KUNG FU PANDA
US, 2008, 92 minutes, Colour.
Voices of: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian Mc Shane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Dan Fogler, Michael Clarke Duncan, Wayne Knight.
Directed by Mark Osborne and John Stephenson.
Most audiences should find this animated film very amusing. Children will enjoy the characters, the settings and the cartoonish version of Kung Fu fights (of which, it needs to be said for small children, there are quite a lot). Adults will enjoy the characters and the dialogue which is brought to expert life by a cast led by Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman.
As with all of this kind of animation film, the basic story is a moral one: find oneself and be true to oneself. It is neatly summed by Po, the panda (a very large and rotund, food-loving panda), when the villain, Tai Lung (voiced by Ian Mc Shane), taunts him, ‘Your’re nothing but a big, fat Panda’ and Po replies, ‘But I’m THE big, fat panda’. This is Po’s ‘awesomeness’.
Dustin Hoffman is the martial arts master, a small but very articulate guru who is training a crack team of Crane (David Cross), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Mantis (Seth Rogen) to confront the Snow Leopard Tai Lung whom he had adopted, trained as a warrior but who became proud and rebellious and has been locked away in a mountain prison for 20 years. Who will be the prophesied Dragon Warrior? In the meantime, Po is a noodles waiter in his father’s diner. But, he dreams (and the film opens with a marvellous tour-de-force dream where Po is champion of every combat and acclaimed by everyone) – and when he wakes up he can hardly manoeuvre himself out of bed.
By a series of comic mishaps, Po is designated the Dragon Warrior. The master is in despair and the Five are not impressed. But, capitalising on Po’s need to eat (and eat) when he is sad, the master finds a way to train him to peak performance (although he still finds climbing steps puffs him out) by making him use every tactic to get the dumplings and other delights from the master.
Jack Black lets go as Po and brings his manic humour and timing with great effect. He and Dustin Hoffman recorded together and the interaction between them, which is the core of the film, makes for very entertaining comedy-drama.
The settings are magnificent: valleys, the mountains, the bustling town, the shrine, the exceedingly dungeon-like prison. The action has been photographed and edited with verve and flair – a confrontation on a high rope bridge is full of vitality.
The Chinese setting is topical and will open up a more sympathetic view of Chinese traditions as well as the focus and discipline of the martial arts rather than mere knockabout or knockout bashings.
1.The success of the film? It appeal: story, characters, action, moral?
2.The vivid animation, its style, design, settings, characters, the variety, action and editing and pace?
3.The Chinese background, the valley, the shrine, the town, the prison, traditional Chinese way of life, the martial arts? The musical score?
4.Dreams and reality? Hopes? Location and place in life, accepting oneself? The scroll and its secret? The blank scroll and the mirror of the person? The secret of the noodles – no secret? Understanding oneself, accepting oneself? The theme of being awesome! THE big fat panda?
5.The opening, the extraordinary feats, Po as the champion, exhilaration, the hero, verve? Waking up to reality? Unable to get out of bed?
6.Po in himself, his size, awkwardness? His father being a bird? Giving advice? Finding his place, working in the noodles restaurant? The appeal to generations of noodle makers? Not working in tofu? The work, the customers?
7.The father, the bird, his philosophy of life, his hard work, the stands for the spectacle, his ideas? Giving advice to his son, amazed at his achievement, telling him the secret of the noodles, no secret? Pride in his son?
8.Master Shifu, small, the guru, the turtle and his leadership? The search for the Dragon Warrior? The scroll high in the roof? The team, Shifu training them, their exploits? Tai Lung? The flashbacks, the baby, Shifu training him, Tai Lung’s greater ambitions, rebellion, imprisonment?
9.The team: the tigress, the monkey, the mantis, the viper, the crane? The look of each character? The range of voices? The actions to suit their animal style?
10.The choice of the Dragon Warrior, Po in a hurry to get there, his hopes, the wall, unable to get through, watching, getting the saplings, bouncing, landing in front of the Master, the acclamation, the reaction of the others, fearing that he was an intruder, wanting him to leave?
11.Po and Jack Black as a character, voice, action? The touch of the slob? The training, the food, wanting to eat the biscuits, the dumplings? The variety of feats as Shifu tantalised him with the food? His exhaustion? The effect and his achievement?
12.Shifu sending the bird to the prison, the background of Tai Lung, his being severely bound, the depth of the prison, ominous, the guards, the boss and his explanations? The bird dropping the feather in fear, Tai Lung using it to unlock his chains and escaping?
13.The tour-de-force of the fight at the bridge with the five? Their defeat?
14.News in the village, Shifu organising the evacuation of the village? Po going with his father?
15.The theme of the scroll, getting it down, opening it, Po’s awkwardness in doing this, the blank scroll? The mystery, seeing his reflection? The secret in oneself rather than in a scroll?
16.Tai Lung, his character, voice? The fight with the five? The confrontation with Po, his boasting, the flare of the battle? Po and his activities, winning?
17.Po and his going to Shifu, the Master dying?
18.The acclamation of Po, the Dragon Warrior – and the moral of the story that one’s gifts are in oneself?
