Kung Fu Panda

Name: Kung Fu Panda

Genre: Animation/Action/Adventure/Comedy

Cast: Voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, John Stevenson & Mark Osborne (Director)  

Synopsis: Po (Jack Black) was having a dream where he seen legendary warrior with unmatched Kung Fu skills are being greeted by the legendary kung fu warriors, The Furious Five bow down to that legendary warrior and requesting him to fight with them and at that time suddenly Po wakes up from dream. In the valley of peace in ancient china Po is a Kung Fu lover panda who idealizes the furious five including Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane trained by their master Shifu. Po tells to his dad Ping a goose that he had a dream and being forced to ask about the dream he tells he dreams about noodles. Oogway, an old tortoise had a dream that Tai Lung,(Ian McShane) an evil snow leopard and also old student of Shifu will escape from prison and come to Valley of peace again to have his revenge as he was denied to take the dragon scroll, the source of limitless power. Hearing this, Shifu send one of his goose messengers to check the security of Tai Lung so that he can’t escape.

Master Shifu ordered furious five that there will be a Kung Fu tournament and from there Master Oogway will choose the dragon warrior who will have the dragon scroll and in turn Tail Lung can be defeated. Everyone in the village gets this news and was very excited to watch the tournament which includes Po as well. But when Po reaches the arena the door were closed. In desperation after doing every attempt to watch the tournament, he sat on a chair with full of attached fireworks and rockets. Suddenly he moves in the sky but very soon falls down in middle of the arena but he woke up, he saw Master Oogway was pointing finger towards him and telling everyone present there that he is the dragon warrior.

Furious Five and Master Shifu were angry that it was just an accident and couldn’t believe that he is dragon warrior. Shifu tried every trick in his book to make Po quit of being himself considered as dragon warrior and should go back home but Po remained there as he was so fanatic about Kung Fu. Even most of the furious five wasn’t impressed from him and wanted him to immediately move out of Jade palace where they all lived. There once together he came know about the real story of Tai Lung from Tigress (Angelina Jolie). Meanwhile on other side, after seeing all the security preparations of Tai Lung, Zeng, the goose messenger of Shifu was getting out of the prison at that moment one of his feathers was dropped near to Tai Lung. He used that and as he himself is a master because he was treated by Shifu himself used that feather starts fighting with the guards himself. After a hell of fight he breaks from the prison and tells Zeng that he should go back to Shifu and tell him that he coming back to have his dragon scroll back.

Zeng gives this bad news to Master Oogway and asks him to guide to stop evil Tai Lung so that Village and the people can be protected. Oogway asks Shifu to give him promise that he must believe in Po and nurture him to bring the best out of him and then he ascends into the sky. Shifu went to Po and the furious five and gave them both the news of Tai Lung is free and Oogway is gone. He further asks Po that he will teach him but Po refuses saying that he will never able to defeated Tai Lung. On initial disagreement between the two, Shifu starts teaching Po Kung Fu and in a little while the progress showed by Po, Shifu can’t believe himself. Po starts believing in himself as a Kung Fu master. The furious five decides to take on Tai Lung by themselves. They have tough fight with Tai Lung but in the end Tai Lung defeated them all and strikes them with nerve attack. Crane brings all of them and seeing all of them defeated Shifu decided to give dragon scroll to Po. On the day of giving dragon scroll to Po, he opens the scroll but nothing happens and being disappointed and no other way to save the valley, Shifu ordered Po and the furious five to take the people out of the valley as far as possible and he himself will face Tai Lung.

When Po and the furious five were starting to take villagers out of the valley, Po meets his goose dad. Po was little upset that things doesn’t go right but his dad tell him that it’s Ok if things doesn’t go right. He tells him that he is gonna tell him his secret of his secret ingredient soup and which is nothing. You just had to believe that it is special. Realizing this he went back to master Shifu. Shifu on other side had started fighting with Tai Lung. Tai Lung being in rage and aggressive was overpowering Shifu at every front. When he was about to Shifu, Po came there and challenged Tai Lung to take the scroll from him and he is the dragon warrior. Tai Lung was now more angry starts fighting with Po with full force. But Po’s unconventional and effective kung fu techniques were too much for Tai Lung. Tai Lung when once defeated was about to open scroll but nothing happened at that time too. Po at that time asked Tai Lung that he didn’t get that in first time either and that there is no secret ingredient and it’s just you. Tai Lung starts attacking again but Po finally over powers him. Seeing this, all the villagers including furious five bows down to Po and call him as master. Po remembers of Shifu and went back to him and Shifu asks him that finally now he can have peace.

Review: One of the classic animation movies with full of action and adventure. The Kung Fu sequences used in the movie from start to finish was great. Story of the movie was decent but the focus given on the rest of characters excluding Po was a little disappointing. Comedy scenes in the movie were quite good which brings some laughable part. Music given by Hans Zimmer and John was good too. Although at some areas movie seems to be a little stretched but as a whole movie is a great to watch full of action and adventure and specially the introduction of new style of Kung Fu “ The Panda Style” this was great.

Stars given: 3 out of 5