Kung Fu Panda UNEDITED REACTION (all access)
Added 2023-03-05 19:17:29 +0000 UTCWatch along with your own copy and enjoy!
We watched this one on HBO Max
Comments
Hadn't seen this since it first came out, and the animation and art style and cinematography surprised me with how good they were. I'm realizing that I've always been a little biased against Dreamworks and always considered them lesser to Disney. But since rewatching all these films, I'm realizing that they are frequently on-par with Disney, and sometimes even surpasses them with the style and cinematography. I know it's a 15 year old kids/family cartoon, but a handful of the themes felt kind of meh. Some of the themes mostly around Po's differences—usually his weight—were a little clumsy, like Shifu's realization that he should use food to motivate Po, even though Po was already completely motivated. But maybe I'm spoiled by all the amazing animated features in recent years; Spider-Verse, Puss in Boots 2, Arcane—the fantastic writing and theming in those ones have probably spoiled me, plus they're standing on the shoulders of giants in a way. I remembered only little bits of the story, so I was worried that the themes of everyone realizing Po's inherent value would boil down to "fat guy can cook and is funny, and sometimes his fatness is convenient", but I was pleasantly surprised that, in the final showdown, his weight (and goofiness) was legitimately useful in combat in a somewhat believable way. Shifu's character arc was pretty great too, from his relationship with Oogway, to the backstory of Tai Long being his student and Shifu recognizing how he failed as a teacher. And honestly, the way the "secret ingredient soup" tied into the Dragon Scroll being blank was low-key brilliant. Idk if some people find it corny or cheesy or simple, but I thought it was a perfect overarching theme, especially the way it tied together Po's noodle-shop past with his Dragon Warrior future. There *is* something that rubs me the wrong way just the tiiiiiiiiniest bit about the movie. While it did include more Chinese and East Asian actors than most movies, especially of the time, it still felt a bit weird for a deeply Chinese story to have its leads be white Americans. Obviously I'm coming at this in 2023 with 15 years of cultural hindsight, but it's similar to how I feel about ATLA. However, just like in Avatar, it does feel like they were earnestly trying to incorporate the East Asian influences respectfully. Sometimes the hyper-American slapstick/lowbrow humor feels at odds with a respectful depiction of Eastern themes, but apparently Chinese audiences generally loved it, and found it to be a positive entry in the long tradition of wuxian; Chinese martial arts storytelling. Anyways, Jack Black is such a winning personality, I'll enjoy any style of comedy that he does. I can't recall if I've seen the second film, and I know I haven't seen the third. I hope they build on the successes of this first one, because I'm always worried about animated sequels; too often do they end up lacking depth, and becoming just a barrage of cheap, shallow jokes.
Jesus
2023-05-12 20:26:50 +0000 UTCOof, these are good but How To Train Your Dragon is like top tier Dreamwork to me haha.
Alex FairysnailTails
2023-03-07 21:08:35 +0000 UTCWell lord shen was voiced by Gary Oldman an actor famous for his villainous roles.
Kayla
2023-03-07 03:17:39 +0000 UTCyk, i'm so glad you're doing this series. As it progresses, tigress, Shifu and Mr ping are my favourites. All of the stories (so far) are incredible. the 2nd one had me bawling, everytime. Favorite villain in this series? Lord shen, I mean, hands down. So calm, and menacing all in one. keep up the incredible works my guys!!
Saruhiko
2023-03-06 01:20:29 +0000 UTC
