
Kung Fu Panda
The ancient-China-set story follows lazy, clumsy panda, Po (Jack Black) who dreams of Kung Fu stardom while working away at his dad’s noodle joint. His fantasy becomes reality when, at a ceremony where Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) is to choose the next Kung Fu master, Po is accidentally selected (though as Oogway explains – “there are no accidents”). Despite objections from teacher Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), Po fumbles his way through training alongside his heroes the Furious Five - Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. They are preparing for the return of the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane) who is headed their way.

Reviews & comments

Village Voice
pressPerfectly pleasant, very good-looking, modestly funny, dispiritingly unoriginal variant on the nerd-with-a-dream recipe that's been clobbered to death in animated films for at least a decade now.

New Zealand Herald
pressLooks great and is good fun but Kung Fu Panda is a few surprises, laughs and engaging characters short of leaving a lasting impression.

Hollywood Reporter
pressThe stroke of genius is, of course, the film's hero -- the big, lovable bear that is the Chinese panda.

Dominion Post
pressHappily shorn of all the in-jokes and pop-culture references that wrecked the Shrek franchise, Kung Fu Panda does it the old-fashioned way: with smart, witty dialogue, beautifully designed animation, and bucketloads of visual invention.

Village Voice
pressPerfectly pleasant, very good-looking, modestly funny, dispiritingly unoriginal variant on the nerd-with-a-dream recipe that's been clobbered to death in animated films for at least a decade now.

New Zealand Herald
pressLooks great and is good fun but Kung Fu Panda is a few surprises, laughs and engaging characters short of leaving a lasting impression.

Hollywood Reporter
pressThe stroke of genius is, of course, the film's hero -- the big, lovable bear that is the Chinese panda.

Dominion Post
pressHappily shorn of all the in-jokes and pop-culture references that wrecked the Shrek franchise, Kung Fu Panda does it the old-fashioned way: with smart, witty dialogue, beautifully designed animation, and bucketloads of visual invention.
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