Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

Kung Fu Panda 2 capitalizes on the same techniques that made its predecessor successful: a goofy lead character struggling desperately to fit in; comical character designs and playful animation; and an all-star cast of voice actors with such recognizable articulation that they breach the visual barrier of their 3D alter egos. Although the first film defined the characters, their relationships, destinies and the setting of ancient Asia, this second outing has the opportunity to utilize each role purely for action, adventure, comic relief and even a bit of pathos. Just when the sappiness ramps up to the point of unbearable, the script has enough sense to thwart eye-rolls (or tears if the manipulation worked) with sharply contrasting humor.

Po (Jack Black) the overweight panda has been proclaimed the almighty "Dragon Warrior," and oversees the safety of China with his band of capable sidekicks, the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Crane (David Cross) and Viper (Lucy Liu). As he speaks with his patient master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) about finding inner peace, a gang of wolf bandits pillages a nearby city in search of metal objects, forcing Po to depart for a hasty rescue. As he will soon discover, the banished peacock Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) has forged fire-breathing, metal-spitting cannons to wipe out all who stand in his path to world domination.

It's debatable whether or not the story has grown more entertaining, especially considering the plot is little more than a generic kung fu tale of good vs. evil, like the kind found in just about every live-action martial arts film in the last several decades. While the main conflict is a relentless overlord with an obedient army and destructive weaponry, the underlying discordance is Po's hazy recollection of the past and the desire to know who he is, how he ended up the son of a goose, and what happened to his real parents. Is Po in need of confidence or the drive of revenge? Are his actions provoked by inner peace, as the movie insists on preaching, or by the powerful force that is adrenaline-pumping payback?

Perhaps he's simply trying to succeed at being "hardcore" so that he can measure up to his companions. And if that's the case, it's a shame that so much of his time is spent annoyingly foiling reconnaissance, ambush and rescue missions with his numbing defiance and cack-handed clumsiness. It's funny at times to see how pathetic he is compared to his generally no-nonsense warrior counterparts, but equal parts infuriating that he doesn't have to learn the hard way that there are consequences for his reckless actions. This leads to the invincibility exhibited by all parties, which reduces the urgency and seriousness of every predicament. Po is immune to injuries and haphazardly shields himself from harm with an accidental frying pan, a lucky misstep, or a loose floor plank that swings up (like stepping on a rake) to block an onslaught of throwing knives. Crane similarly avoids danger with spastic flight, and Tigress has no excuses at all - she suffers only singed whiskers after taking a cannonball to the face. Gravity and physics also seem to utterly evade the heroes, playing no part in their unlikely escapes - although it does make the creatively complex chase sequences more intense and spontaneous.

- The Massie Twins ( GoneWithTheTwins.com )

Kung Fu Panda Birthday Party Ideas

One of the most popular movies of 2008 is Kung Fu Panda. This movie, which teaches that everyone can make a difference in their own way, is well-reviewed and well-loved by nearly everyone. Therefore, don't be surprised if your child wants a Kung Fu Panda themed birthday party. Thankfully, it is not that hard to provide for them when you use some imagination and craft supplies.

Pick a Character

One thing everybody is going to have to do is pick their favorite character. You may have a lot of pandas but that is okay. You can simply work with it. Once everyone has picked their favorite character, give the kids paper plates with eye holes cut out of them. Then, using party supplies and craft items, the kids can create their character on the paper plates and then wear them, turning them into the characters they love from the movie.

The Belts

Every Kung Fu master has a belt, so by using some simple paper or even a bit of fabric, you can make belts for everyone. These aren't going to be your normal belts though, they are all white (or some other color) and the kids can decorate them how they see fit. Let them put their personality into their belts and you will see some great works of art unfold.

Capture the Moment

Once you have created the masks and the belts, it is time for everyone to strike their best pose for the camera. Get a picture of it, put the name of the character they are (even a made up name) in the computer and print it off for them. This will give them a great picture to remember the fun birthday party with.

Kung Fu Panda is poised to become the biggest movie of the year and something everyone wants to see. So, you should be ready when your child asks for a Kung Fu Panda themed birthday party. If you use a few supplies and these party ideas, you can create a great Kung Fu Panda birthday party!

For even more great Birthday Party Ideas and Party Supplies, visit Birthday Supply Depot.

Kung Fu Panda - Family Movie Review

Movie Mama Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Ian McShane, Lucy Liu, Angelina Jolie, David Cross, Seth Rogen

Directed By: John Wayne Stevenson, Mark Randolph Osborne

Running Time: 1 hr. 35 min.

MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of martial arts action.

Genre: Children's, Animation

Po the panda (Jack Black) is just a regular guy working in his father's noodle shop, although his passion for Kung Fu seems to always get in the way. His father desperately wants to pass the noodle shop down to Po, but fate takes a different turn. While at a ceremony at the Jade Palace, Po is surprisingly named the legendary Dragon Warrior, and finds himself studying Kung Fu alongside his idols: Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), and Tigress (Angelina Jolie). Po tries his best to become a Kung Fu master under the tutelage of Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). But when their enemy, Tai Lung (Ian McShane), escapes from prison, and Master Shifu declares that only the Dragon Warrior can defeat him, Po must believe in himself and search for the hero within.

Po's overly enthusiastic outlook on life is refreshing and entertaining to watch. Jack Black's take on the character is fluid and genuine, and you find you just can't get enough of this optimistic panda. The voices and animation are what really make this film sparkle, yet the plot leaves much to be desired. There are several truly engaging parts, but the entertainment is interrupted by an equal amount of boredom. I found myself looking around the theater, yawning, etc. The audience was comprised of kids no younger than five, which I think was appropriate. Any child below the age of five might have trouble sitting through the slow scenes. But it all depends on the child. Parents looking for the comedy stylings of Jack Black might be disappointed--almost all the funny parts are stuffed into the trailers. The animation could rival Pixar films, but the story doesn't even come close.

PROS

Po struggles with being overweight, but he handles mean comments with dignity, and doesn't let anything get him down. He's overly optimistic, never wanting to give up on dreams or people. He studies Kung Fu with a passion and gives it his all. Even when he fails miserably, he gets back up and tries again.

Po, like a lot of people, overeats when he gets stressed out. But when he finds something positive to fill his life with, he finds that he no longer has time to obsess about food. This is a great lesson for parents--if you have an overweight child, it might be time to get him/her involved in something physical that they can truly get excited and passionate about.

Kids will be thrilled with the fighting and action scenes. I can picture little boys everywhere playfully trying out their Kung Fu Panda skills at home.

CONS

The film is one of the cleanest of the year, however there are a few things I'll mention:

There is a brief gag where Po places two bowls on his chest as though they are either breasts or a bra. Po exclaims, "My tenders!" when referring to groin pain. He uses the word "suck" several times, as well as exclaiming that he's going to pee when Tai Lung is "tickling" him.

Throughout the entire film we are reminded that we must believe in ourselves in order to succeed. But I felt there was a casual underlying theme suggesting that as long as we simply believe, then everything will turn out okay in the end. This isn't the greatest lesson to teach our children, who should know that life doesn't always work out the way we've planned.

OVERALL

It's a good clean film, however there's nothing new to get excited about. If you're looking for a film to take the kids to, I suggest waiting until the end of the month for Pixar's WALL-E. Save Kung Fu Panda for a DVD rental.

Megan is the staff family movie reviewer for pluggedinparents.com. For more parenting articles on health and safety, nutrition, baby, money and tech, family life, pets, and movie reviews, visit pluggedinparents.com today!

The Kung Fu in "Kung Fu Panda"

In "Kung Fu Panda", the Panda Po seems to possess the humor which Jackie Chan obtains, and there is a scene that he has learned some skills from Shi Fu, his Kung Fu moves in that part are similar to the moves Jackie Chan performed in his movie "Eagle's Shadow". From there, we can see that the directors have prepared a lot in the forms and actions of Kung Fu, and they must have studied a lot of chinese stars' moves and actions for their reference.

Through Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and other chinese stars, the world know Chinese Kung Fu, however, many individual only know these stars and their impressive moves on the screen.

But, from this movie we can see that foreigners' understanding to this special chinese culture and tradition is deeper than before. Besides the actions from Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and other stars, the film designed characters of different types, such as the five masters: monkey, viper, crane, tigress, mantis are the names of Chinese Kung Fu forms. From this point of view, we can see that the foreigners' understanding have changed from stars into different forms of moves which shows that they know it deeper than before.

Compared with Chinese martial art ethics, the foreign grapple skills pay much attention on the skills rather than self moral cultivation. Take the combat-skill for example.

What is Combat-skill? It is the skill that one can to attack, to defense and to dodge with the other man. Combat-skill is an ancient combat technique. We call it skills because its purpose is contradicted to other sports. Although combat skills can help us in body building and resist assailants, however, the purpose of combat skills is to strike others to death swiftly, deadly and efficiently. It may sound scared, however, this is the substance of combat skill.

The power can be the most important factor of combat skill. So we can see the foreign grapple skills focus on the masterful skills, while the Chinese Kung Fu majors in self moral cultivation. That's the most distinctive feature between these two different froms of moves.

The author is the owner of an ugg outlet online where selling genuine ugg boots [http://www.ofuggs.com], now they are all at the lowest prices now, please click in and find the perfect pair for yourself.

Have You Ever Seen the Film "Kung Fu Panda"?

In the summer of 2008, a lovely panda with round body enjoys great fame among the world. Its name is Po, who at first is a lazy guy; however, he becomes the dragon warrior by chance. Finally, he defeats the enemy Tai Lang, and protects all the citizens in Peace Valley.

"Kung Fu Panda", which is directed by two famous directors, John Stephenson and Mark Osborne, what's more, there are some famous stars, such as Jack Black, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, and Angelina Jolie who provide their voices for the characters in this film.

The first weekend after this movie is released to the public in North America; it has already won 60 million dollars box-office result. In China, by June 26th, the box office had gained 63 million RMB. Undoubtedly, Panda Po becomes the super star among all the theatres in June. When it wins the box office, it has got highly spoken of by the public.

The American famous media, such as, "Entertainment Weekly", "Hollywood Reporter" and so on, all of these media give "A" grade to "Kung Fu Panda". Their comment on Po like this: "Po is a perfect hero, he, with round body, and is loved by all the people, what's more, it is not as ugly as Shrek, and he is a lovely guy with healthy teeth." "Washington Post": "Although we try our best to reject the charm of "Kung Fu Panda", this CG (Computer Graphics) film which made by DreamWorks Animation is full of power and inspiration." "Los Angeles Daily News": "This movie is the best film after "Shrek" in the history of Dream Works Animation." "Associated Press": "It makes the audience feel boring, although the cost of summer's blockbusters becomes more than before. Well, 'Kung Fu Panda' is an exception." "Hollywood Reporter": "Although 'Kung Fu Panda' is primarily oriented toward children, the humor it shows to us is fit for all ages."

In China, after the theater's let out, the Chinese audiences give their high comment on "Kung Fu Panda". From the children to the adults, they all give their lavish compliments to this blockbuster.

It is another amazing in film history, well, have you ever seen the film "Kung Fu Panda"?

This UGG outlet sells all kinds of UGG shoes [http://www.canadaugg.ca] in cheap, now the latest UGG designs are on sale now, please click in to buy with confidence.

Kung Fu Panda Movies and Sequels Latest

.


The latest on 
KUNGFU PANDA MOVIES 
can be found HERE!





.

Kung Fu Panda World: Great Game for Kids

DreamWorks  Animation has big big plans to bring a new kids-centric MMO to the online scene in the form of Kung Fu Panda World.

Briefly, play games, chat with friends, trade goods, master Kung Fu styles and explore.

Screens:

* FOR KIDS

o Features the world kids know – including favorite movie locations and all-new areas to explore – and the characters they love, including Master Shifu, The Furious Five and Po.

o Offers a wide variety of goal-oriented activities and engaging games.

o Designed with kids in mind – feedback and active participation shape the ever-evolving world.

o Find friends instantly with an intuitive mapping system that makes it easy to play, chat and explore.

* ACCESSIBILITY

o A browser-based world, kids can play instantly on their computer with nothing to download or install.

o A great value with subscription and sponsored game play options, providing a wide range of ways for everybody to enjoy a member-quality experience.

* CUSTOMIZATION

o Choose from an endless variety of options to create a unique experience every time.

o At launch, there will be three kung fu styles (Tiger, Monkey and Panda), each offering a different game play experience. More and more styles will be introduced over time, based on kids’ feedback.

o At launch, kids can choose from over 18 million combinations for their Kung Fu characters.

o A unique path for each player – their actions dictate their adventure.

* GAMES & ACTIVITIES

o Dozens of Chi-Games – arcade-style games that increase in sophistication and difficulty as kids play.

o Everything kids do in the world earns points to achieve higher sash levels, to unlock exclusive Chi-Games, specialty items and all-new areas.

o Treasure hunts, exploration, chats, and many other fun-filled activities.

* TESTED & TRUSTED BY PARENTS

o Parents trust the DreamWorks Animation brand for kid appropriate entertainment.

o Offers the most stringent safety features , with 5 pillars of online safety:

1. No personal information solicited or shared

2. Chat filtering and monitoring

3. Behavior filtering and monitoring

4. Local customer service team – U.S. based staff offering 24/7 coverage

5. The Parent Panel – Offering a unique and easy-to-use set of controls that allow parents to oversee and manage their child’s account by enabling or disabling features in KFPW. Accessible to parents through an individual password, it allows parents to view their child’s progress in the world and play an interactive role in a child’s online experience.



Source: NEW YORK POST

PS. Here's the website of the game: http://kungfupandaworld.com/
But you can't access it if your from the Philippines and some other regions.