Kung Fu Panda on DVD (2008)

The Panda done good

citizenk from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 22/06/2008

After a slew of substandard,totally anonymous,computer-animated duds,I have to confess that I didn't high hopes for this.But against all the odds this might well turn out to be one of the

best films in any genre you're likely to see this summer. Telling a very simple story,very skillfully it is a joy from start to end.Basically,a fat Panda (voiced by Jack Black in his best role to date)who works in his fathers noodle bar in ancient China dreams of being a Kung Fu master.After making a fool of himself trying to enter a Kung Fu tournament in his village,he is spotted by a priest who is convinced the Panda is destined to be a Kung Fu master. The film looks excellant,the martial arts fights reminded me of 'Crouching Tiger',the voices are perfect

especially Black,himself and Dustin Hoffman as a world weary Kung Fu master.The animation

is as good as anything Pixar have done,and for once a computer animated film is not trying to be all self-knowing and post-modern.

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Ok... just... Ok...

PaulaWestwood from Ashton-Under-Lyne [Highly rated reviewer] , 13/07/2008

Slightly above average, but for all the fanfare the previous led us into, the movie did not live up to the hype. Fun though it was, it was just too simplistic and undercomplicated to keep anyone above the age of I'd say 7 completely entralled. Look, I know its a kids movie, but the recent studios output of things like Alvin, Horton, Spiderwick etc all have something hidden for the adults to keep them entertained enough to sit along with the young 'uns... well not this, I'm afraid even your entourage will be fidgety and you will be counting the minutes a bit, though just about worth a viewing, if you have seen the trailers, I am afraid to say you have probably seen all the quality the movie had to offer.

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Fun way to spend a few hours

A customer from Leicester , 30/06/2008

The plot - Panda is trapped working in his father's (paternity dubious!) noodle shop but dreaming of being a Kung Fu master. He rather randomly gets selected as the Dragonmaster, the person that is intended to defeat the evil enemy and save the village. The story is then about how Panda finds himself etc etc and gets pretty excellent at Kung Fu in the process, thanks to some slightly unorthodox teaching techniques involving dumplings!

The start of this film involves some really nice animation and a great voice over by Jack Black. This bit really gets you involved and is definitely something different within this film genre. Then I found the first part of the film a little slow and difficult to keep engaged with. However, once the action gets going and you have the training scenes between Dustin and Jack's characters it really is great fun to watch. I was a tad disappointed with the parts played by Angelina and Lucy, I expected them to be much stronger and developed characters. However, there were some really nice little surprises in there like the evil character as a cute little kung fu cub.

This is a film everyone (adults, children, etc.) will enjoy and although it doesn't really have the originality of Toy Story or Finding Nemo, it is very entertaining and funny in parts. I would have like to give it a 3.5.

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OK but shallow

MikeTheBike from Basingstoke , 14/07/2008

Firstly, I should say my kids (5 and 10) loved the film. I was dubious about taking a 5 yo to a PG, and in hindsight I wouldn't as some of the fight scenes are not really what I would want him reenacting on the school playground, but the film didn't frighten him so hopefully he hasn't been scarred for life. My 10yo daughter gave it 4 stars. So that's the vote from the youth contingent.

For adults (do we count?) I found it lacking in interest. It didn't have the subliminal jokes of a Shrek, and there's only so many times you can repeat a Kill Bill/Matrix-esque Kung Fu/Karate slow mo before it becomes wearing. Even my daughter thought the idea of a praying mantis holding up a rope bridge on its own while five full-grown animals battled on it beyond belief (even in a movie that requires reality to be completely ignored!). Yet again a simple moral tale (i.e. don't judge fat people by their exterior) gets stretched into a full length movie. Fat panda gets accidentally chosen to be the golden one, is rubbish initially, finds self belief and lo! becomes an archvillain-defeating super hero. That's the plot. Period. At least it wasn't overlong like Cars; I could just about put up with it for the 90 minutes it was on.

And why was the panda's 'dad' a duck? Did I miss something? As far as I can see it was only put in to enable one feeble joke towards the end of the film...

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The Panda done good

citizenk from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 22/06/2008

After a slew of substandard,totally anonymous,computer-animated duds,I have to confess that I didn't high hopes for this.But against all the odds this might well turn out to be one of the

best films in any genre you're likely to see this summer. Telling a very simple story,very skillfully it is a joy from start to end.Basically,a fat Panda (voiced by Jack Black in his best role to date)who works in his fathers noodle bar in ancient China dreams of being a Kung Fu master.After making a fool of himself trying to enter a Kung Fu tournament in his village,he is spotted by a priest who is convinced the Panda is destined to be a Kung Fu master. The film looks excellant,the martial arts fights reminded me of 'Crouching Tiger',the voices are perfect

especially Black,himself and Dustin Hoffman as a world weary Kung Fu master.The animation

is as good as anything Pixar have done,and for once a computer animated film is not trying to be all self-knowing and post-modern.

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Excellent improvement!! Must see!

rubbishreview from Northwich [Highly rated reviewer] , 17/11/2008

I've gotta be honest i keep subjecting myself to dreamworks films even though i didn't like any of the Shreks or the B movie but my perserverance obviously paid off on this one!!

Dreamworks are onto a winner with this one and it's a shame that it's taken them 10 years (and Jack Black) to be on par with Pixar. They've no longer overly focused on the adult script and instead made it a crowd pleaser. What they've produced here is a dvd keeper!

The animation is excellent and the storyline is a classic Chinese martial arts affair. All in all a winning combination.

This got 5 stars because they must have had some serious changes at the top of dreamworks to pull this one off!

This is a must see even if you've got no kids.

PS Nice job Dreamworks - i just hope that either Madagascar 2 or Monsters vs Aliens are up to scratch too (both are previews on this disc). Keep up the good work.

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