Angelina Jolie Movie:

		List Price: $39.99		Label: Paramount Salesrank: 111 Released: November 9, 2008
		Our Price: $27.95
		MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
What's a panda to do when his dreams of kung-fu awesomeness awake to the cold reality of noodle-making? Clumsy, overweight Po (Jack Black) dreams of becoming a kung fu master like China's revered "furious five," but instead seems destined to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in the restaurant business. When great leader Oogway has a vision that the imprisoned kung fu warrior Tai Lung (Ian McShane) will soon escape, he declares it time to choose China's dragon warrior--one kung fu master deemed worthy of possessing the dragon's scroll and its secret to limitless power. Po and all the townspeople rush to the Jade Palace atop the highest mountain to witness the contest between Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogan), Crane (David Cross) and Viper (Lucy Liu), but Po is locked outside the palace. After a miracle of sorts, Po lands inside the palace gates, where he is chosen as the dragon warrior and placed under the tutelage of the decidedly non-plussed master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). An unconventional student to say the least, hilarity reigns as Shifu tries desperately to make Po into some semblance of a kung fu warrior. Can Po possibly fulfill his destiny as dragon warrior, or was Oogway's final decision a critical mistake? A film rich with hilarious moments, superior animation, and an important message about believing in oneself and the power that comes from within, Kung Fu Panda is great entertainment that will have the whole family laughing and begging for more. (Ages 3 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Kung Fu Panda [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Skadoosh!
2008-08-16 - I was on a long flight back from California when I had the choice between watching Kung Fu Panda on a tiny television screen four feet away from me, or read the SkyMall catalog. I wisely chose to watch Kung Fu Panda.

I was curious as to how Kung Fu Panda would present itself: as a Lion King-style retelling of ancient Chinese myth, or as a love note to kung fu films from an American perspective. I'm pleased to report that it's the latter.

You know the story: Po (a restrained Jack Black) adores the Furious Five but is too fat and slow to ever hope to become one of them and then fate does precisely that. It's the heroes who have the real problem (each representing a different kung fu style and all voiced by a roster of celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, and Lucy Liu). Struggling most of all is Master Shifu - a bit redundant, if you know the definition of Shifu - played by Dustin Hoffman (wouldja believe?) who is still suffering from the betrayal of his first and best pupil Tai Lung (Ian McShane).

What's surprising about Kung Fu Panda is how adult the story is. The word "kill" is mentioned several times. Tai Lung and Shifu have a physical conflict that is much a battle of philosophies as it is a father and son having an argument. And the plot is beautiful in its symmetry, perfectly tying in every element: from the modified style of kung-food training that Shifu teaches Po to the revelation of Po's (we can only assume adopted) duck-father's secret recipe to the fact that Po is immune to acupuncture (because he's so fat, of course) Kung Fu Panda is tightly scripted and wrapped up in a beautiful package.

The movie itself (what I could see on the tiny airplane screen) is beautifully produced. It ranges from Chinese-style art to realistic but soft-colored tones, to bursts of color amidst pitch darkness. The fight scenes are all in exciting locations: in a prison, on a rope bridge, in an ancient temple. It's like a videogame, only you're watching the fat guy character nobody wants to play. It was beautiful enough that I had a pang of regret that I wasn't watching it on a big screen. Or even a medium screen.

For kids, Po is a great tale about overcoming obstacles by being yourself. For geeks, Po is a hilarious new hero archetype: the fanboy as hero, a fat, slobbering devotee who knows more details about the Furious Five than they know about themselves.


Very nice, but not great
2008-08-11 - I did like the movie but it is not on a par with something like Cars.

The story is painfully familiar; unlikely hero trains up to defeat bad guy. Think Star Wars Episode VI, Karate Kid (all episodes), and countless others. In this case, the hero is a noodle-making panda voiced by Jack Black. Jack does a great job but almost everyone else seems to be calling in their performances. There are some laughs, but mostly this is a low-key movie.

I think what soured this film for me was Avatar: The Last Airbender. Avatar covers much of the same ground, but has had years to it. Even so, a single 30 minute episode of Avatar is more interesting and exciting than was KFP.

Even so, if your kids want to take you to see KFP for your birthday, then by all means let them. You could do much worse.

Kung Fu Panda: Hugely Entertaining
2008-08-06 - The story of "Kung Fu Panda" about a lazy panda who dreams of becoming a martial arts fighter may not be as unique as that of last year's Oscar winner "Ratatouille," but Dreamworks' new animated film is great fun nonetheless. Perhaps some viewers (including me) might the miss the biting satire of the same company's "Shrek," but "Kung Fu Panda" offers lots of laughs and some engaging characters including Po (voice by Jack Black) and his reluctant master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman).

The film's story will remind you of either "Star Wars" (the older trilogy) or "Drunken Master," the latter being a still popular Hong Kong martial arts film made in 1978 starring Jackie Chan (who provides voice for "Panda" as Monkey). In short, a wise master reluctantly takes a youngster under his wing. The master thinks it a hopeless case at first, but discovers the talent hidden deep inside the pupil. In Po's case, his talent as martial arts fighter is found when Po is eating, not drinking.

If you look at the kung fu choreography closely, or our hero's "battle" sequence in the opening, you will realize that the directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson have carefully studied many kung-fu films. They know the rules of the genre and bend them to create amusing characters, innovative kung-fu battle scenes and funny sight gags. It is amazing to see the slightly overused format for plot based on master and disciple still works even in animation.

That means, however, that some might think the script of "Kung Fu Panda" needs more originality. Principal characters are well-drawn and delightful to watch, especially Po and Shifu, but supports are a bit weak (despite the inclusion of such voice actors as Angelina Jolie as Tigress) and the film's narrative, slick as it is, is a bit predictable (though it never bores us).

The film pays homage to some of other martial arts films and even Hollywood actions - some scenes of "Panda" are clearly inspired by such works as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and one of "Indiana Jones" films - but actually you don't have to notice that at all. This is a hugely enjoyable family-oriented film.

Pandamonium. Funny and Entertaining.
2008-07-31 - 1 hour 32 minutes
PG Rating

Who's in it?
Jack Black - Po (voice), Dustin Hoffman - Shifu (voice), Angelina Jolie - Tigress (voice), Ian McShane - Tai Lung (voice), Jackie Chan - Monkey (voice), Seth Rogen - Mantis (voice), Lucy Liu - Viper (voice), David Cross - Crane (voice)

This is beautiful animation. Production is superb. From the maker of Shrek. Kung Fu Panda is another success targeted for both kids and adults. Funny and guaranteed entertainment. There are a lot of witty one liners. Lots of action. Even my 3-year old was laughing. One of those movies that you may want to bring in the car with kids on a long trip.

Summary in one paragraph:

It is the story of Po the Panda. The most unlikely hero. He is fat, lazy and uncomfortably clumsy. He loves Kung Fu, in fact he has posters of all his Kung Fu idols on his bedroom walls. Son of a very proud noodle maker who wants to leave his super secret recipe to his son once he become mature enough. One day, there was a news of a public special occasion that the Dragon Warrior will be selected at the Jade Temple. Po has to be there to witness such a historical event. Pretending to his father that he will be selling noodles at the event, he arrived late because he has trouble hauling the heavy noodle cart on the stairs that lead to the temple. The gate were now all closed. The strangest thing happened when master Shifu was about to pick the Dragon warrior. Po, attempting every thing just to catch a glimpse of the event, literally fall on the very spot. Nobody can believe it even Po himself, except Oogway, the old (turtle) master who says that everything that happens in this world is not an accident. The main villain is the Snow Leopard "Tai Lung" who eventually escaped from his prison and threatened the whole village for his revenge. His main reason was not being chosen as the Dragon Warrior and entrusted the ultimate kung fu secret which is supposedly written on the scroll inside the temple. The great battle has to happen between the Dragon Warrior and Tai Lung. The whole village has to be evacuated. At this time, Po has been handed the scroll but he did not know what to make of it. Finally, it was his father that gave him the real answer to the scroll, the answer lies in the secret noddle recipe.

Be prepared for Awesomeness
2008-07-15 - `Kung Fu Panda' is a brilliant film in every possible way. It's one of the funniest animations I have ever seen; whoever wrote the script is a genius. I've never laughed out loud at an animation for such a long period of time.

The first part of the film in `Chinese style' cartoons is a perfect beginning, depicting Po(Jack Black) as some sort of animal animation of a samurai.

Po is a panda and the son of a stork who is descended from a long line of `noodle folk' (yes, it's pretty weird). Po dreams of kung fu but in reality he makes noodle soup. One day, at a Kung Fu event in which the `Dragon Warrior' will be chosen, it appears that Po's dreams might not be so far out of reach.

The film contains quality animation - it's probably the best to date. The creators of this film truly have a wonderful sense of imagination, as the characters and scenes are so astounding.

Jack Black is wicked-funny as the Panda's voice, you can feel the actor's charisma through the animation. Dustin Hoffman's wonderful `rusty' voice brings the character `Master Chifu' to life; the serious and unamused Kung Fu master.

For those who haven't seen 'Kung Fu Panda': Go see it and be prepared awesomeness!