Kung Fu Panda 2 UNEDITED REACTION (early access)

I couldn't remember, but I'd never actually seen this film. And wow, barely 20 minutes in, and I'm already sold. Dreamworks somehow always surprises me with their cinematography and use of color. It's so cool how they use that 2.5D/paper cutout style of animation when they're showing things like legends and stories. And then that whole scene introducing Shen? I couldn't look away. I love when scenes have really bold and stylish color palettes, and I am a SUCKER for a white/red color palette. The red sky, building, and shadows contrasting the white of Shen's feathers and the white stone? Gorgeous. The art style/art direction of this film is somehow already LEAGUES ahead of the first one. Shen's character design makes every shot with him look amazing. I was worried that the humor would be weaker, since that's usually the case in animated sequels, but honestly I think the jokes are overall better than the first film (even if there are still some duds). The plot and themes are a little more serious and mature this time around, lots of mentions of death and killing, particularly relating to Po and Shen. I really liked how Shen's history and motivation mirrored Po's in some ways. He chose to pursue evil and destructive means in order to stop the conflict and turmoil inside of him, and that drove him away from his family and sense of self. Which is opposite of Po, whose own actions allowed him to find himself and a sense of family and belonging. It's poetic how the chaotic discord of his actions was stopped by the symbol of balance, the Yin-Yang of Po confronting his own inner turmoil, and finding his own peace and balance.

Jesus

Yeah I can only imagine

this one alwasy hits me hard. Im african american and was adopted as a baby by two white women. so i can relate to the feeling of not knowing who you are sometimes. and then realizing you are exactly who you want to be

Peter Keogh-Lynn

Yeah while the first movie was so good, I definitely think the sequel is better. With Tai Lung, he had a connection to Shifu. With Shen, he's directly connected to Po. They're opposite sides of the same coin. Shen felt his parents hated him. They most likely didn't, but that idea of being hated by your parents is super damaging. Like when he told Po that his parents didn't love him, it was super calculated because that's how he feels, and he wanted to pass that pain on to Po. They both had the same hole in their heart, and he tried to fill Po's heart with the same pain Shen holds. Shen definitely is a sympathetic villain, like Tai Lung. They both did terrible things, but there are very human feelings behind their motives. Tai Lung seems to be a fan favorite, but I think Shen is also just the objectively better villain. How his arc goes so well in line with Po's arc is so well done. I hope you guys enjoy the third one!

Lorenzo Baxter

So about Shen, his backstory kind of had alternate/scrapped stuff during the development of the movie and also some stuff that didn't make it to the movie :-An earlier concept of Shen's background mentioned him being born "sickly" due to his leucism -His parents were disappointed and had deemed him "too weak and pitiful to deserve attention". -The Soothsayer was also mentioned to be Shen's nanny (probably explains why Shen tolerates the Soothsayer so much even when she's mocking and disrespecting him, even letting her go alive) -the ignorance his own family showed him was what drove the young peacock into his path of wickedness. -The Wolf Boss, along with his pack of wolf brothers and sisters, were once guards in Gongmen City's royal palace. The only member of the royal family ever to befriend the wolves was Shen, the heir to the throne. He fed fed them, played with them, and treated them like family. It was then that the Boss Wolf swore his allegiance to the young prince.