Kung Fu Panda

We only watched one movie on this long and relaxing weekend, Kung Fu Panda. This animated, Jack Black film didn't look all that interesting to me when I first saw the previews for it. It kinda looked a lot like a lot of other animated movies and Jack Black hasn't really had a ton of appeal for me since School of Rock.

However, once the movie started, I was hooked. It opens with a dream sequence with Po the Panda fighting along side his heroes, the Furious Five, and kicking butt. He is "bringing the awesomeness" to his enemies. You know, just like I do here on the Titan blog! The sequence has a really stylistic design. It was part anime, part hand-drawn animation, and part CG. It was really unique and very cool.

Then...we get the rest of the movie. We see that Po actually works in his dad's noodle shop, and idolizes the Furious Five, he is no Kung Fu master. In fact, if you have seen the trailer, you know that he is fat and clumsy. He tries to get up to the see the ceremony where the Kung Fu masters choose the next Dragon Warrior. It is pretty obvious from the get-go that Po will be chosen, but when he is, things start to get a little more interesting.

You see, Po is the ultimate fanboy. He recalls with awe the battles that the Furious Five have fought like a comic book geek can recall all the first appearances of their favorite villains. He interacts with the FF (hmmm...coincidence?) as if they are heroes, and it is kind fun to watch them get annoyed at him and then slowly warm up to him. And, the FF aren't unknown actors either, they are all A-listers: Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, David Cross, and Seth Rogen (!). Dustin Hoffman even voices their master.

Ultimately this movie is great fun, if a little predictable. I thoroughly enjoyed it the whole way through and I thought the fight scenes were a lot of fun. I can't stress enough that I loved the opening sequence. This is definitely one to check out!