A much deeper film than the original

Rating: 9/10 (6 June 2011)

Kung Fu Panda was released in 2008 and marked a dramatic shift in focus for Dreamworks Animation. The pop culture and childish humour of the likes of Shrek, Shark Tale and Over The Hedge was replaced with a more measured approach that while still had some childish humour was considerably more intelligent and deeper than most of Dreamwork's other films. The first film was a turning point I believe for the company in making animations that the industry could take more seriously. Then last year How To Train Your Dragon appeared at cinemas and I will admit that I preferred it to Toy Story 3 (probably the first time I can truly say I have enjoyed a Dreamworks feature more than one by Pixar). How To Train Your Dragon was deep, well-written but also fun, enjoyable to watch and all the childish humour had gone. It didn't talk down or sink low to entertain children just like most of Pixar's films. The animation was beautiful to behold and the music provided by John Powell was incredible using a mostly orchestral score with the visuals taking you on a fantastic journey as a young boy becomes a man in a way that only he can in bonding with an elusive dragon. It set a new standard for Dreamworks with the only other film I enjoyed as much was the co-production with Aardman on Wallice & Gromit: The Curse of the Ware-Rabbit.
So onto 2011 and the sequel to Kung Fu Panda. The second film was entrusted to a female director (the first such female to direct a big budget CGI film). Jennifer Yuh Nelson who had was the head of story on the first film was given the opportunity to direct the second. The story is even deeper and much darker than the original with Po (Jack Black), now the Dragon Warrior, being tasked by his Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) to find inner peace in his next stage of training. This will be much more difficult for Po then he realises as during a fight with wolves he has a vision of his real mum as a baby. This of course causes him to speak to his 'dad' Mr Ping (James Hong),who being a goose was never Po's real father, to tell him where he came from. However Mr Ping only knows of how he found him and it's the journey Po takes to find who he is and to help stop a new evil, Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) , from using a new weapon from destroying kung fu and taking over all of China that he will have to take on to find inner peace. Travelling with the Furious Five, Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross), Monkey (Jackie Chan) and Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Po journeys on an adventure where he has many physical and personal demons to face. I will not spoil the plot too much more but the film tells a story that has been told before but in a very polished and intelligent way that children and adults alike will enjoy. The darker edge to film may well be the work of executive producer Guillermo del Toro whose work such as the Hellboy films may not seem to fit in with family entertainment but it gives this film the edge it really needed.
The story may be fairly traditional but the animation is truly spectacular to behold. Using more traditional styles of animation mixed in with the CGI worked very well for the first film but here the level of detail and mix of the styles with the dream sequences with real life are some the most artistic work American animation has ever done. The 3D is also used to great effect as well given the film an extra layer to the animation that Dreamworks seems to really be able to master perhaps more than any other animation company (yes, including Pixar).
The music provided by Hans Zimmer and John Powell helps to immerse you further into this Oriental world. Using cues from what he had achieved with How To Train Your Dragon Powell uses again an orchestral score that gives the film an epic sense of scale and really the music never sets a foot wrong.
The voice actors seem to of come of age too with Jack Black as Po really toning down the silliness that he had from the first film but without losing the fun and lovableness that the character had in the first place. It is a shame however that the Furious Five still had to take a back seat again in the film with Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan having barely a dozen or so lines between them. There is an exception to this and that is Tigress who Angelina Jolie really brings the character to the fore. Michelle Yeoh as the Soothsayer brings a strong performance too. However it is Gary Oldman as Lord Shen who steals the show as the main villain and who was probably the only person to make a peacock as scary and menacing as possible.
Without any shadow of doubt this is a must see film for fans of the original but not only that anyone who enjoys a great film will enjoy this film. It has set a new standard again for Dreamworks and we can only hope that with Del Torro's influence that Puss in Boots doesn't end up as bad as I fear it may be. That is for the future and, as the film says, the most important time is now and I would recommend anyone to watch Kung Fu Panda 2. Funny, clever and with a well rounded story Dreamworks has set the bar pretty high for Pixar to beat with Cars 2.