What seemed like another cool animated movie turned out to be so much more.

Rating: 9/10 (8 July 2008)

Alright, that sounded like a really corny thing to say... but in all seriousness this was an awesome movie. I like most of those computer animated movies, but this was even cooler still. The movie was hilarious from the start, and kept it up throughout a large part of the movie. But the parts that weren't funny were what sets this movie apart from many others. It didn't rely on cheap laughs and one liners for the whole movie, (and barely at all for that matter) it had some some truly dramatic moments. And the directors knew when the right time was to leave the humour out of those moments. None of the jokes seemed thrown in for cheap laughs. They were all done at the right times and were really funny. It sort of had the feel of some of the Disney movies of the not so distant past, like Aladdin and The Lion King. The movie had me cracking up, and I'm the kind of person who tends not to laugh at much at the cinema, even if I find it funny. So I guess that covers how awesomely funny the movie is.
The action sequences were great. It's clear that they weren't just thrown together to look cool, you can tell that a lot of research has gone into the various Kung Fu styles portrayed in the movie. Even if you don't like the movie itself, you should be able to appreciate the art the the fight choreography, which I think is up there with the best I've seen in animation, and definitely among the best in American movies. I liked the fact that all of the characters got a chance to show off their stuff. None of the martial artists really got a bum rap in that department, which was something that could have been a problem for the movie if they had. It's a bit of a shame that we couldn't get a little more history on some of the characters and some more screen time for them outside of the fights, but there was really no time for it in between the awesomeness. So it's not really a complaint, more an idea of what could be worked on, should there be a sequel.
I thought the characters were really cool. Po was likable and made a good hero for the story. Shifu was great for the mentor character with personal problems. And of course Tai Lung was a great villain. Basically all the movie really needed. But on top of that you also have the Furious Five, who are all cool in their own ways. The voice acting was really good, and I thought they were all well suited for their roles. My personal favourite was Dustin Hoffman as Shifu, he was awesome. But Jack Black was good as well, and his voice really seemed to match the good hearted Po. I also thought Ian McShane made a great villain. A minor problem I had was with big stars like Jackie Chan and Seth Rogen only having a couple of lines. I have no problem with using celebrity voices, but I feel it sort of defeats the purpose when their character hasn't got enough lines to really identify the voice.
No, the plot of the movie was nothing groundbreaking. A pretty standard tale of the rise of a hero. But what it lacked in that department it certainly made up for in style. The animation is fantastic. There were times when I forgot that I was watching an American movie, as it had all the beauty of China within it. You can see the effort that has gone into the animation to capture the Chinese culture, and I feel they were truly successful in doing so. I also loved the attention to detail, for example the fur on the animals and the way they've added in dust rising up from the ground when the characters hit it hard, just stuff like that. Even the 2D animation used in the opening credits was great. So I guess all that's left to say is that it is an awesome movie, and I plan to grab it on DVD when I get the chance, as I would like to watch it again. My little brother saw the movie with me, and he loved it as well. I'm sure this movie will soon become a franchise, and I hope it will be one that I can follow for years to come.