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.
No comments:
Post a Comment