Kung Fu Panda

Why should we celebrate a film where a being known for the size of his girth and the amount of his appetite isn’t a sidekick or the hero’s best friend? Why should we celebrate a film where, helped by a kung fu Master who is a Mouse, he shows the ferocious Snow Leopard that just because you are fat, it doesn’t mean you cannot be big? Why should we celebrate a film where Jack Black is him?

Because here is an animation that is not only entertaining, it’s also intelligent, based on a form of fighting that is perhaps best suited for animation and making the best of it. DreamWorks live up to their creation Shrek with a story of loyalty, bravery, learning and self-discovery without falling back on any of the clichés which strewn such genre. There is no running joke, no sweet romance, no dark villains and no cute songs. This film is about innocence, sincerity, belief and the joy of realising that yes, these can be enough.

Po the Panda has been raised by a goose, who runs a Chinese restaurant and hopes his son will follow him in the field. However, Po has always dreamt of being a kung fu master and circumstances take him to Jade Place, where he is chosen as the legendary Dragon Warrior by the wise, old turtle.

The Panda unfortunately knows no kung fu, and no one believes that “someone who can’t even see his toes, forget touch them” has a chance of learning it either. That includes the kung fu Master and his five star pupils who had hoped to be chosen Dragon Warriors themselves — the Tigress (Jolie), Viper (Liu), Monkey (Chan), Praying Mantis and Crane.

There’s also the impending threat from a former pupil of the Master who has turned a rebel, Tai Lung.

While Po is initially disheartened, the irrepressible Panda and an even more irrepressible Black are hard to put down. As soon as the first person puts faith in him, the turnaround begins. Being different, the film teaches you, isn’t the end of the world. It’s what lies within. And that while sometimes there are things outside your control, sometimes there lies the answer.

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