Perfect execution of a subtle concept

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 2012)

Of course this film is directed toward a child audience, but there is plenty for adults to appreciate.
First, the excellent design. Every frame - credits too - is simply gorgeous. Then the casting. Jack Black is The big fat panda. James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, and Ian McShane are likewise irreplaceable. Seth Rogan and David Cross could have exchanged roles, as could Lucy Liu and Angelina Jolie, without significant alteration to the story. The rest of the voice actors - yes, even Hoffman (not quite filling the hole in the world left by Mako Iwamatsu's passing) - could have been anyone. (But that's almost the point!) The action, the visual jokes, the pace - all perfect.
But what really gets me is the sustained ironic take on the mono-myth formula. Again and again the implied allusions to the "foundling prince whose coming was foretold" are set up only to be shrugged off without explicit acknowledgment. The writers of this film get it: we all know that story - it's in our bones - so there's no need to waste a moment of dialog on it. What keeps it light and alive is the repeated thwarting of our anticipation that the clichés will take over. It never happens; the clichés remain pawns, the butts of jokes.
Finally, what makes this film great. This story doesn't merely put a new twist on a timeless tale, it turns the hero myth on its head: the chosen one can be Anyone, even an antihero can become a hero: "There is no secret ingredient." What an affirmation for the doubt-fettered children of our over-informed cynical age.
PS If you love this film for the same reasons, don't bother with the sequel.