Kung Fu Fighting – The Panda Way

You hear the title of the movie, Kung Fu Panda, and you sit up and say, even before you enter the theater – wait a minute, I know what the movie is about – it is about a Panda that knows Kung Fu! It is also an animation movie, so you also think you know how it is going to pan out, as most animation movies follow the tried-and-tested formula of raking-in-the-money-from-raking-in-the-mud or the vanquished-emerging-the-winner.

So you tell yourself; here is the drill – the movie is about a Panda that knows Kung Fu. With that agenda set, you think you know the answers to most of the logical questions that would pop up if you were even a teenager. Pandas look sad, so our hero would seem sad initially. He would be the underdog, and would face challenges, which he would probably settle with a few telling blows. And so on…till you arrive at the end, even before the movie has started.

However, here is where you get a Kung Fu style kick to the head that makes you realize you were wrong about it all along. This movie actually works, and is different from the rest! It may be the tried-and-tested formula, but it is also something that has worked more often than not. More importantly, it is constructed and crafted superbly. The different aspects of the animated character come out wonderfully.

Not just that, the picturization is far out and the characters are fleshed out like they were for real. The movie is funny in the right places and most importantly, it is able to hold you to your seat and enjoy every minute that you spend watching it.

The Panda, of course, is critical to the success of the movie, seeing as he/it is the lead actor, and director Mark Osborne has been able to make this character come alive. The movie has its share of Hollywood heavyweights lending their voice. The voice of Jack Black is just right for the Panda, and that the Panda is fat and cute also helps. Dustin Hoffman does another terrific job, this time lending his voice to the little Kung Fu master. Then there is Angelina Jolie as Tigress, Jackie Chan as Monkey, and Seth Rogen as Mantis.

The story of the Kung Fu Panda is the story of Po. He works in the noodle restaurant that his father runs, and dreams about Kung Fu, as he is a big fan of the ancient martial art form. He takes his noodle cart to the Dragon Warrior Competition, an event held at the stadium, where he watches the competition unobserved, until he finds himself, by chance, right in the middle of things. From there, the movie goes on to show the progression of Po from noodle restaurant man to Kung Fu fighter in imaginative ways.

Director Osborne has done a terrific job of putting together an animation movie that starts with so much promise and manages to retain that promise right till the end. In fact, the movie is so good you begin to look forward to when the sequel, probably Kung Fu Panda II, will make its appearance.