All the makings of an excellent story

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2008)

Kung Fu Panda is the kind of movie I've been waiting for all year. It is sad to see that a children's movie is what finally rekindled my interest in venturing to the theaters over the course of the past year. However, Kung Fu Panda is difficult to place in the "children's" category.
We'll get right to the meat of the movie--the action. I haven't seen such brilliant action sequences in quite some time, whether from an animated or live-action film. These were exceptionally choreographed, and the best part is that they didn't quite take themselves seriously in executing these performances. It's always difficult for me to enjoy a fight scene in a movie where people are flying and doing absolutely outrageous things unless it is an obvious attempt at humor. Kung Fu Panda achieves this goal with stunning aptitude.
Not to mention that the humor is top-notch, whether you are six or 26. I had trouble catching all the jokes, considering most of them were laugh-out-loud funny, forcing me to lose concentration on the next perfectly set up situation.
One of the prime aspects of this movie, to me, is the casting. Many well-known actors and actresses came together to put together this finely crafted film, and they really pulled off a performance worthy a golden statue displaying their ultimate worthiness. I can always appreciate an actor/actress typically involved in raunchy comedies (ahem... Seth Rogen) who can flip a 180 and manage to keep it clean for a full two hours. Bravo, you sickos, you gained a few more points in my book of notorious filthy acting! And finally, my favorite part of the entire movie is that the director managed to find THE BEST film composer of our time and put him to work! Hans Zimmer is as brilliant as ever, pulling out all the stops with his amazing themes and intense action sequence crescendos. And he perfectly avoids overusing the cliché Oriental touch, only using it in key moments. I can't get enough of his music. There should seriously be a library full of his music. I'd own it and maintain it FOR FREE, and I'm not even joking. Seriously, I have a shrine dedicated to this man in my backyard which plays music from Gladiator 24/7.
You definitely should see Kung Fu Panda. And don't hesitate to take the kiddos.