Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2 has Po (Jack Black), now a well-trained Kung Fu artist, battling alongside the furious five, when he comes across a symbol from his past. With the help from his father and a mysterious new enemy (Gary Oldman,) he pieces together how he, a panda, came to be the son of a goose. In addition to Black and Oldman, the cast seems way too expensive. Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogan, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Danny McBride, David Cross and others. The fact that Chan’s character, Monkey, has at most five lines throughout the whole movie, I wonder if this and other superstar contributions are necessary. They’re fun to watch scroll through the credits though.

The film runs a bit slowly through the middle, much like the original did. 2 has a few too many moments where the protagonist ponders his emotions. Most of the time, the screen is occupied by instances of physical comedy so the ho hum events really stand out in contrast. There is an improvement in the writing between the first and second film however. A significant decrease in fat jokes leads the audience to laugh with the heroes instead of at them. But there is a good amount of laughing at the enemy’s expense, which is okay in my book.

The animation throughout the film has a unique look that sets it apart from other cartoons. Color and shadow have such prominence, especially in the red tinted scenes that usually mean the villain is near. The flashback and dream sequences utilize an entirely different style of cartoon, which proves to be an interesting and fun way to set them apart from typical moments in the story. I can say that I laughed a lot during Kung Fu Panda 2, but I couldn’t help feeling that the adults in the theater were enjoying it more than the children. Maybe we just laugh louder. (8.2 out of 10)