No more impressive than anything you could randomly dial up on Cartoon Network.
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:160
Fresh:142
Rotten:18
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: Kung Fu Panda has a familiar message, but the pleasing mix of humor, swift martial arts action, and colorful animation makes for winning Summer entertainment.
Australian Rating: PG [See Full Rating] Animated violence, Some scenes may frighten young children
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jun 26, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $215,395,021
Synopsis: "Kung Fu Panda" features Jack Black as Po the Panda, a lowly waiter in a noodle restaurant, who is a kung fu fanatic but whose shape doesn't exactly lend itself to kung fu fighting. In fact, Po's... "Kung Fu Panda" features Jack Black as Po the Panda, a lowly waiter in a noodle restaurant, who is a kung fu fanatic but whose shape doesn't exactly lend itself to kung fu fighting. In fact, Po's defining characteristic appears to be that he is the laziest of all the animals in ancient China. That's a problem because powerful enemies are at the gates, and all hopes have been pinned on a prophesy naming Po as the "Chosen One" to save the day. A group of martial arts masters are going to need a black belt in patience if they are going to turn this slacker panda into a kung fu fighter before it's too late. -- © DreamWorks [More]
Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan
Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Ian McShane, David Cross, Seth Rogen, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, Dan Fogler
Director: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
Director: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
Screenwriter: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Story: Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris
Producer: Melissa Cobb
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC
Reviews for Kung Fu Panda
pays homage to the Hong Kong Kung Fu epic by being true to the Fu while making sport of clichés
The movie easily karate chops the weekend competition. A fine, fun film, filled with excellent animation and well-drawn characters.
Kung Fu Panda manages to minimize the aspects of a Jack Black that make him unbearable (no pun intended).
In this summer movie season of old men with whips, gals in stilettos and superheroes a go-go, you may ask: "Where's the cartoon?" (Speed Racer doesn't count.) Indeed, the most highly anticipated animation event of the summer is Kung Fu Panda
Hardly a groundbreaker, but still impressive in a good many of its particulars.
From a studio that's decimated iconic fairy tale characters with its poison pop-culture pen, i.e., Shrek, comes an age-old fable, poetic, pop-free and timeless...yet still an utter hoot.
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.
Everything that happens in this dull tale of Po, a paunchy panda who becomes a zealous kung fu fighter, is telegraphed well in advance.
Beautifully animated, the celebrity voice performances are terrific, and the action sequences negotiate the fine line between being physically convincing and becoming too intense for the young children who are the film’s primary audience.
A master [course] in cunning visual art and ultra-satisfying entertainment.
The movie is full of exaggerated chop-socky action sequences, and most of them are clever and entertaining. The animators clearly have invested some time in studying and gleaning ideas from the Hong Kong kung-fu classics.
Kung Fu Panda gets across important and inevitable plot information in ways that are novel and unexpected. Things simply don't happen the way they usually happen in animated stories.
Resistance is not just futile but almost seems churlish in the black-and-white face of such cuteness. Along with some terrific voice performances and lovely animation, the adorability quotient of Kung Fu Panda buoys the film.
It's not entirely free of lazy writing or cheap jokes. But it's often strikingly drawn and, when it's kicking, breezy and funny.
After this movie, pandas might be the new penguins. And, you know Kung Fu Panda is going to be good because TALKING ANIMALS ARE FUNNY!
The animation is dazzling, so lovingly detailed you can make out individual hairs on the titular beastie, and full of bright Chinese images.
Latest News for Kung Fu Panda
May 14, 2009:
Stevenson Goes from Panda to Minotaur ![]()
"The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break," Steven Sherrill's 2000 novel about a minotaur who works as a cook in a Midwestern diner, will get a live-action/CGI adaptation courtesy... More...
May 10, 2009:
Cannes 2009: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
The Cannes Film Festival will screen nearly 100 films as part of its Official Selection and associated sidebars when it kicks off next week in the Southern France town. The... More...
January 31, 2009:
Kung Fu Panda Dominates 36th Annie Awards
Kung Fu Panda dominated the 36th Annual Annie Awards, the most prestigious awards ceremony for feature and television animation. Wall-E was shut out from every award it was... More...
January 08, 2009:
Broadcast Film Critics Name Critics' Choice Winners
The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards were given on January 8, 2009, to honor the finest achievements in 2008 filmmaking. A list of nominees follows below, with winners in bold: More...
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