Kung Fu Panda

I went to see this movie with only knowing that Jack Black was going to play a Panda Bear that learns or is a Kung Fu enthusiast and that Dustin Hoffman was a "voice" as well.

 Po, voiced by Jack Black is a large full grown Panda bear working in his father's ( a goose ? played by James Hong ) noodle shop.  With dreams of the 5 masters of Gung Fu , Mantis, Tiger, Crans, Viper and Monkey , he dreams to be a mater one day.  When an evil snow leopard threatens the citizens of Peace Valley, the Master looks to anoint a new mater and give them the secret of the Dragon Scrolls that will make him the most powerful Gung Fu expert.  Through a chance encounter and mistake, (“There are no mistakes") Po is the chosen one, and it becomes the job finally of Master Shifu, voiced with perfection by Dustin Hoffman to transform this hapless bear into the master to save the valley. 

 The screenplay as simple as it is has some lessons for youth and aged together. We almost know at once that a Panda Bear as a martial artist is going to be a bumbling fool, and yet we know instantly he has to succeed or we're going to have a lot unhappy kids in the audience and some horrible reviews!  What looks like an impossible task is made possible with belief. There is truth and magic in the secret of the Dragon Scrolls!  Po doesn't get it at first but when he does there is a magic transformation, as he must face the evil snow leopard for the finally showdown. 

 If you’re concerned about violence with small children I'd have to say pass on this.  There are no death scenes, blood or guts it truly is safe in my opinion for anyone that ever watched a "Tom and Jerry " Cartoon.  In fact I think they have more violence and no message!

 Sadly I think a lot of the A-list voices were wasted in this movie. Partially because of the fast pace of the movie and plot, we really don't have the time to develop them as characters we already know and understand.   Angelina Jolie as Tigress, Seth Rogen as Mantis, Lucy Liu as Viper, Even Jackie Chan as Monkey.  I think that we are expecting a better crossover, humanization and relationship with the cartoon character and the personalities of the real people.  In that respect Dustin Hoffman, Jack Black, and David Cross stand out even the voice of veteran actor James Hong is at once recognizable. I thought their voices and dialog mimic the real person or some the real persons past characters excellently. There is subtle sexiness to Angelina’s character and Monkey is fitting for Jackie Chan but these are real subtleties we think about maybe in retrospect. I think past blockbusters in cartoon and 3D cartoons have had some stellar performances from actors like Tom Hanks in the Toy Story series, Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Nemo and of course Paul Newman stands out in Cars all as good examples. Each f these had the screen time to develop them so this has to beg the question. " Were they there for marketing?" Think about all the different audiences that cast has and the answer is self evident.

 What really keeps us engaged is the quick pace of the movie and the elements of many large big screen blockbuster movies that have been incorporated to create that mix or even fusion from 3D to real life, all the way down to dark dungeons and caves like The Lord of the Rings, or slow motion martial arts like the Matrix. Then what is all that different from so many live actors today with all the computer 3D Graphics employed as special effects? The magic of 3D today is so excellent and I give many kudos to the cast and crew of the production team. 

For a fun movie, a little message of hope, and just plain entertainment this movie is going to rock.