Of all of the animation studios in America, none have had a more heated rivalry than Pixar and DreamWorks. DreamWorks usually releases more films per year than Pixar, while Pixar usually gets the Oscar awards. The rivalry continues with the summer releases of DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda 2” and the upcoming Pixar film “Cars 2.”
“Kung Fu Panda 2” surpasses its predecessor both visually and in terms of laughs. It also contains a more involved, darker story that deals with the themes of abandonment, inner peace and revenge.
DreamWorks Animation fans will probably recognize that “Kung Fu Panda 2” follows a similar story pattern as past DreamWorks films. Similar to “Shrek” (2001) and “Madagascar” (2005), the first story features characters trying to achieve a dream, while the sequel follows a story that explains a character’s origins, like Princess Fiona’s in “Shrek 2” (2004) or Alex’s in “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” (2008).
The story to the sequel is an extension from the original that explains Po’s (Jack Black) origins and how his father, Mr. Ping (James Hong), could possibly be a noodle-cooking goose. When a pack of wolf bandits invades the village and steals its metal, Po suddenly experiences a flashback of his mother and goes to his father with questions. However, his father could only tell him that he found Po in a radish basket and adopted him as his own.
Afterward, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) receives word that a kung fu master in Gongmen City has been killed by Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), an albino peacock who has developed a gun-powered canon that renders kung fu outdated. Po sets out for Gongmen City, along with the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross). Before he can vanquish Shen, Po must first find “inner peace” with what happened to his birth parents.
The animation for “Kung Fu Panda 2” is breathtakingly complex, combining Chinese art and architecture with a colorful palette of dazzling scenery. Storyboard artist-turned-director Jennifer Yuh Nelson seems fond of employing the style of shadow puppet animation from the original’s opening sequence. This style of animation is mostly used for the scenes that took place in the past, with the most visually compelling being Lord Shen’s story of origin.
In addition to the returning cast, the film includes a couple of guest star voices including Jean-Claude Van Damme as Master Croc. Gary Oldman — known portrayer of sinister and ethically ambiguous characters — voices a very compelling villain. His ominous voice work, along with the character design, excellently complements the character of Lord Shen, a cold-blooded killer with a graceful and menacing fighting style.
Most of the humor, which consists of slapstick and silliness, is attributed to Po, thanks to Jack Black’s excellent voice acting. Black manages to insert much more personality into the character of Po than any of his live-action roles. However, there is less Jack Black in this installment than in the original, which proves to be a positive. The quotes of “awesomeness” and the fat jokes still exist in the sequel but are restrained to allow a larger, more humorous story.
What keeps “Kung Fu Panda 2” from real “awesomeness” is the lack of balance between the huge cast and screen time of each character. Out of the Furious Five, the writers gave only Tigress additional screen time due to a subplot within the film that revolves around her warm friendship with Po. The rest of the Five serve mostly for comic relief and are reduced to mere backup performers in the action sequences.
For a summer sequel, “Kung Fu Panda 2” is a rare, “bear”able sequel that delivers both the yin and the yang. Plus, the ending leaves the possibility that another sequel will be made in the future.