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The adaptation of such a delicate creature to the summer
blockbuster habitat—a zoo if ever there was one—could have
resulted in a bloated bore of a film. But ``Kung Fu Panda'' is
surprisingly fun and light. It's also easily the best DreamWorks
computer animation yet, far surpassing the look of
``Madagascar'' or even ``Shrek”—not quite on Pixar's level, but
close.
``Kung Fu Panda'' begins with a stylish, brilliantly colored
dream in which Po (Black) imagines he's part of the Furious
Five, a group of elite kung fu fighters. They are like a Noah's
Ark of warriors: Angelina Jolie is Tigress (who looks a
bit like Tony the Tiger's sister); Seth Rogen is Mantis,
an insect whose skills exceed his size; David Cross is
the bird Crane; Lucy Liu is the snake Viper; and
Jackie Chan is Monkey, whose species you can guess.
When Po wakes up, though, he's far from their ranks and can't
even conquer a flight of stairs. He's the son of a noodle shop
owner, a goose voiced by James Hong. How a bird fathered a panda
is a genealogy jokingly alluded to in ``Kung Fu Panda,'' but
never resolved.
``I don't dream about noodles, Dad,'' Po says. ``I love kung
fu.''
The Furious Five are led by the Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman)
whose own guru, the turtle Oogway (Randall Duk Kim),
fears their nemesis Tai Lung (Ian McShane) will return
and destroy their Chinese valley. All Oogway wants, like Loretta
Lynn, is peace in the valley.
Their Chinese town is populated by pigs and geese and no humans,
which might sound like an updated ``Animal Farm.'' But the
closest thing here to Big Brother is an old turtle.
To defend them, Oogway must find the ``Dragon Warrior'' to
fulfill an ancient prophecy. As you might guess, Po is
unexpectedly thrust into this role despite any evidence of
talent, and the movie is essentially about whether he can live
up to this destiny.
The plot is standard martial arts stuff, but at every turn, the
serious gravity of the kung fu archetype is contrasted by the
extreme oafishness of Po. Take, for example, this lesson
bestowed on Po by Shifu: ``Panda, we do not wash our pits in the
Sea of Forgotten Tears.''
He's plucky, but it's not Po's grit that's endearing; it's his
casual good-naturedness. The Furious Five resent his undeserved
opportunity, but when they crush him in training, Po, ever the
fan, collects the rubble as a souvenir.
Though most around him have no sense of humor, Po disarms them
with his lack of intensity. His name, after all, means the soul,
materialized. The fool in over his head is far from a new story,
but ``Kung Fu Panda'' finds life in the old gag.
The elaborate fight sequences (a memorable one is with chop
sticks) are as inventive as anything in ``Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon.'' But the comedy of ``Kung Fu Panda'' lies in the
deadpan looks and perfect pauses.
Co-directors Josh Stevenson and Mark Osborne, both animation
vets helming a major film for the first time, ensure that the
comic timing is exact and that their cartoon creations have
well-animated eyes. The right eye-roll (and there are many)
always trumps a punchline.
The voice work is good all around, particularly from Black,
McShane and Hoffman, whose part as tiny guru—a red panda—takes
on a shade of Obi-Wan Kenobi with an attitude. Jolie is entirely
forgettable, but it's surely a sign of success that the A-listers
recede as the movie rolls.
The most enjoyable character, though, is a small supporting role
voiced by Dan Fogler (``Balls of Fury''). As the palace envoy
Zeng, he's a Muppet-like bird so jittery that no flap of his
wings is without hazard.
As summer movies get bigger and bigger, they often make us, the
audience, feel smaller and smaller. The bright ``Kung Fu Panda''
is a simple and lighthearted exception.
``Kung Fu Panda,'' a DreamWorks Animation SKG and Paramount
Pictures release, is rated PG for sequences of martial arts
action. Running time: 91 minutes. Three stars out of four.
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