So far, the assessment seems to be that DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda is a fun, albeit formulaic, time at the movies.
Much of that assessment came from its recent debut at the Cannes Film Festival where many moviewatchers, emotionally exhausted after viewing countless weighty films about massacres and heartbreak, took to Kung Fu Panda's light-hearted comic energy as a breath of fresh air.
Kung Fu Panda Clip
The good folks at Coming Soon scored an exclusive clip from the film, which shows probably the darkest moment (both literally and figuratively) in the whole picture: the scene where the villainous snow leopard Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane) breaks out of jail. There are a couple of nods to other movies here (hmm, what's with everyone doing homages to the "arrow storm scene" in 300?) and some high-flying kung fu action to show off Tai Lung's badd-assery.
Certainly the animation in this sequence looks freakin' good, but then every DreamWorks Animation film has looked good. That's why they still have the upper hand over Twentieth Century Fox in the battle to see who is the 2nd best North American CGI animation studio (as of this writing, Pixar's position as #1 is pretty much unassailable). However, it's Kung Fu Panda's story that's in question; that's the crucial piece of the puzzle that Pixar's competitors haven't figured out yet.
Kung Fu Panda's Story
According to DreamWorks Animation's website, "Kung Fu Panda features Jack Black as Po the Panda, a lowly waiter in a noodle restaurant, who is a kung fu fanatic but whose shape doesn't exactly lend itself to kung fu fighting. In fact, Po's defining characteristic appears to be that he is the laziest of all the animals in ancient China.
"That's a problem because powerful enemies are at the gates, and all hopes have been pinned on a prophesy naming Po as the 'Chosen One' to save the day. A group of martial arts masters are going to need a black belt in patience if they are going to turn this slacker panda into a kung fu fighter before it's too late."
Those "powerful enemies" are, of course, the one-and-only Tai Lung. Certainly, anyone can write the script from here on in. Tai Lung, after breaking out of jail, goes on a rampage and takes down the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen), and Crane (David Cross). However, when all is nearly lost, Po uses his unconventional kung fu methods to beat up the villain and save the day. Cue much rejoicing.
Okay, that may sound facetious and, let's face it, no one's going to drop a downbeat ending into an animated film, unless you're Isao Takahata making Grave of the Fireflies. All of Pixar's movies have been pretty upbeat when the credits roll, with everyone (except the villains of course) living happily ever after.
What's going to make Kung Fu Panda interesting (and successful) is how they go about making that happy ending. And, if the Cannes reaction is any indication, writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger have done a better job on that than in previous DreamWorks films.
It'll be interesting how Kung Fu Panda will play against the more epic WALL-E, Disney/Pixar's entry into the crowded summer schedule. Those who might be turned off by the environmental leanings in Andrew Stanton's script for WALL-E may head to Kung Fu Panda in order to amuse themselves to death.
Kung Fu Panda comes to theatres June 6th.
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