Welcome back stinkers! Today I give you my review of Kung Fu Panda 2. This has to be one of my favorite movies of all time! It has to be the best Dreamworks movie, as well as my favorite animated movie. So, without further ado, I present to you, Kung Fu Panda 2. Before I get into it, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve actually reviewed the most recent Kung Fu Panda 4, as well as the first Kung Fu Panda. So, after you’re done with this, make sure you check out those reviews and more at The Big Stinker Blog.
Non-Spoiler Review
So, like I said this has to be one of my all-time favorite movies. If I need to get something off of my mind, Po is there for me. I hate how short this movie is! And that’s actually a good thing. Some movies I want more time added on because it would benefit the movie, and then there’s some movies that are just so good, I wish that there’s more. It’s just great to watch when I need a quick escape, and it’s always an easy roller coaster of emotions. It’s very much a comfort film of mine. Now, talking about the film itself, I absolutely love it! They add on to the backstory of Po. They add a lot to his character. Something that I said in my original review is that I love how this franchise is able to tell this massive continuous story, but also tell a smaller story within this giant story. This has to be the most powerful singular story. The character of Po is much more developed throughout here, and that also goes for other characters. Shen has to be the most evil, and terrifying villain of the franchise. He’s definitely one of the best villains that I’ve seen. Now I think he’s the best villain, but he isn’t my favorite. My favorite has to go to general Kai. The movie is then able to go further on the family aspect. Po fanboys about different masters and fighting with the Furious Five, and he finally gets what he’s always wanted. He’s finally able to fight with his childhood (and adulthood) heroes. I also loved the journey that Po goes on. He goes on a journey of self-discovery. The aspect of Po and his family, always breaks me. No matter how many times I watch this, the ending always make me cry.
Baby Po
Now that my non spoiler review is out of the way, it’s at this point that I like to go through some parts of the movie, and talk more in depth, further elaborating on my thoughts. That means I will be walking into spoiler territory. You have been warned. Before I talk about Po, I just have to mention baby Po. Po as a baby has to be the cutest thing that I have ever seen! Usually whenever there’s a cute animal or creature, I’m like oh that’s cute. But I actually felt the cuteness of Po. I actually felt emotion whenever I saw baby Po. It then sort of benefits the relationship between Po and his dad. That might’ve been a reason why ended up crying when the two reunite. Everything they throw in here, pays off in one way or another. I just love baby Po!
Po’s Backstory
So, like I said, I love the character arc that Po goes through in this movie. This is the most character development that Po has went through. We get more of a backstory behind Po, and what they set up, pays off. You can go back to the first movie. His backstory pays off. You can go watch the third and fourth one. His backstory pays off. That backstory is already emotional on its own, but it adds more emotion in the future. It makes you feel for a lot of the characters. Going back to the paying off thing, it goes and adds on to the overall arching story that I was talking about earlier. I already love Po on his own, but his backstory just adds more depth to the character. That’s when the emotion starts to kick in, and I felt a lot of it. I felt angry on what Shen did, I also felt sad about the result of want Shen did.
The Best Franchise Villain, Shen
Now Shen has to be the best villain of this franchise. He’s probably one of the best animated villains out there. Again, I think he’s the best, but he isn’t my favorite. General Kai is my favorite Kung Fu Panda villain. I think it’s a good thing that Shen isn’t my favorite. The only reason why he isn’t my favorite is because he’s a great villain. He was very much an evil villain. I hated him so much; I hated every single choice that he’s made. I do have to say that he’s a very conflicting character. He was one that gave me conflicting feelings because he’s very much evil, but you see where he’s coming from. He has had a troubled pass, and I wanted to feel bad for him. But then when I took a step back, the only reason why he had a troubled pass, is because of his own doing. It’s his fault that he was thrown out of the city, and he took something so personal for something he did himself.
Now speaking on what he did, again, very much evil. As you know, he killed off the whole population of pandas. It was so heartbreaking, that even the fortune teller that has gotten everything right didn’t expect it. It was so heartbreaking, that his parents died from depression. Shen is then over here, worrying about his own wellbeing, trying to take over China without a care in the world. That’s what delivered a bunch of the emotion. The events that take place is very tragic for a kids movie. What I took away from the tragedy that was shown is that for something that would be more complex if it was a movie for an older audience, they’re able to “dumb it down” for the kids, but they still convey the same level of emotion.
Po’s Journey of Self Discovery
From the moment that Shifu calls Po to the lake, he was set on a journey of self-discovery. Now that’s where the backstory comes into play. He goes on a journey to Gongmen City, and he is set to find out where he comes from. I believe that this was set up from the beginning. I actually believe that all the events were set up at the beginning, with Oogway being the puppet master. Now I do want to mention Oogway for a second. When the fourth installment came out people were complaining how Oogway wasn’t in the movie, even though he was mentioned. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Oogway wasn’t mentioned at all! And just look at how phenomenal this movie is.
Now steering back on track, this goes back to the overall arching story. This is just one chapter out of a whole series of stories. But each chapter contains its own story. It’s its own emotional roller coaster. Now I just love the fact that after Po finds out where he’s come from, he still goes back home. Ping is still family to Po. That ending where Ping is worrying whether or not Po will come back had me in tears. My breaking point had to be when Ping says, “I love you too son”. I just love a good father/son, or family movie. Going back to the dumb it down kind of thing. When the movie drops down a level, but still keeps the same exact emotional value. It’s even better because that just makes it easier to grab on to. Po also has this thing in him, I’m pretty sure I talked about this in the review of the first movie. Po is someone I can look up to, someone that the younger kids could also look up to. He faced his fears of what he was going to find out. At the same time, he was able to persevere through his struggles, and come out on top. He wasn’t “fit”, and everyone would judge him for who he was. But he is able to take what he truly is, and he doesn’t only benefit himself, but he benefits others.
The Chemistry Between Po and the Furious Five
Now I will forever cherish the Furious Five. Whether they’re in a movie or not. Just because they weren’t in the fourth doesn’t mean they still didn’t have an impact. It didn’t take away from anything. I gotta get back to this one before I get off track again. I would like to mention Shifu. Shifu still plays that mentor type role, and I just love his personality. He’s wise/epic, but he’s also a bit distant from Po. Literally. But he’s still able to elevate Po, help him out when needed. He’s also that type of person that doesn’t help out completely but is wise enough to know that it would be for the better.
Now speaking of the Furious Five themselves, I still very much love them. Similar to Shifu, they were able to elevate Po when he needed it the most. It’s fantastic to see how the group has grown from the first title. Right from the get-go we see this group bonding together. It’s almost like they’re only just set up to become more of a family. The chemistry in here is just top notch.
Tigress
Now for someone that I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of in the last movie, I absolutely loved Tigress more in here. They made her character kind of more grounded, and I think she was able to covey a lot more emotion. She was a superb guide for Po, that lead him to where he is now. I was talking about how the team bonded, but Po and Tigress bonded the most. Po was just able to touch a soft spot in her, that got her emotional. Showing how great of friends these two can be. The scene that represents this the most has to be when the Furious Five are trying to keep Po away from the battle. Once they shared that hug, it did a good job of conveying emotion, letting me feel what all of these characters are feeling.
Review Recap
That is going to be it for my review on Kung Fu Panda 2! This is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I hope you can share that same level of enthusiasm with me. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read up on one of my reviews. I know this is a shorter one, the reason has to be because it’s too short. I want there to be more, but I’ve pretty much talked about everything that I wanted to bring up. Again, I absolutely loved this film. The action was epic, the emotion was amazing, and this is just the escape that I need. Po has always been there for me; I hope he can for you too. So, until next time stinkers! Bye bye.