Seven Castles

Kung Fu Panda

                                      

June 25, 2008

 

Kung Fu Panda is a CG-animated comedy about a bungling panda that aspires to be a kung fu warrior. Although the concept of a kung fu panda has been around since at least 1993, Michael Lachance, a DreamWorks Animation executive, conceived the idea for the film. Work on the film did not begin until 2004 and the film premièred at the 61st Cannes Film Festival in May 2008. The film was released internationally on June 6, 2008.

 

Po is a chubby panda that works in a noodle restaurant owned by his goose father Mr. Ping. He is a kung fu fanatic with secret dreams of becoming a great master in the discipline, however this ambition seems to be impossible due to his weight and clumsiness. Mr. Ping hopes that Po will one day take over the restaurant.

 

The tortoise Master Oogway has a premonition that the evil snow leopard warrior Tai Lung, the former student of his own protégé Master Shifu, will escape from prison and return to threaten the Valley of Peace. While Shifu sends Zeng, a messenger goose, to Chorh-Gom Prison to have the security increased, Oogway orders a formal ceremony to choose the mighty Dragon Warrior who can defeat Tai Lung. Everyone assumes that one of the Furious Five - Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane - a quintet of supremely skilled martial artists trained by Shifu, will be chosen for this honor.

 

While the Five demonstrate their skills at the ceremony, Po finds himself locked outside the walled palace square. As a last-ditch attempt to get in, he makes a chair out of fireworks, which sends him flying into the center of the arena. Inspired by this sudden appearance, the old master designates Po the Dragon Warrior to everyone's shock. Despite Po's protests and Shifu's pleas to reconsider, Oogway stands by his decision.

 

Unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy, Po's dreams become reality when he joins the world of kung fu and studies alongside his idols, the legendary Furious Five under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu. Revolted at having Po under his tutelage, Shifu attempts to make him quit by berating and humiliating him. The Five similarly dismiss Po as a worthless interloper. Although he becomes aware of Shifu's true intentions and is deeply hurt by his heroes' disdain for him, Po endures their abuse willingly for the dream to become something more than the failure he thinks he is. Master Oogway, still certain that Po is the right choice, gives him sage advice to believe in himself. Eventually, Po endears himself to the Five (except for the disdainful Tigress) with his tenacity, good cooking, and sense of humor.

 

Meanwhile, Zeng's errand backfires when a tour of the prison given to him by the overly confident head of security, Commander Vachir inadvertently enables Tai Lung to escape. Tai Lung orders Zeng to send word of his arrival. In the Valley of Peace, Oogway passes away, with his final wish that Shifu train Po. However, upon learning of Tai Lung's return, and realizing that he has to face Tai Lung, Po attempts to flee. Shifu stops the panda and promises to train him if he is truly destined to be the Dragon Warrior. When Po confesses his deep self-loathing due to his obesity and the fact that he will never be a match for Tai Lung, Shifu is at a loss for a solution. Overhearing the argument between Po and Shifu, the Five take it upon themselves to intercept Tai Lung. After a long night of pondering, Shifu discovers the following morning that Po is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food. Realizing that he has found the right focus for the panda, Shifu leads Po to the countryside for an intensive training regime in which Po is offered food as a reward for learning his lessons properly.

 

The Five battle Tai Lung but are eventually paralyzed with a specialized nerve-striking technique. When they return defeated, Shifu decides Po is ready to face the villain and gives him the sacred Dragon Scroll, which promises great power to the possessor. When Po opens it, he finds nothing but a blank reflective surface. Stricken with despair at the scroll's apparent worthlessness, Shifu orders his students to lead the villagers to safety while he stays to delay Tai Lung from pursuing them for as long as he can.

 

As Po participates in the evacuation, he meets his father, who tries to cheer him up by telling him the secret ingredient of the family's noodle soup: nothing. Things become special, he explains, because people believe them to be special. Realizing that this truth is the very point of the Dragon Scroll, Po rushes off to help Shifu. At this time, Tai Lung attacks Shifu and berates him for not granting him the title of Dragon Warrior just because Master Oogway did not choose him. To remedy that, the leopard wants the Dragon Scroll for himself to complete his training. While fighting, he expresses that he gave in to his aggression and anger so he could make Shifu proud of him. For his part, Shifu is crippled by his profound feelings of guilt and responsibility for his former protégé, whom he loved like a son, turning to darkness.

 

Tai Lung angrily discovers the Scroll is gone, and before he can kill his former mentor, Po arrives to challenge him. Although Tai Lung scoffs at Po's abilities, the ensuing fight proves Po to be a formidable opponent. Despite Po's skill, Tai Lung temporarily stuns him and gains the Dragon Scroll, but is unable to understand its symbolism. Po tries to explain the wisdom of the scroll to Tai Lung, but the frustrated Tai Lung tries to subdue Po with his nerve strikes. The attack proves useless on the panda, as his nerves are difficult to find due to his body fat. Emboldened, Po counter-attacks with an improvised combat style that takes advantage of his girth to absorb and deflect the force from Tai Lung's attacks back at him. In the end, Po uses the Wuxi Finger Hold on Tai Lung (which he claims to have "figured out" on his own), and destroys him with a devastating explosion that ripples through the valley. Po puts his heart - and his girth - into the task, and the unlikely hero ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strengths.

 

The Five return to the valley to investigate the cause of the explosion and find a slightly dazed but triumphant Po. Impressed at Po's victory, Tigress leads the Five to acknowledge the panda as a kung fu master. The villagers, including Po's father, follow suit and hail Po as a hero. Po remembers that his teacher is wounded, and rushes back to Shifu, who is now finally at peace. At first, he appears to be dead, but it turns out that he is only resting after such a trying battle.

 

A post-credits scene shows that the peach seed that Shifu planted before Oogway's passing has sprouted into a new plant.

 

The story is simple but the execution is superb. The film settles into a succession of ritual spoofs of the kung fu genre, and peddles the sort of cloying preachments about self-esteem and human potential - panda potential - that little kids hear all the time on TV. While its storyline might seem familiar, there is enough invention and irreverence to make the film feel fresh.

 

This is a cute animated comedy that also inspires lessons in life. The unlikely hero enters the rigid world of kung fu and turns it upside down. The audience can relate to people who have dreams of doing the impossible, just as Po who ultimately learns that if he believes in himself, he can do anything. Po is a lovable creature and everyone can relate to a person who dreams of the impossible. Some people even thought that Po is the cartoon version of Xu Sanduo, the hero in the TV series Soldiers Sortie.

 

The movie would be really difficult to find something to improve on the production. It stars the voices of Jack Black, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross and Ian McShane, and these voice-overs are really good. The animation is very rich and the colors are crisp and bright. The action sequences are breathtaking and exceeded my expectation. The kung fu scenes overflow with crisp, thrilling and funny moments that whiz by in the 88-minute run time. Tai Lung's escape was awesome. When he escapes you are really into the story. This particular scene is pretty spectacular. It takes place in a dark cave and the way he jumps around really gives you the impression that he is an enemy to be reckoned with. The story is good enough to keep kids focused glued to the screen. The animation is wonderful and music tasteful. The visuals are spectacular, there are plenty of good gags both verbal and physical, and the training montage is the best. The movie does not start with a bang. The laughs are mixed in at the appropriate moments and the first laughs are results from the slapstick humor. It is a good kung fu movie as well as a good comedy. This film is for the whole family, because adults will enjoy the movie just as much as their children. It is great to step away from your keyboards, and go to the cinema and watch this movie.

 

It has received very positive reviews from critics. However, Zhao Bandi, a well-known Chinese artist and fashion designer who specializes in panda-related designs, launched an online petition suggesting whether the film should be boycotted. Of the reasons he claimed in his petition includes that Hollywood is seeking to profit from Chinese culture especially right after the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake and protested against the fact that the film was produced by DreamWorks, owned by Steven Spielberg, who withdrew from his role as an adviser to the 2008 Summer Olympics over concerns about China's role in Sudan. He also admitted that he has not seen the film prior to the petition. However, while postings on his website both praised and criticized the film, many others said there was no reason to boycott it, and some questioned whether this is just a publicity stunt by the artist.

 

An Xbox 360 game based on the movie will give you lots of fun. It takes you on an action-packed adventure through the movie and beyond. It is exciting to battle against Tai Lung and his minions, navigate awesome environments, and overcome dangerous obstacles on your quest to become the legendary Dragon Warrior. You try to defeat formidable bosses like Tai Lung and enemies like the Great Gorilla as you adventure across treacherous terrain to fulfill your destiny as the Dragon Warrior. You perfect your kung fu skills as you play Po, Shifu, and the Furious Five, each with specialized fighting styles. You travel through thirteen legendary levels including epic movie locations like the opulent Jade Palace, the challenging Training Dojo, and the majestic Wudang Mountains plus never-before-seen places including the mystical Lake of Tears and the unforgiving Training Ground of Tai Lung. You can also play with your friends to defeat hordes of enemies or challenge them to head-to-head combat in multiple battle arenas. You may play your favorite characters from story mode like Po and Tigress, and even some of the enemies including the diabolical Tai Lung, the ferocious Ox, and the worst ninja cats around, the Wu Sisters.

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2008年06月25日 星期三 05:16】【注册】【打印】