Impressive martial arts, consistent gags - a worthy successor.

Rating: 9/10 (2 July 2011)

The first Kung Fu Panda made audiences go blind from over-exposure to pure awesomeness (and attractiveness) so this sequel was always destined to fall short of the massive benchmark set, the question was just by how much. Well, thankfully, not by much at all. With Po (voiced by Jack Black) now the Dragon Warrior and having to save the art of kung fu from the wretched Lord Shen (Gary Oldman – excellently sinister), the uber-impressive martial arts sequences are back in full force. Throw in consistent gags, iridescent animation as good as any Pixar outing (aided by the subtle 3D) and superb voice work by all involved – including Dustin Hoffmann as the wise Shifu, Angelina Jolie as the fierce Tigress, Seth Rogen as the cheeky Mantis and, in a stroke of casting genius, Jean-Claude Van Damme as the chop socky expert Master Croc – and you have a highly worthy successor that will please boys and girls of all ages. Bring on KFP3! Skadoosh.