Lots of Kung-Fu but not enough laughs

Rating: 6/10 (18 January 2009)

Po, an overweight panda who dreams of becoming a kung-fu master while working at his father's noodle shop finds himself thrusted into the spotlight inadvertently, and selected to be the next Dragon Master, to defeat the evil Tai Lung.
Kung-Fu Panda is a film that is well animated with sections of music which really dramatise the picture. Some of the fights scenes are lavishly and well-applied but it isn't funny and rather predictable. That is the major drawback of Kung-Fu Panda, minor chuckles every now and then.
The film has certainly been influenced by Star-Wars with Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) possibly being a distanced relative of Yoda. There was one comment by Oogway 'There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present' which I actually really liked.
The stand-out voice actor for me was Michael Clarke Duncan as Commander Vachir, which Clarke-Duncan radiates with sheer power and presence.
Kung-Fu Panda has been well created, and although it is not a bad film , which children will no doubt enjoy, it does not create enough laughs for the adult.