Kung Fu Panda Review - A Surprise From Dreamworks

It was a slow morning and a moderate afternoon. I noticed that Kung Fu Panda was going to start once my shift ended. And the best part was that I could sneak in without it affecting the patron count because we only sold 31 tickets by that point in the day for that particular show. So, after I ran down the projection booth stair well and past the students from a local dojo who were there with their teachers to demo the martial arts, I took my seat just as the reel started.

Going into the movie, I will admit that my expectations were rather low. Dreamworks has only impressed me on a technical level. The first two Shrek movies were the only ones that I've seen that I appreciated the smart writing and even cared about the characters. Madagascar left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, and the only thing that impressed me from their recent movie (Horton Hears a Who) was their use of the 2D animation technique known as "Stretch and Squash." The only interest in the film was in the fact they are using animals to represent some of the major styles of Kung Fu, such as a crane for Crane Style and a mantis bug for Mantis Style. What few still images I saw from promotion also caught my attention as there was a careful attention to the use of colors as symbols, obviously lifted from Disney's Mulan.

Like the title says, I was very surprised by what Dreamworks did with this film.

From the start of the film, the art direction is very high in both style and execution. The colors were consciously chosen to evoke and amplify the mood of the scene in ways I haven't seen Dreamworks use before. Dramatic scenes were very well punctuated with deep reds and glowing yellows. Relaxing and philosophical scenes were blanketed with blues the likes of which are, dare I say, zen like in their range of shade. Comedic scenes were bright and colorful. Serious scenes were muted and realistically shaded.

But what really got my attention and was a complete surprise to me was the use of 2D animation. While clearly done in the computer, the opening scene looked like something out of the Samurai Jack cartoon series. Quick action, fluid line, little to no outlines around the characters, and an epic scope in how every-little-thing was drawn. The closing credits is nothing but a giant panoramic featuring watercolor-like vignettes of the characters drawn in the same style. This is similar in tactic to what was done in Enchanted, only not advertised. As an animation geek and fan, I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised.

The film itself is very well written. There is a lot of mirroring and foreshadowing, as events tend to double back on themselves over the course of the film. While predictable for the most part, they are also very rewarding as it keeps the story moving. It is also very well balanced, as dramatic scenes are closely followed by scenes of comedy and fight scenes are followed by scenes involving a lot of sight gags.

And to make the film wholesome, there are several messages littered throughout the film. Most of these are, ironically, found in a Fortune Cookie style delivery, but the important ones left me reanalyzing all the past events that have happened in my life.

The first of these messages is that "Nothing happens by accident." This is the only message delivered overtly from the start of the movie, and the one that most of the cast fight. But eventually, the idea of fate and destiny begins to sink in with a brilliant illustration using a peach tree.

The second message comes very late in the movie. There is all this emphasis on being "The Chosen One," but in the end, the only thing that makes something special is the fact that we think it is special. There is no special secret ingredient to the worlds best bowl of noodles any more than there's a secret to why people become famous. The power of this message doesn't really hit home in text. You have to watch the movie and take the journey with Po to understand the true depth of this.

With the technical stuff already impressing the hell out of me, Dreamworks finally did something that I've only experienced with Pixar films, which is make me care about the characters. While the formula of the movie is still the underdog Kung Fu movie, they do a great job of making sure the audience understands who these characters are and their personalities. They do this so well in fact that when a supporting character passes away (It's not an actual death, but a very artistic way in dealing with the idea of death using some of the best combination of Western and Eastern symbolization ever!), you actually miss them. As a viewer, I found myself attracted to the mystery that where the five characters based on the styles of kung fu I mentioned earlier. Each one has a different personality that I wouldn't normally assign to their roles in the movie. For example, Mantis is completely indifferent to the situation, claiming he has no real right to be judgemental due to his ability to be a living example of the old proverb "size doesn't matter." Viper is actually a kind and caring soul who actually apologizes to Po after literally throwing the panda on his head. I don't remember seeing this kind of depth in personality before from Dreamworks, even in the Shrek franchise.

Looking back, I think I've fallen into the same role as the five warriors when they first learned that Po was going to be the saviour of the universe. I never really gave this movie much of a chance to impress me, partly because of how it was marketed. But once I let myself see the movie for what it is, I began to appreciate it more and questioned what other things I may have missed out on simply because I didn't give them a chance due to my own judgements and impressions.

But like the character Oogway quoted from the old proverb, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

If you are a fan of smart and well-executed movies, you won't be disappointed with what has been marketed as the family movie to go see before Wall-E comes out at the end of this month. If you are a fan of animation in general, you owe it to yourself to watch this movie until the last credits roll. I'm not saying that this movie is something special, especially after being told the big moral of the film, but it is definitely a film that you will find yourself wanting to see again.