Coyote vs Acme vs Warner Bros

You ever hear a news story that... you just can't believe because it's so freaking dumb? Like those Florida Man stories or some of the many weird tales in history? Coyote vs Acme is just... so stupid of a news story that frankly I don't even know what to say here. Like, every single level in this story is so stupid that it baffles me that someone could make this choice without being laughed at by everyone in the company. I thought the Nimona debacle was a disaster... Nimoma looks quaint compared to this, honestly The Thief and the Cobbler doesn't seem like as big a mess, though it is easy to make comments like that when the situation is not yet entirely resolved, and the ramifications of these actions have yet to completely unfurl. To put bluntly, We're only at the tip of the iceberg of this situation here, and to put it even more bluntly, this is only the tip of a very horrid iceberg.

Coyote vs Acme was a highly anticipated feature from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, it was about Wile E. Coyote, the iconic Looney Tunes character, getting in a lawsuit against the Acme corporation for their products. People were excited for this movie, for starters, it's another Looney Tunes Live-Action Mix, and people are having nostalgic connections to the previous movies, Space Jam and Looney Tunes: Back in Action, this would also be the first time that the Coyote has been a main star in a movie since arguably The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie back in 1979. The film was first shelved in late 2023, so it could be a tax write-off, alongside previously shelved movies Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt.

The immediate problem should be noticed, the Looney Tunes are literally one of Warner Bros.' most popular franchises, having earned a total revenue of over 15 Billion dollars, and of the characters, Wile E. Coyote is one of the most popular, ranking at Number 3 on The A.V. Club's Top 40 Best Looney Tunes Characters, and at Number 7 on Cracked's Top 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Characters. There is literally no benefit to axing this movie, the only reason I can think of that they believed it would be more profitable to shelve this movie entirely, is because they're worried it will bomb. To play devil's advocate here, the previous Looney Tunes Movie, 2021's Space Jam: A New Legacy, grossed over one-hundred sixty-three million dollars, on a one-hundred and fifty million dollar budget. While those are good numbers, that does mean that the movie pretty much broke even, looking at it from a purely marketing stand-point, what conclusion would you draw if you saw those numbers? Of course, as a counter, some may point out that Space Jam is a meme franchise and most people would only go see it in theatres as a joke, and the only way anyone would actually recommend it unironically would be if the movie was so phenomenally good it made you forget you were watching a sequel to Space Jam. I don't know if I would, I still haven't watched it. I am very behind on the animated releases of 2021.

Speaking of that fact, I'm honestly surprised that Space Jam even broke even at the box office because that was 2021. If I need to remind you, 2020 was the year everything shut down because of a global pandemic, and it wasn't over in 2021, though people were pretending like it was. I couldn't be the only one who was avoiding movie theatres because they still didn't feel completely safe, honestly releasing movies in theatres in 2020 and 2021 just seemed like a bad idea, and it also didn't help that Space Jam also went directly to streaming simultaneously. Yeah, that's another thing people tend to forget, a lot of people are still willing to see movies in theatres, but because theatre prices are expensive, many people would prefer to watch a movie on streaming instead, predominately because it's cheaper to pay ten dollars a month for HBO Max and its wall of content instead of fifteen to twenty dollars for a movie ticket that only lets you see one movie. Now I hate the streaming era, but that is a different argument for another time, my point is, box office numbers probably are not the measure of popularity that some people might think they are. Especially since we have things like home media releases, merchandise sales, and of course streaming numbers.

Regardless, someone at WB (Only keeping their name out of this to try and remain somewhat professional) is worried that this movie would bomb, so decided to pull it. However, because of public backlash, they brought in some potential buyers, only for it to be revealed that they didn't even want to sell the movie due to worries that the movie would be a smash hit and embarrass WB. This is the stupidest thing I've read since Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot called something a "Quadruple-A Game" and I swear reading that made me lose braincells. Let me put it like this; What WB is doing with Coyote vs. Acme is like if McDonald's decided to not bring back the McRib, and then decided to make a law that only they could sell ribs in case some other restaurant made their own Rib Sandwich, and made more money than they could. So they aren't selling their rib sandwich anymore, but they also don't want to not make money off of it. They're stuck between a rock and a hard place, except the rock is made of soapstone, and the "hard place" is Cotton-Candy Rainbow Land.

This whole situation is just stupid, it's the kind of stupid that isn't even funny. Decisions like this prove that there is a problem with management at Warner Bros, decisions that, to quote Treasure Planet's Captain Amelia, "Displays a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic", and the sad thing is... this isn't even new. Multiple shows such as Sym-Bionic Titan, Beware The Batman, and Megas XLR have become tax-write offs in the past, and there was the previously mentioned Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt. This is indicative of a deeper problem, one that I am not even slightly educated enough to start speculating upon. I've heard some claim that this is going to be the event that causes either the entire film industry to change or the Hollywood system to be completely burned to the ground, metaphorically speaking of course. I am not optimistic, I feel we've been here before, maybe not with movies, but with music, or video games, or internet content, that one event that everyone believed was gonna bring nothing but great changes, but then it ended up being "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" except we didn't even get a new boss. Maybe I'm wrong, but as it has been said before, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes".

I used a lot of big words in this blog... I want ice cream.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) - Arguably the Greatest Animated Sequel Ever Made

 

Kung Fu Panda was a movie that surprised a lot of audiences. People went in to watch what they expected to be a goofy comedy for kids, and got something a lot deeper. It made sense that a sequel would be made, but sequels tend to have high expectations placed on them, and I said this before when I talked about bad movie posters, but Kung Fu Panda 2's poster just screamed "The same movie as last time, but a little less so". I guess it really should not be surprising that Kung Fu Panda 2 is not as good as the first movie, in fact, it is so much better. I usually want to save these statements for the end of my review, after all the entire point of this writing is to convince you, the reader, that these movies are worth watching or not, so I need to build up to that point. However, I really want to emphasize how good this movie actually is. Everyone says Kung Fu Panda is the perfect "Never Judge a Book by it's Cover" kind of movie, but to be absolutely clear, you do get what you expect with that movie, a goofy Kung Fu movie for kids, but with the sequel, you get one of the greatest animated movies ever made, Hell I would argue greatest movies ever made.

Kung Fu Panda 2 takes our favourite characters and puts them into a new conflict. Following Po and the Furious Five as they must save China from a peacock warlord, Emperor Shen, who has ties with Po himself. Po meanwhile, has to find inner peace, and to do so he must discover who he is, and his past. The great thing about Kung Fu Panda 2's story is that it feels like a natural extension off of the first movie, like the writers actually asked "Where do we go from here?". Lord Shen feels like the right step up from Tai Lung, both fit the story that is being told. Po's inner conflict feels natural, and his relationships feel like they naturally progressed. The first movie was about pride, and to some extent this movie is a little too, but the central theme for this movie is very clearly about trauma, letting go of the past to be a better person. Lord Shen could not let go of the soothsayer's prophecy, could not let go of his parent's banishing him, in the end, both Tai Lung's and Lord Shen's downfall were their pride and trauma, two things neither could let go of, thematically speaking, both of them are two sides of the same coin.

Like I said, the relationships feel like the have progressed naturally from the last movie, particularly the relationship between Tigress and Po. It is beyond Tigress seeing Po as an equal, she sees him as a friend, someone she doesn't want to lose. When Tigress runs to hug Po after he admits the truth, it genuinely feels like she cares, she understands what he's going through. I wish we get a full backstory about her, because it does feel like she was someone like Po at some point, maybe it's explained in one of the Television shows. Of course, we can't discuss characters without discussing the villain, some more anyway. Lord Shen is not just a great villain thematically like Tai Lung was, he's genuinely a great character. His facial expressions and Gary Oldman's fantastic performance really add a lot to the character. He genuinely comes off as a threat, but is one of those villains who is just to fascinating to watch that he becomes entertaining. Not in a Ratigan or Yzma and Kronk way where they're just so fun to watch, but in a Ramses way, where the animation, writing and performance are just so good that they create something more. The animation does just as much as the writing does, and the writing does just as much as the performance does, and the performance does just as much as the animation does in creating this character.

The animation is also a big step up from the last, and the last movie was also really good. Lighting and colour are huge parts of the movies visual appeal, and when a scene is visually darker, it isn't too dark and shadowy. However, I think the best part of the movie's animation is the fight choreography. It shows it well in the first major fight of the movie with the bandits in the village, seeing Po and the Five work as a team, bouncing off each other and playing to each others strengths was mesmerizing to watch, and the climactic fight with Lord Shen, on it's own is already one of the best animated fight scenes, but at the end when Po uses his teachings to redirect the cannon balls, that puts it in the top ten. The fight scenes were well choreographed, beautifully animated, and were pretty well set tonally too, becoming more tense as the movie goes on. The first movie had a balance with their final fight scene, wanting it to be serious, but also kind of goofy, but they definitely toned down the goofier aspect for this movie's final scene.

I really don't know what else to say here, Kung Fu Panda 2 is one of the greatest animated movies ever made. It feels like a natural extension of the first movie, the characters feel like they genuinely evolved, the animation is an improvement from a movie that already looked amazing, the fight choreography is fantastic, the voice performances are perfect, the drama and even the comedy are better than the first movie. Kung Fu Panda 2 is essentially a gilded lily, the phrase "Gild the Lily", according to Oxford Languages, means to try and improve what is already beautiful or excellent, and the first Kung Fu Panda movie was an excellent movie, usually when a movie franchise begins that good, you tend to only go down from there, yet Kung Fu Panda 2 was a big improvement. Do I even need to say this movie is a High Recommendation? Frankly, if you passed this movie up, give it a chance, it truly may surprise you with how good it is.

My Top 10 Favourite Episodes of Fraggle Rock

I carried this blog over from an old Journal on my DeviantArt, I did a few small rewrites to it to tidy it up and make it a bit more professional. You can check out my DeviantArt here.

Hands down, my all time favourite television show of all time has to be Fraggle Rock. Not only is the puppetry really good, I mean this is the Jim Henson team so it was always gonna be superb, but the writing is top notch. It was not afraid to showcase some really heavy subject matter for young kids, and it never talked down to them. Throw in a literal buttload to catchy songs, likeable characters and some excellent performances from everyone involved, and I'm honestly surprised that this show isn't as beloved as Sesame Street or The Muppet Show. Why is that? Fraggle Rock is one of the best children's shows, puppet shows, 80s shows and Jim Henson shows and I want to celebrate it, plus there was also that reboot that happened last year and I should have celebrated it's premier but I didn't think about it, so... Here are my top ten favourite Fraggle Rock episodes.

Also, spoilers are ahead so if you have yet to watch this show... do it now!

10. "The Doozer Contest"

This was one of the first episodes I remember catching on TV, so even though it has one of the more basic morals of the show, I do have a soft spot for it. In this episode, Flange Doozer and Modem Doozer get into an argument about what part of their new experimental tomato extract and mustard powder Doozer sticks the Fraggles loved the most (get it, it's Ketchup and Mustard, ha). this causes the Doozer community to get into a competitive spirit, Flange and Modem's kids even get into a physical altercation. I really like how Flange's wife tries to talk him out of the competition, and considering he was the one that initiated the challenge, it is interesting for them to take this direction. In the end, it's all down to the wisest of Fraggles to decide which additive is better, and the Fraggle they pick is Wembley, did I mention this show is hilarious? Yeah the moral is pretty basic, and the song is not the most memorable, but I have a soft spot for this episode, and it is always nice to see more Doozer lore in the show. Maybe not one of the best episodes, but I couldn't leave it off the list, and if you want to argue, I throw down my helmet and welcome you.

9. "Gone But Not Forgotten"

This episode means a lot to a lot of different people, especially to those in the LGBTQ+ community, so while it isn't high on my list, I could not leave it off. Wembley takes his first solo hike but ends up falling and meets an interesting and friendly new creature named Mudwell, however, when Wembley tries to befriend Mudwell, his friendly demeanor becomes very rude, which of course hurts Wembley's feelings, and the reason why he became rude? His lifespan is short. This isn't the first episode of the show to talk about death, but this is the first one where a death actually occurred, Mudwell didn't want Wembley to be upset, but in the end, Wembley is still with him. This episode is also very strong because it tied into the HIV/AIDS crisis, which really hit close to Richard Hunt, who lost friends during that time, and eventually lost his own life to the virus in 1992. Even the song in the episode, "Just a Dream Away" is very emotional and full of allegory about the circle of life and death. This episode means a lot to a lot of people, and it would be wrong to exclude it from my list, it ain't high on mine, but I still love what it stands for.

8. "All Work and All Play"

This episode was the first to really dive into the Doozers, one of the three non human species that tie the world of Fraggle Rock together. While Doozers are builders and workers by nature, one Doozer, a young Cotterpin Doozer, would much rather draw and have fun.  After running out from a ceremony where she was supposed to take her helmet, she decides to run away and live like a Fraggle, and she happens to find one of the most active and energetic Fraggles she could, Red Fraggle. Unfortunately, while they try to find common ground, the truth of the fact is that Doozers are not Fraggles, and Cotterpin goes back to her home almost in shame. However, there is a light at the end of this tunnel, I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that it's both a nice ending for Cotterpin and a fascinating bit of Doozer lore. This episode gave us a lot of new information about the Doozer species, we see their home, we learn about their culture, we even learn a bit about their history and their legends. A fascinating episode that gave us a new look at some of our favourite little green men.

7. "The Bells of Fraggle Rock"

This is Fraggle Rock's only main Holiday special and it not only gives us some lore about Fraggle traditions, but it also has a very interesting message about faith. Gobo begins to feel that the Fraggle's holiday, The Festival of the Bells, is just a waste of time, and decides to put meaning back into the holiday by finding the great bell, and Cantus the Minstrel follows him. When Gobo gets to the Heart of Fraggle Rock, he finds that there is no Great Bell, and yes, the real Great Bell was the friends, I mean bells they had all along... Actually I think I'd only be half-kidding if I still used friends.

However, Gobo learns the true meaning of the celebration, and in some way the true meaning of faith, as Cantus tells him that the bell was possibly never there, and it won't be there in the next celebration, but that is not what matters. It's a very interesting take on the subject, and tying it in with the Winter Solstice and Christmas, just makes it stronger. I haven't really talked about the Doc and Sprocket "Home Base" segments but this episode has some of the best, as it's just Doc and Sprocket exploring different holiday traditions from around the world, which just gives it that warm and sentimental feeling during the coldest of times. If you put this episode on, there's a promise that you're going to love it.

6. "Let The Water Run" & "A Friend in Need"

I'm putting these two episodes together because they both have the same strengths, in that they both show how much our main group of friends really care for each other.

Let the Water Run is the earliest episode, and shows just how connected the Fraggles, Gorgs and Silly Creatures are, Doc turns off the water in the workshop, which means the recently drained Fraggle Pond can't be refilled, which means the Gorg water supply is dried up. This is especially bad because Red Fraggle was planning a swimming show. Gobo believes, after reading a postcard from his Uncle, that a special tool can be used to solve the water supply problems, a special tool that can summon water from the sky, an umbrella, Uncle Traveling Matt's segments are quite funny, it's like the prototype of those comics with the aliens explaining human concepts. Anyway, Red, being the stubborn Fraggle she is, tries to get the Umbrella, but just can't do it, and asks Gobo to help her. It's a cute episode that not only shows the theme of interconnectivity, but also shows what the Fraggle Five are willing to do for each other, even if Red is a bit stubborn. Plus, Red kisses Gobo and they are totally my OTP.

A Friend in Need is a bit different, as Sprocket ends up getting stuck in the Fraggle Hole and needs to be unstuck. Gobo tries to get some Greaseberry leaves from the Gorg's garden, but ends up getting caught. Where Let the Water Run shows the friendship between Red and Gobo, this episode shows the friendship between Gobo and Wembley, as Wembley and the others believe that Sprocket ate Gobo, and Wembley is not very happy and full on tries to attack Sprocket. In the end, Gobo is able to get Sprocket unstuck, and we see that Sprocket and Gobo begin to be on friendlier terms with each other.

Overall, both of these episodes show the relationships these characters have to a cute, charming and lovable degree. Check 'em out.

5. "The Thirty-Minute Work Week"

This was the first episode of the show to be produced, but the fifth one to air. It's really fascinating to see just how well they understood what they were doing and nailed the show on it's first production. This episode goes into Fraggle culture, particularly their culture behind working and jobs. Every Fraggle has some task they do on the daily, Gobo is an explorer, Red tends to the water, Mokey gathers radishes, and Boober does laundry. Wembley however, doesn't have a job, and his friends encourage him to find one. This includes showing them their jobs, and even getting tough with him. However, in the end, Wembley chooses a job and his friends are by his side to encourage him. It's amazing when a show's first production can really nail the tone, feel and quality of the rest of the episodes. Some TV shows really should take some notes!

4. "Junior Faces the Music"

We've seen that every other species in Fraggle Rock has their own tradition, Doozers have their helmet ceremonies, Fraggles have the Festival of the Bells, but we haven't really seen a lot of the Gorgs. We've gotten bits of their legends and stories, but not a lot about their traditions. Well, this episode showed us a very special Gorg tradition. Junior Gorg wants to play the Royal Kazoo, but his father is a bit apprehensive of the idea, and that's because if Junior doesn't play it right, he has to be banished to the swamp for a hundred years. However, with the encouragement of a shadowy Cantus, and on the best songs in the entire show, (seriously why isn't "Ball of Fire" on any of the original soundtracks?) Junior will play the Royal Kazoo on the night of the Blue Moon in front of five Fraggle Witnesses. It's a fantastic episode that really does show Junior's eagerness to be king, how much his family does care fore him even if they don't always show it, how interconnected the Gorgs and Fraggles really are, and so much else. It's a great episode, and it has one of the best songs of the show, seriously give us a release of all the music of the show guys! Please!

3. "The Gorg Who Would Be King"

We all have those moments where we thought we really wanted something, but then when the time comes we aren't sure if we're really ready for it. Throughout the series, Junior has been eager about being the next Gorg king, but now the time is coming that he might actually become king. According to Gorg tradition, when the last leaf of the Nirvana tree falls, the new king must take the throne. Junior decides to eat the last leaf on the tree, so that it technically never fell and he wouldn't have to be king. Logic! However, this ends up shrinking the Gorg prince, and he has to see the universe he is next in line to rule from a different perspective. The final season really went all in about the theme of interconnectivity and unity, and this episode is probably the best example. While shrunk down, Junior learns his place in the universe, and where he fits in amongst the Fraggles and Doozers. It's also interesting that they paired Junior Gorg with Wembley, who has had a history with the Gorgs since the first season, and seeing Wembley stand up for someone else is always a treat. He may be indecisive, but he knows it's always right to stand up for his friends. I don't want to spoil the ending, but the final shot with Doc and Sprocket also strengthens the theme of the show. It's a perfect showcase of the show's core themes and a look into more Gorg traditions, it's practically perfect.

2. "The Honk of Honks" & "Change of Address"

Yeah, another tie, but in my defense, these two episodes just go together. These were the two final episodes of the series and they could not have ended this show on a better note.

Honk of Honks is probably the most blunt way of getting the shows themes across. Cantus wants to make the "Song of Songs" but to start it, he needs "The Honk of Honks" and assigns Gobo to find it. However, Gobo is more interested in the new discovery that Doc can't see him. However, Gobo does figure out that to find the Honk of Honks, he needs a honking device from everyone around the rock, the Trash Heap, the Doozers, and the Gorgs, but it still is not enough. After some explanation, Gobo learns that to finish the Honk of Honks, he has to touch the Silly Creature. The entire climax section of the episode is one of the best moments in Fraggle Rock, and I'd argue in any kid's show. Doc learns that his friend, the often heard of but never seen Ned Shimmelfinny, has to move away because of a health concern. This news really gets to him, and to Gobo, who gives Doc a sympathetic pat. This, finally reveals Gobo to Doc, and the entire scene is so well done, it could have made this episode this high on the list on its own.

However, this episode is followed by "Change of Address", the series finale, where Doc and Sprocket have to move because they decided to be with their friend Ned. They ask Gobo to come with them, but he declines, and after going to the Trash Heap for some advice, she wants Gobo to tell them that they cannot leave the magic, but it seems to be too late, Doc and Sprocket have left. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I'll just say, it is the perfect way to wrap up the series. The ending of this episode is topped off with everyone singing the Fraggle Rock theme, and it's one of the more emotional moments of the show. The perfect encapsulation of everything this show was about, all of it's themes, messages and concepts are perfectly shown in the one moment, and it's the end of the series. I think Fraggle Rock really excelled where similar shows have struggled, this was the perfect way to end the show. What could top it?

1. "Marooned"

Yes, the seventeenth episode of the first season is my favourite episode of Fraggle Rock. From the outset, this episode doesn't seem like anything special. The fraggles are planning a surprise party for Boober's birthday, in order to pull this off, Mokey tasks Red with distracting Boober by taking him on a hike. This however, gets them trapped in a cave in, and they must get rescued. Yeah, from the looks of it, this isn't really any special episode, or is it? Every episode prior to this has been a standard kids show affair, granted they've been really good kids show affairs, but even the more tense ones like "The Terrible Tunnel" and "Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk" wouldn't be out of place on other kids shows. "Marooned" is the first episode that really shows what kind of show Fraggle Rock is, it is a show that does not talk down to its audience, it is a show that treats them with respect and it is not afraid to go into some dark and heavy places. Sure, they've hinted at this with some episodes, but nothing will make your heart sink like Red saying that they are running out of air, and asking what it's like to die.

"Marooned" was the episode that could have been a disaster, it could have completely ruined the show, but it was done so well, that it is kind of the perfect episode. The previous entry focused on the episodes that showcased the themes of Fraggle Rock, but this episode perfectly sums up what Fraggle Rock is, it's a show that was not afraid to take itself and its audience seriously. Just thinking about Red and Boober's conversations while waiting to be rescued, thinking about them bonding, keeping their spirits up with a song, even giving up hope. Kids shows have gotten a lot more serious with their audiences and do expect them to take some heavy themes and subject matter, and I think a lot of it can be traced back to Fraggle Rock. Think about it, the turmoil of Steven Universe going through his crisis of identity with the Crystal Gems as they are going through the trauma of war, Dipper and Mabel having to decide whether to trust their Great Uncle and if he really is who he seems to be, Scrooge McDuck admitting he was responsible for the disappearance of Huey, Dewey and Louie's mother, the depth and nuance of Avatar: The Lat Airbender, which shares some similarities with this show, would we have any of these moments if it wasn't for Fraggle Rock? In a weird way, I can argue Marooned as the most important episode of the show.

Marooned is not just my favourite episode because it's well written and offers some depth to two of our favourite characters, it's my favourite episode because it meant something for the show, and for children's show in general.

It really is a shame that Fraggle Rock is not as popular as The Muppets or Sesame Street, but then again, maybe it's becoming as popular. Popularity is not always easy to measure. Fraggle Rock is not as talked about as other Jim Henson projects, nor is the potential influence. I am very much adamant that Fraggle Rock was influential for kids shows going forward, and I would love to see it become more talked about. I'm glad we got the reboot, because it does show that this franchise is not completely obscure, and it has a bigger following than one would think. Still, if this show seems up your alley, or you absolutely love the what kids shows are doing today, give this show a shot, you might find it does more than dance your cares away.

And because I love this show so much, here are a few honourable mentions:

1. Beginnings - A practically perfect premier production. (Alliteration rules)
2. The Lost Treasure of the Fraggles - You heard it hear first, diamonds make good skipping stones.
3. Red-Handed and the Invisible Thief - We all love detective episodes, don't we?
4. The Beanbarrow, The Burden and the Bright Bouqet - Lanford is an adorable plant, ain't he?
5. Sprocket's Big Adventure - Sprocket needed his own time in Fraggle Rock
6. A Tune for Two - We are the children of tomorrow, each one is different and the same.
7. The Riddle of Rhyming Rock - Fun little riddle.

And if you're wondering about The Fraggle Rock Animated Series, don't bother.

Kung Fu Panda (2008): A Fun Start to a Large Franchise

 

I don't think I'm saying anything shocking when I say that animation has the potential to take silly concepts and make them great. Actually, that is a technical truth, it is not that animation allows dumb concepts to work, it is that animation gives more leeway to sillier concepts. Comics and video games have been doing ridiculous stories for years, it is not the medium that makes a stupid concept work, it is, as it always should be, the effort. Kung Fu Panda could not have been made by any other studio than DreamWorks, it's been said by others that DreamWorks movies are the epitome of the saying "Don't Judge a Book by it's cover", but really, the truth of the matter is that DreamWorks has very rarely half-assed a project. Regardless of what you think of Antz, it was a movie made with genuine effort, and The Prince of Egypt is easily one of DreamWorks' masterpieces. It really should not have been surprising that Kung Fu Panda became one of the company's most successful franchises, and with a fourth movie on the way, I think it's time to do another marathon. The Kung Fu Panda movies really should have been scratched off my list ages ago, Pandas are my favourite animal, DreamWorks is one of my favourite animation studios, Jack Black is one of my favourite actors, so it is finally time to cross these movies off my bucket list.

For everything said about it, the silliest thing about Kung Fu Panda's premise really is just the specific concept, as the plot itself is not that dumb. The story follows Po as he is selected to be the Dragon Warrior by Master Oogway, despite the other Kung Fu master, Shifu, and the Furious Five not believing he is more than a fat panda. However, as Shifu's former pupil, Tai Lung, escapes his prison, Shifu and Po must trust each other and themselves to defeat Tai Lung and protect the village. The great thing about this plot is that, we see how each of the characters change and develop. We can see where Shifu begins to see potential in Po and begins to believe that he can be trained. We can see the character journey for Po and Shifu, and that is what makes the plot work. If Shifu just kept training Po without finding the way to train him, the plot would not be as strong. I believe the over all theme of the movie, beyond the whole thing about books and covers, is about overcoming obstacles, specifically the obstacles of self-doubt and pride. When Shifu learns to teach Po on his level, he can let go of his pride, and when Po is treated as a pupil, and equal, he can overcome his self-doubt.

It also helps that the characters are wonderful. Po is very excitable, wants to make others happy, and is not afraid to let himself feel emotions, he is open about the fact that he eats when he is upset. Honestly, the way Po is interested in Kung Fu kind of makes me think... well, I have something planned for April. It helps a lot that he is balanced out by multiple different characters, each with a pretty distinct personality. Viper is tough but has a softer and more caring side, Mantis probably has the most sympathy to Po, and Tigress and Shifu are both taken hold of their past and their pride, which makes them great foils for Po, and of course makes their turn around all the more satisfying, and earned. Tigress feels very much like she could have become another Tai Lung, who some may argue is a boring villain, and while he definitely is no Ratigan or Ramses, I think he fit with the story they were telling. Tai Lung is a victim of his pride, he could not let go of it and that is why he was not chosen as the Dragon Warrior. It does hurt a little that he is voiced by Ian McShane, and his voice does not entirely match the design or character. The rest of the cast is pretty solid though, Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu sounds perfect, and David Cross and Lucy Liu are pretty much flawless as Crane and Viper respectively. It is always pleasant to hear James Hong and Michael Clarke Duncan, and of course, we have to talk about Jack Black. Honestly, it's kind of a shame that Jack Black only won a Kids' Choice Award for his performance as Po, because I can't think of a more perfect voice role for Jack Black, and that includes Bowser. I don't think anyone could have perfectly captured that excitability and the drama of the character like Jack Black.

Though most of the character is not just in the writing and performance, but also in the animation. The character animation is fantastic, you can infer what each character is thinking by their facial expression, their body language, their eyes, I love it when animated movies do this, it does not just spell out what each character is thinking, it lets you read the characters a lot. Beyond this, the rest of the movie is straight up gorgeous, the colours are all just right, the right tinting of blue, the right shade of yellow, the right brightness of pink, there are many shots in this movie that I feel you could just show someone a still image of and it would blow their minds. Plus, for a late 2000s movie, the textures are really good. Oogway looks properly tortoise like, and Po and Shifu look genuinely furry, like Sulley from Monsters Inc. If I did have one nitpick, I think maybe some of the darker scenes might have been a bit too visually dark, but that's more of a nitpick than anything. It also did not distract from the action scenes, Tai Lung escaping the prison, and fighting the Furious Five on the bridge are easily two of the best fight scenes in animation history, and the final fight with Po was equal parts goofy and awesome.

Overall, I do see why Kung Fu Panda became one of DreamWorks' bigger franchises, and while I can't say this movie is completely perfect, it is pretty close. This movie really is the perfect balance between goofy, emotional and exciting, and it is not surprising to me that it is one of the most loved movies in DreamWorks' filmography. Honestly, most of the DreamWorks movies I have reviewed so far have pretty much been my platinum standard for what any kids movie should be, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Prince of Egypt, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, I'll even throw Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit in that pile. These movies are respectful of their audience, and do not think that "It's for kids" is an excuse. They are not afraid to be more than expected of them, and that is the kind of movie that DreamWorks really excelled at. The team behind this gave us an excellent movie and if there was any movie that earned a "High Recommendation" from me, it is this one. Another gold star for DreamWorks.