Kung Fu Panda 2 Is More Like No Fun Panda – movie review

Kung Fu Panda 2 is, obviously, a sequel to Kung Fu Panda. It covers Po and his adventure in about finding out his own history along with fighting Lord Shen, a peacock. The movie follows his quest to find “inner peace” and attempts humor on more serious topics. It felt to me to be lacking a lot of elements that DreamWorks should have thrown in, but seemed okay enough for the real young to enjoy. It is not really a “family” movie, because it is mostly little-kid humor. 

The story was okay; I have seen better plots and I felt that the trailer did not give a realistic preview of the movie. It was rather mis-matched and hard to follow at times. It makes me wonder if they rushed through the production of the movie? If they did, that would explain why this plot was so uneven. If not, then I guess they had a pretty bad concept for the sequel. They needed more thickness in the story and less violence if they really wanted a balanced film. DreamWorks has done a disservice to their studio and fans alike with this sequel, in my opinion. The way that it unfolded was boring, and at times it seemed lke they were just throwing in a bunch of scenes that were not really needed. Like some of the kung fu scenes. None of it felt organic or as if that would be the natural event to happen next. Perhaps this effect was partly due to the lackluster dialogue.

The characters were one of the better parts of the movie. Po was a bit annoying, but I enjoyed rest of the cast for the most part. I think Po’s father was one of the best in the film. He showed the most realistic emotions, but he kept it funny and light. Po was cute, but needy, and his friends were a bit distant. The whole mixture really made for a good base for what could have been an amazing movie.

Animation wise, it was pretty cute. I do wish they would go back to the old-fashioned animation that was drawn by hand and not computers. CGI makes them look too fake trying to look real (versus straight cartoonish), and I just think that does not help the movie at all. But I will say that they did a great job with facial expressions. They were really able to capture some great emotional looks that went well with the lines. But that is pretty much where the good part for their animation ends.

As I stated above, this movie felt more aimed towards small children, instead of both kids and adults/teens. While that is not a bad thing, it will make the movie boring for many viewers. On the flip side, this movie is a good option for young kids. I am sure many parents will find their kids laughing, even if they find the movie juvenile for the most part. So, I think this makes a good movie for kids around age 4 or 5.

For my usual rating, I have to give this a 4. It was cute, but not cute enough to make it stand out. Unlike the original, which many remember even after almost 3 years, this one will be forgotten pretty quickly. I think that DreamWorks has some serious explaining to do about this movie. It just did not work in my opinion, which I found disappointing. I hope that if they do wind up making a Kung Fu Panda 3 that they will do a better job.

What do you think about the movie? Was it good or do you feel let down? Let us know your thoughts on it in the comments below.