Great family film

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2011)

I just got home from taking my kids to see this film, and they are already asking when we can go and see it again. It was a wonderful film, and lived up to the expectations that I had going into it.
The premise of the story is that of Po fighting to defeat a powerful weapon that Master Shen has created that will end kung fu. There are several themes mixed into the movie including working towards your inner peace, overcoming your fears to accomplish great things, and most importantly (I feel at least) the feelings someone has about being adopted and the basic family structure.
The voice acting in some parts of the film are the only drawback to this film, but overall most of the actors did a fantastic job. The pace of the movie was perfect. My kids never once looked away other than to ask me a couple of times why Po was afraid of his dreams. Younger children may not understand the genocide that Shen committed to the pandas, but with a little explanation my kids understood what Shen did.
Speaking of Master Shen I believe that he was a better villain than Tai Lung was. Master Shen wanted to have something that he couldn't have (just like Tai Lung), but you also see the devastation he brings throughout the film as opposed to just seeing flashbacks to what Tai Lung does. The way he destroys everything he cares about just to kill Po showed my kids just how evil he was even to the very end.
In my opinion this is the movie of the year for children. I honestly do not see anything that could top this movie this year.