Kung Fu Panda came out in the US yesterday. It was done by Dreamworks which is the studio that brought us movies like Antz, Shrek, Madagascar, Shark Tale, Over the Hedge, and Bee Movie. I'm not a huge fan of the storytelling that comes out of Dreamworks, but I have to say that Kung Fu Panda was definitely a treat that I did not expect from a studio who in the past made way too many pop-culture references and marketing tactics for my liking.
I was pleasantly entertained for the entire 90 minutes, and it even left me wanting more. The action was nicely balanced with well placed thoughtful moments, and the character's personalities as well as animation style was contrasted throughout as well. In other words, the slow turtle moved as a slow turtle should move, and a small mantis moved as one would think a small mantis should. If you've seen Horton Hears a Who, as great as that animation was, all of the characters moved the same... everything stretched and smeared and pushed and pulled, not leaving any room for subtlty and contrast in the animation. The subtlty in the animation for Kung Fu Panda is brilliant! And if you aren't an animation enthusiast, you could still appreciate it for it's solid storyline and entertainment value.
On another positive note, James Baxter Animation did all of the 2D animation during the beginning and the end of the movie. James Baxter is a veteran and a highly-regarded and respected animator in the animation indutry. Play close attention to the amount of detail and art that has been put into that animation. It is exceptionally done and the recognition is very well deserved.
I definitely recommend seeing this beauty in theaters if you have a chance. Hopefully there will be more stories told in this fashion from Dreamworks in the future.
8.5 stars in my book!
- Dan