The Panda of Bodaciousness: Kung Fu exceeds expectations

Rating: 8/10 (30 September 2008)

It's not often you have to succumb to bodaciousness (grammar has to succumb slightly too). When you do, it's kinda fun.
The hype surrounding Kung Fu Panda was an automatic put-off for me; another Dreamworks film, another comedy, another Jack Black vehicle. The merchandise hasn't completely filled the shops yet, but I had a feeling it was just a matter of time.
I couldn't have been more wrong. Kung Fu Panda manages to combine the best elements of the entities involved in the film - Jack Black is at his antihero best (something I haven't seen since School of Rock), Dreamworks get back to their intelligently funny roots and the story flows with wit.
These elements are so strong that they made it through the marketing process which usually sucks the soul out of other movies. The preview thawed me a little - who could resist a film that featured a fat, panting superhero bear? I began to think up ways I could sneak out to see the film without anyone seeing me. After all, I have my pride, and I'd been burned by Horton Hears a Who (seriously, did anything happen in that film?) but fate landed me in Folkestone, the Town With Very Little To Do, and I was in luck.
The night was well set for comic surrealism. I lined up in a queue of 40-something women all wearing the same cardigan (they were going to see Mamma Mia) and thought I might be the only person going to see Kung Fu before I shuffled into a room full of 15-year-olds. The teens all stopped talking and stared as I shuffled down the aisle and took a seat in front. There was a tense moment before I told them all to go back to their activities and the previews started. Then the opening credits began to roll.
Meet Kung Fu Panda. His legendariness is legendary. His skills the stuff of legend. His very paws oozing with bodacity. From the very first moment, the film makes use of the progress in martial art film over the last few years and the general youthful obsession with martial art heroes to tickle the funnybones of the audience. There is the usual underdog-makes-good storyline, but with enough gags and freshness to carry the tired dog along.
Unlike most other animated films, Panda didn't advertise its range of stars by obviously referencing them in the looks of the characters. This meant that the characters were allowed to stand alone to be enjoyed on their own merits, rather than as cutesy versions of Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie or the many other talented voice artists attached to the movie.
The thing I most enjoyed is how the film uses the rich history of martial art to support the comedy plot-line. The opening sequence is artful enough to rival the films it's referencing, such as Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Panda's fellow warriors, Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane, each stand in for genuine fighting styles and every name - particularly the panda Po, meaning noodle soup - has a meaning. This respect for the subject paired with honest laughs makes Kung Fu Panda the best animated film I have seen in a long while.
A favourite moment: Panda (looking at historic relics) "The Sword of Heroes! Said to be so sharp you can get cut just by looking at - Ow!"