Kung Fu Panda (12) 90 minutes 2011


Sequels rarely work the original idea almost always more robust and difficult to repli-cate both artistically and commercially. Thus KFP 2 in which our cuddly but rotund hero Po, fails to generate the same level of intensity In his quest for inner peace as he managed during his mastery of Kung Fu in KPF 1.

It starts off promisingly enough, our carefree hero (voiced by a relatively subdued Jack Black), ready to "kick ass" and "get me a piece of inner peace" as per instructed by his spiritual master, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). Together with his friends, Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey. (Jackie Chan) and Viper (Lucy Liu), Po goes in search of an evil peacock ( Gary Oldman) set on the subjugation of China through the use of his new, secret weapon, which fires "metal balls of fire".

Po however becomes distracted, questioning his origins and, to the incredulity of his friends, at last perceiving that, an elderly goose Mr Hong (James Ping), may not in actual fact, be his real father. Given the inherently farcical nature of this scenario, Black is surprisingly effective and at times, remarkably touching.

The script however, penned by the writers of KFP 1, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Ber-ger, is lazy, lacking punch and originality and, some clever moments aside - particu-larly Po's unexpected re-appearance at the end - the wit, humour and intelligence of its more illustrious and to date, much more successful, predecessor. The sudden introduction of Po’s biological father for example - surely the green light for KPF 3 - is as unsubtle as it is disjointed. The movie - sadly for the backers - remains strictly one dimensional and fails to appeal to the older generation, a technique so wildly successful in the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo and others. That said, my 11 year-old daughter found the movie exciting and in particular, loved the rooftop pursuits and death-defying stunts, which were "wicked". One-dimensional seems to have its moments.

The actors - or should we call them voices - have therefore disappointingly little on which to bite and consequently none of them stands out. The 3D technology helps to pass the time but its use remains limited and some impressive aerial views of the Chinese countryside notwithstanding, strangely lacking in impact. Jennifer Yuh Nelson, the first woman to direct a Hollywood animation, ensures that the pace never drops but the sequel has considerable room for improvement.


One for the children. 6/10. DM

June 2011