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Poster Description: It’s bright yellow, with dynamic light rays bursting out of Po like he’s a sun. Our black-and-white hero balances on the film’s red title on one foot, his other foot tucked against that leg. His fist is pressed against his flat palm. Po grins jauntily. The tagline reads “Twice the Awesomeness” in black capitals. Jack Black’s name is between Po’s ears and is also in black letters. |
You can read my review of Kung Fu Panda here.
I think my hatred of sequels and snobbery about them stopped me from watching Kung Fu Panda 2 back in 2011. I regret it, but in a way, it was just as well: it carries the dubious honour of making me cry every time.
Po (Jack Black, Jumanji: The Next Level) and his friends are battling a ruthless peacock overlord. It brings back repressed memories that force him to confront his past.
One of my gripes about Kung Fu Panda was the lack of personalities within the Furious Five. We still have Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Angelina Jolie, and – yes, Seth Rogen in their previous roles, and I’m delighted to say they have more to do this time. Tigress, in particular, shows a softer side (much to the others’ shock!). The other characters provide comic relief because Kung Fu Panda 2 is surprisingly intense.
With a beautiful prologue playing out like a puppet show, we’re given our villain’s backstory in one fell swoop. It means that when Po finally meets Lord Shen, the audience already knows how they are connected and why Lord Shen is terrified of Po – everyone except our black-and-white hero. It’s played for laughs without being cruel or contrived and is a mark of the film’s incredible writing.
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| Picture Description: Except for the red detailing in Shen’s stunning tail feathers, our peacock villain is primarily white with wispy black eyebrows and black spots in his feathers. He wears a white silk kimono and turns his head imperiously to the side with his hands(?) tucked into his long sleeves. |
An albino peacock wearing a kimono shouldn’t be a terrifying villain, but that is what we get with Gary Oldman as Lord Shen. Are we surprised, though? The man could read an IKEA instruction manual and sell us menace in spades, more than Ian McShane’s Tai Lung could. In keeping with the film’s love for Chinese culture, Shen’s fighting style is based around Cai Li Fo; it involves a metal fan for distraction, so his beautiful tail feathers are a more than fitting alternative! It looked incredibly challenging to animate. Nevertheless, Shen’s motives for being a villain aren’t as sympathetic: it could be interpreted that Shen took a prophecy to heart and went utterly overboard to impress his parents, but I’ll leave that up to you guys.
At the same time, the goat Soothsayer (voiced by Michelle Yeoh) just doesn’t care. Also, forget Po and his arch-nemesis stairs; I could watch her outsmart Lord Shen with gentle, smug wordplay for the entire run-time. The Soothsayer’s character design is dominated by large, heavy-looking horns framing her head, symbolising the enormous emotional weight of her prophecy. (Sidenote: it reminded me of one of Princess Amidala’s insanely gorgeous costumes in Phantom Menace). Before researching for this review, I’d had a theory that the goat had more of a role in Shen’s life than a Soothsayer, and I can confirm that is true: she was Shen’s nanny and had the name Ah Ma.
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GIF Description: Ah Ma, the Soothsayer has thick, ridged horns on either side of her head. She is small and hunched, and she is wearing purple and other patterned clothes. A tiny set of glasses is balanced on her nose, parallel with her long, white beard. She stands in a misty, damp forest. The subtitles read, “Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn’t make you who you are. It is the rest of your story, who you choose to be.” |
More than anything, Kung Fu Panda reminds us of the filmmakers’ ability to juggle emotion and combine animation styles beautifully. As well as the puppetry, there are 2D sequences for Po’s fantasy/dream sequences. Most significantly, we follow a travelling water droplet as Po journeys into his mind to learn what happened to his parents. This is the saddest, most gorgeous sequence in the movie and perhaps any Dreamworks film made thus far. Why does it make me cry? Hans Zimmer and John Powell start it, but I blame that agonised crease between the eyebrows of Po’s mother before she lets him go… I’m getting a lump in my throat just writing it.
Yes, Kung Fu Panda 2 is another caper with many fights (one of which involves a Chinese dragon “eating” bad guys). There is a big battle at the end that ties all the loose ends together, and we get to see Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) kick butt, too. For the kung fu film nerds, it also needs to be mentioned that Jean-Claude Van Damme voices Master Croc and does his signature kick and split move! As for Jack Black’s brand of unwavering enthusiasm, it is as effervescent as ever, with more heart. New controls were used in the animation process to accommodate the sheer amount of food in Po’s mouth. We can only imagine how the voice recording process went!
Was my initial snobbery about a sequel justified? Nope. Hell no. While Lord Shen's motivation is a bit weak for me, Kung Fu Panda 2 has a different, more intense energy than its predecessor, but it is no less beautiful and fun for kids and adults alike. Just watch out for those emotional sucker punches, yeah?!
My Rating: 4.5 STARS OUT OF 5
My Sources:
Movie poster - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302011/
Image: Lord Shen - https://the-awesome-universe.fandom.com/wiki/Lord_Shen
Shen’s fighting style and his connection to the Soothsayer - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302011/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv
GIF: Soothsayer - https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/500532946096946359/
Princess Amidala’s costume - https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Padm%C3%A9_Amidala’ s_wardrobe?file=Padmefull3Senatecloak.jpg
Kung Fu Panda 2 composers - https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=kung+fu+panda+2+score
Wait, Jean-Claude Van Damme is in this film? - https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/jw3bs7/jeanclaude_van_damme_voices_master_croc_in_kung/?rdt=41027
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