Kung Fu Panda
Directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson (G)
A roly-poly panda aspires to be Bruce Lee.
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Kung Fu Panda is another case of “all form, no function,” said Ty Burr in the Boston Globe. This DreamWorks production about a tubby panda who dreams of becoming a martial arts expert is certainly fun to watch. But its wit and visual flair have been “yoked to a pro forma story line that wouldn’t fool a 3-year-old.” Though cute and cuddly, the film goes nowhere new, offering only the usual “character slapstick interspersed with believe-in-yourself moralizing.” Still, Kung Fu Panda is “a little better, a little sharper, a little funnier than the animated run of the mill,” said Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune. The film covers well-worn territory, from its tongue-in-cheek Chinese wisdom to its endless array of cutesy animal characters. But DreamWorks freshens up the formula with a “verifiable sense of humor” and a “prime voice cast” that includes Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, and Dustin Hoffman. Kung Fu Panda delivers action and silly antics—“exactly what its title promises,” said Rene Rodriguez in The Miami Herald. It’s a “breezy 90 minutes” of family entertainment with just enough kick.
