Kung Fu Panda (2008)

O Masterpiece
O Excellent
X Good
O OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / June 18, 2008

When I was young, I probably had more than 50 stuffed animals. I called them “poor things.” One of my favorite poor things was a panda bear that I cleverly named “Pandy.” Pandy was a lethal martial artist whose kung fu skills were unbeatable. I don’t know how they did it, but I’m convinced the writers of “Kung Fu Panda” ripped off my childhood idea. Somebody’s gotta pay for this.

I promise I’m not displacing when I write that I thought “Kung Fu Panda” would be much funnier. It’s a good animated action flick where eccentric animals are kung fu masters, but it’s not hilarious — no, not nearly as much as you might have hoped.

Po (Jack Black) is a plump panda who feels obligated to work in his so-called father’s noodle restaurant, but his heart is in becoming a kung fu expert. (He is much like Jason from “The Forbidden Kingdom,” an untrained but passionate wannabe.) Po’s heroes are “The Furious Five,” a team of kung fu masters that includes Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross). These flashy fighters were trained by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), who was trained by the mystical Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), a turtle that’s the kung-fu equivalent of Yoda.

It just so happens that 1,000 years have passed, and the whole village has awaited the selection of the Dragon Warrior, a previously unnamed kung fu master whose privilege it is to open the sacred Dragon Scroll and learn its secret(s). The time has come for Master Oogway to identify the Dragon Warrior. Guess who that might be? Yes, the most unlikely candidate: Po.

Naturally, Shifu and his five fabulous students are truly furious by the panda’s appointment. But they’re the least of Po’s problems: Supposedly, the Dragon Warrior is the only one who can defeat the ferocious, deadly Tai Lung (Ian McShane), a kung fu beast that even made me nervous (and I took karate for 10 years). That’s the gist of “Kung Fu Panda.”

There is something particularly noteworthy about this movie that might make it go down in history: Remember how “Seinfeld” was credited with introducing the phrase “yada, yada, yada,” into the language of our pop culture? Well, I predict that “Kung Fu Panda” will coin a new word that will stick, too. Here it is: “ska-doosh.” I admit, the movie’s usage of this word is quite humorous.

The movie is colorful and well made. Its voice-over characters are also great. And if you have kids, “Kung Fu Panda” is an instant babysitter, anytime, guaranteed. Your kids (especially boy kids) will absolutely love it. But if you were hoping for another side-splitting Jack Black performance, this movie is only the equivalent of a white belt in the humor department; whereas, my bear, Pandy, was a black belt. I’m just sayin’…

Directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson
Jack Black / Dustin Hoffman / Angelina Jolie
Animation / Action 92 min.
MPAA: PG (for sequences of martial arts action)

U.S. Release Date: June 6, 2008
Copyright 2008: 298