry and experience many other emotions. (Note from The Editor: That's unusual for you, Evil.) It always had me wanting to find out what was going to happen next, as the story was brilliant and I desperately wanted to find out what happened to the brilliant characters.

   There were a few new characters added to this movie which, in some cases, can mean disaster. However, the integration of new characters was seamless and performed to an excellent standard. The franchise's new characters were generally amazing: A Goat Soothsayer who is wise but hungry, a psychotic peacock with a rather noticeable English accent and - I don't care if it's not a proper 'new' character - Baby Po. All these were very interesting, and felt like they belonged in the movie. At the other end of the spectrum, one or two seemed to have been thrown in, such as the kick-ass crocodile that was there simply because the producers wanted to have a character with a club for a tail and add another legend action hero to the voice cast (I'm not kidding. There was a crocodile of that description).

   I'm also going to specially mention Baby Po. In the movie, Po the Panda is loveable as possible: a rounded, geeky panda who is a bit of an idiot. However the movie made him even more lovable with the introduction of his infant self playing around in the kitchen of his "Dad's" restaurant. Basically, he is soft, round and has the build of a teddy bear. I went to see this in the cinema and I think that the moment this panda came on the screen, all the women and children simultaneously said: "Aaaaaaawwww." The men tried not to say as much, but I bet they were thinking it. So thumbs up to the crew who created this cute thing. Hurry up and make a teddy of it!
   But I do feel that there were some things wrong with the story, the crocodile being one of them. I liked how the Furious Five became a little more endearing throughout this film, because let's face it - they were assholes in the first film. Now that they've realised that Po is actually awesome they have begun to treat him nicely and because of this they seem a little more open. I mean, I think Mantis in this film was hilarious and I'm glad he got so many lines. However I do believe that Tigress - the one who was the Queen of the assholes in the first film - has become too soppy. It's all right to have her care for Po, but not to the extent that she seems to favour this fat Panda over her other friends, the people that she has trained with for most of her life.    
   The locations that those magical people in animations (ie, Animation Designers) create are amazing in this film. I watched the Director's Commentary, and they explained that almost everything in the film is animated. There are a few matte paintings here and there, but there was a location that really made me think: "Holy cow, they really went all out!" (Note from The Editor: Considering there's a bull as a character, that's pretty appropriate.) That location was Gongmen City. (See the picture.)

   Look at it. This entire city was completely animated: No matte paintings, nor any other cheats, were involved. A team of people designed that whole thing and then another group of people had to create it all on a computer. Then yet more people had to create lighting for it. I believe that it was one of the best animated locations I have ever seen. And it looked authentic. The houses didn't look brand new, and it keeps surprisingly close to Chinese traditions - the palace has eight floors whichm according to my mother, is what's supposed to happen. And also, in that city there are animals moving around and living there! All in all, this picture deserves a 10/10.
   But I think animation was first class in this movie. All the character's movements seemed real and the way that everything was textured was great. The lighting always fit the mood and I loved the symbolism that kept showing throughout the movie: Po being the cool calm water and Lord Shen being the angry fire. The action scenes were great and were well thought-out, but still seemed spontaneous at the same time. One of my favourite moments of animation in the movie is when Lord Shen is preparing to meet Po and is practising his fighting. It is beautiful how it is so smooth and fluid with him still looking solid.
   I think casting was also incredible for the film. They still had all the original actors from the first film, such as Jack Black as Po, Angelina Jolie as Tigress and, of course, Kung Fu legend Jackie Chan as Monkey! Then there were the new cast members that I could mostly agree with. For the Goat Soothsayer they managed to get Michelle Yeoh, who has been in action movies such as James Bond and, of course, 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'. And her voice fit the part so well as it actually sounded like an actual soothsayer. Then there was the peacock Lord Shen, who was played by none other than Gary Oldman!!! For all those people who don't know this guy, he plays as Sirius Black from 'Harry Potter'. He also plays the peacock (Lord Shen) surprisingly well, despite having  a very British accent. Believe me when I say that I have never been scared of a peacock until I watched this film. My only complaint is that if you want to put someone like Jean-Claude Van Damme in, please give him a better character.
   Another thing (which I believe gets unnoticed quite a lot, but I thought was amazing) was the soundtrack. I still find myself humming along to it now, and when the credits are rolling, I don't turn the DVD off. I just listen to the amazing music. Again people don't seem to see that one person usually composes these tunes and then an entire orchestra has to learn them very quickly to get it ready for the film. Whatever orchestra played these tracks also get a 10/10 from me as it made the action scenes have so much more 'oomph' and all the emotional scenes that much more emotional.
   So I can conclude that:  Kung Fu Panda 2 is an awesome movie because:

1. It has a great story line, which made me laugh and cry.
2. It has great characters that are all interesting (bar a few).
3. The creators put everything into this movie, and it shows with the animation.
4. The cast is great.
5. The music is great.

Watch it people, and see the awesomness!

   Ska-doosh.

(Note to Editor: I sorry but I'm going to have to have to pretty much tell you off here as when I was looking through this review which I wrote I happened to see some words that I didn't write throughout this. Admittedly I think that some word choices are agreeable but when I say ROUND I mean ROUND not SPHERICAL!!! And I don't care if you don't like "Bad words" they're getting in there.)
(Note to Editor 2: And yes I do cry during movies. Just because I'm evil does not mean I have to have no emotions whatever.)
(Note to Editor 3: And you are not aloud to edit these notes to you.)