The reviews keep coming in for DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda, and they tend to be positive, and occasionally gushing. No one's calling it a classic piece of moviemaking (they're saving those statements for WALL-E) but it seems to be a good summer animated popcorn flick the likes of which DreamWorks hasn't released in far too long.
Lou Lumenick at the New York Post was underwhelmed by the film, calling it "very conventional and seems aimed strictly at kids." However, Kirk Honeycutt at the Hollywood Reporter went ga-ga over Kung Fu Panda, saying it was "a martial arts masterpiece."
Time's Richard Corliss was more restrained in his praise, but said the flick was "cunning visual art and ultra-satisfying entertainment."
"Once Po (Jack Black) stops tripping over things," he continues, "the movie shifts into high martial-arts gear, with some sequences so smartly thought out and spectacularly executed that they might have been designed by . . . Yuen Wo-ping. One scene, which has Po and Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) dueling with chopsticks, stilts and tree branches to grab the last available dumpling, is an instant classic.
"I wish Po were more persuasively drawn; visually, he's just not a charming character. But all the others are, especially Shifu, who is a wonderful conveyor of emotional nuance. There's heart in his art, and in the movie as well. That's the secret ingredient for a traditional animated feature."
Kung Fu Panda: great martial arts sequences
"The storyline of finding the hero inside yourself is no less obvious but is given a sprightly freshness by the breathless pace, attention to detail and sheer good fun on offer," noted the anonymous reviewer at Screendaily. "It might not be an instant classic but it is extremely entertaining and a definite crowd-pleaser."
IGN's Kaleem Aftab agreed, calling Kung Fu Panda an "amusing and highly entertaining animated pastiche of martial arts films."
"There is some realism in the fighting and despite the incredible feats, there is nothing that these animals do that hasn't been seen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the like," he continues. "More could have been made of the talents of The Furious Five, however it's a small gripe in a film that's destined to delight younger audiences in particular."
ESPN's Ryan Hockensmith also praised the reality of the martial arts moves the cartoon critters display in the flick.
"The people behind Kung Fu Panda . . . put some serious time, effort and money into creating a movie with legit martial arts on display," he notes. "Granted, they're cartoon animals doing spinning back fists, but the moves are legit, thanks to Dreamworks animator Rodolphe Guenoden, who's spent 20 years in the gym himself learning everything from tae kwon do to wushu."
So far, so good. Will Kung Fu Panda do well at the box office when it opens on June 6th? Will it steal animated fans, and families, away from Pixar's darker WALL-E? Stay tuned.
Fun Fact: Angelina Jolie did the voice acting for Kung Fu Panda just after giving birth to her daughter Shiloh, and she is currently promoting the film while pregnant with twins.
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