Kung Fu Panda 2 is a 2011 3D American computer-animated action comedy movie and the second installment in the series. A sequel to 2008's Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black reprised his role. In the movie, Po is now the Dragon Warrior, and is fighting with his fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five: Tigress, Viper, Monkey, Mantis and Crane. They go on a quest in Gong-men City to stop Lord Shen, an evil albino peacock from using a weapon to destroy kung fu. The film is directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who previously worked as a storyboard artist in Kung Fu Panda 1. It received critical acclaim and is the highest-grossing movie to be directed by a woman.

Release dates

Plot
Po (voiced by Jack Black) is now the Dragon Warrior and a Kung Fu master protecting the Valley of Peace together with his friends, the Furious Five, but must now find inner peace. Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) then sends him on a journey with the Furious Five to Gongmen City and stop Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman), an evil albino peacock who has made a new weapon that can stop Kung Fu. Po has trouble on his journey because he's worried about what happened to his real parents. An old soothsayer (voiced by Michelle Yeoh) helps Po remember that his parents sent Po away as a baby to protect him when their village was attacked by Lord Shen many years ago because Shen learned he would be defeated by Po, the foretold warrior of black and white. Now knowing where he came from, Po finds inner peace, destroys Shen's cannons by throwing the cannonballs back at them, defeats Shen (who also gets killed and crushed by his own cannon), and accepts Mr. Ping (voiced by James Hong) as his dad.

Characters

Old characters
 Po, a panda. He is the Dragon Warrior, Kung Fu master, and hero of the film. Jack Black reprises his role.
 Shifu, a red panda. He is Po's Kung Fu teacher and sifu. Dustin Hoffman reprises his role.
 Tigress, a Southern China tiger. She is a member of the Furious Five and Po's best friend (eventually love interest). Angelina Jolie reprises her role.
 Viper, a green tree viper. She is a member of the Furious Five. Lucy Liu reprises her role.
 Monkey, a golden langur. He is a member of the Furious Five. Jackie Chan reprises his role.
 Mantis, a northern praying mantis. He is a member of the Furious Five. Seth Rogen reprises his role.
 Crane, a red crowned crane. He is a member of the Furious Five. David Cross reprises his role.
 Mr. Ping, a swan goose. He is Po's adoptive father. James Hong reprises his role.

New characters
 Shen, a villainous albino peacock. He is voiced by Gary Oldman.
 Soothsayer, a goat. She predicts Shen will be defeated. Michelle Yeoh voices this character.
 Storming Ox, an ox. He tries to protect Gongmen City from Lord Shen. Dennis Haysbert voices this character.
 Croc, a Oriental alligator. He tries to protect Gongmen City from Lord Shen. Jean-Claude Van Damme voices this character.
 Thundering Rhino, a javan rhinoceros. He tries to protect Gongmen City from Lord Shen. Victor Garber voices this character.
 Panda Dad, a panda. He is Master Po's biological father and the headman of his village. Fred Tatasciore voices this character.

Reception

Critical Response
Kung Fu Panda 2 was acclaimed by critics. It holds a rating of 85% in Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 7 out of 10.  The consensus is "the story arc may seen a tad familiar to fans of the original, but Kung Fu Panda 2 offers enough action, comedy and visual sparkle to compensate". Just like in the original film, the animation, voice acting and character development were praised.

Box Office
The film became a box office success. It grossed $667,692,281 on a $150 million budget. It is the highest grossing animated film of 2011, the 9th highest grossing animated film ever released, the 53rd highest-grossing film of all time and the 6th highest-grossing film of 2011. It is also the highest grossing animated film directed by a woman (Jennifer Yuh Nelson).

Awards and nominations

Soundtrack

Kung Fu Panda 2 is the soundtrack of the film of the same, scored by Hans Zimmer and John Powell and released in May 24, 2011. Just like the movie, the soundtrack received positive reviews from music critics.

Track listing

 Songs
 Pump It - The Black Eyed Peas
 Kung Fu Fighting - Cee Lo Green ft Jack Black
 Forgiven - Skillet
 I'll be Missing You - P. Diddy Feat. Faith Evans & 112

Sequel
After the success of Kung Fu Panda 2, DreamWorks Animation confirmed that there will be 6 movies in the franchise. Kung Fu Panda 3 is confirmed to be released in 2016, with Jennifer Yuh Nelson returning to direct and Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger returning to write the script. The original cast will return in the movie, and Kung Fu Panda 3 will be the first American animated movie to ever be co-produced by a Chinese firm.

References

2011 animated movies
2011 comedy movies
2010s 3D movies
2010s action comedy movies
American animated movies
American action comedy movies
Computer-animated movies
Movies composed by Hans Zimmer
Kung Fu Panda