Kung Fu Panda is a classic

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 Eastern culture meets Western storytelling tropes in this animated action-comedy.



I rewatched Kung Fu Panda with some friends of mine a couple of days ago and had a lot of fun revisiting a childhood favourite.

[OBLIGATORY SPOILER WARNING] 

Kung Fu Panda has a cast of kooky characters, from the wise Master Oogway (literally everything this tortoise says is quotable) to the stoic Master Shifu. But the MC Po steals the show. Other than Kevin Conroy's Batman, I'm hard pressed to think of a voice actor who defines their character the way Jack Black does with Po. Po is a kung fu nerd with a big stomach and an even bigger resolve. Despite his shortcomings, I truly admire Po's 'never-quit' attitude as he's put to the test training under Master Shifu. Po has a vibrant personality that endures in the next 3 movies (I haven't seen 4 yet), which is great. 

The jokes are hit-or-miss, there are a few duds, but I did laugh at some. My personal favourites are the 'invisible trident' and the part where the Valley of Peace citizens can't lift Po up to celebrate his victory at the end.

The score is incredible (Hans Zimmer composed it, duh).The visuals are great, the transitions between scenes and the background landscapes really stood out. Which geniuses choreographed the action sequences? From Tai Lung's prison escape, to his fight with the Furious Five, the animators clearly did their kung fu homework when working on the film, and it shows. My personal favourite fight was the one between Shifu and Tai Lung; from the way Tai Lung shows up, the stormy setting, the kicking and the punching and the deflecting...awesome. It also has a lot of emotional weight, the dialogue between the two characters really hits hard, props to Dustin Hoffman (Shifu) and Ian McShane (Tai Lung) for great voice acting.

Tai Lung is honestly one of my favourite movie villains; he's intimidating, entertaining and has an backstory which gives weight to his character. Seeing him absolutely run everybody's fade makes his final fight and eventual defeat by Po quite cathartic. Po beats him by using his unorthodox approach to combat and his big size, it really crystalizes the central theme of self-acceptance which is touched on throughout the film.

This movie uses the archetypical 'Hero's Journey' narrative to tell a story in the wuxia (ancient Chinese martial arts) genre. It's done in a pretty straighforward way. Shifu, means 'teacher' or 'master' in Chinese, so Master Shifu's name is literally 'Master Master.' The Furious Five are named after 5 styles of Chinese martial arts.  By incorporating Eastern elements (the setting and characters) with Western ones (the language), Kung Fu Panda manages to tell a simple yet entertaining story. 




The memes are great too.

Sources:
Kung Fu Panda (John Stevenson, Mark Osborne, 2008).

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