Kung Fu Panda-- A Worthy Addition to the Kung Fu Movie Genre

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2008)

Watching this movie should easily explain why the Kung Fu Movie Genre simply refuses to die ever since movie technology was brought into China in late 1910s-- Kung Fu is essentially about self-cultivation, and so usually involves a human-interest story no matter how simple or complicated the plot is. And as others have noted, despite the lack of any real originality (Kung Fu Animals have been long existed in Chinese fantasy literature/ animation, see 1965's "Uproar in Heaven")-- Kung Fu Panda is done with such style and skill (or the Chinese would say, "Kung Fu") that it easily explains, again, why the Kung Fu Movie Genre simply refuses to die.
In a word, the whole "Kung Fu Animals-imitating-humans-imitating-Animal styles Kung Fu" gimmick WORKED (not to mention the comical sight of a Panda imitating other animals)-- because I was enjoying the detail and complexity of the Kung Fu Animation in much the same way I would enjoy the athleticism and aesthetics of real-life Kung Fu Action. And unlike some western attempts at Kung Fu Movies (most recently, The Forbidden Kingdom), Kung Fu Panda suffered less of the awkwardness in mixing foreign languages/ characters with Chinese languages/ characters-- because it is populated solely by animals (Peace Valley is basically a poultry & pig farm/ community) and consistently set in fantasy/ mythical China (duh, there are Kung Fu Animals...).
So I will give Kung Fu Panda the honor of rating it as a Kung Fu Movie-- being rated "G" (in most Asian countries, "PG" in most western countries) is no excuse. MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS follow:
1) Most Missed-Opportunity Fight Scenes: Oogway vs. Tai Lung, Tai Lung vs. Peace Valley, and all the other "flashback" fight scenes-- we never really get to see how amazing or dangerous Oogway or Tai Lung can be.
2) Most Spectacular Fight Scene: Tai Lung vs. the Rhinoes-- things were blowing up and crashing down in a way which would have made Tsui Hark & Stephen Chow proud.
3) Most Well-Choreographed Fight Scene: Po vs. Sifu-- truly a compendium of some of the best chopsticks moves in the Kung Fu Movie Genre.
4) Most Awesome Fight Scene: the Furious Five vs. Tai Lung-- it was just awesome to see the Furious Five teaming up in their only fight scene (the sparring scenes don't count), which would have been perfect if they had a chance to do Formation Fighting.
5) Most Fearsome Fight Scene: Tai Lung vs. Sifu-- the only "serious" fight in the movie, because both fighters were able AND willing to kill each other. Sifu would have died if this movie was made for an western adult audience (or made for/ by the Chinese).
6) Most Predictable Fight Scene: Tai Lung vs Po-- Po defeating Tai Lung with the use of natural and environmental advantages (ala Jackie Chan) actually took the "edge" off this climatic fight in favor of comic relief and made it look too easy for Po (Tai Lung has beaten everyone else), so much so that the final blow looks questionable. It might have worked with a (Hong Kong, not US) Jackie Chan or Stephen Chow for the right balance of comedy & drama, but Jack Black's style of (over-)cockiness diminished any real sense of danger for me.
7) Most Unexpectedly Beautiful Scenes: the 2-D Opening Sequence-- because the "distorted" perspectives of ink-painting and shadow puppetry aesthetics actually work better in 2-D; and the almost monochromatic "passing" of Oogway-- because it was SO simple.
8) Most Unexpectedly Funny Scenes: "I wish my mouth was bigger" Noodle-scene, "Maybe you should have another look" Acupuncture-scene, and almost every one of the precious few moments given to Mantis (or any of the Kung Fu Masters at the temple)-- it was just unusually comical having them actually act/ talk "normally" (real Kung Fu Masters are usually quite sedate/ focused), instead of over-acting like Hollywood comedians.
My only gripe is that beside Po, none of the named characters such as the tortoise Oogway (Chinese for "tortoise"), the master/ teacher Sifu (Chinese for "master/teacher"), the tigress Tigress (erm, you get the idea), etc. were given enough screen time-- despite having more interesting personalities and back-stories than Po, the typical Kung Fu Movie protagonist (see Jackie Chan's late 1970's break-out Kung Fu Movies). A prequel about how the fastidiously over-achieving Sifu managed to warp Tai Lung into an unscrupulous over-achiever would be much appreciated... and yes, I smell a toy/ TV/ movie franchise.
Oh, and a final word about the beautiful Chinese landscapes and architecture-- well, I'm a bit hard to please cos I've seen & climbed the real thing (looks to me like Tai-shan or Mt. Tai, with its 10 km stairway, mixed with various other parts of China)... but yeah, the animators did a GREAT job. ;)