Plot: What’s it about?
“Kung Fu Panda”. Yep, I said it. I actually sat down and watched a movie titled “Kung Fu Panda.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Over the last dozen years or so, the computer animation movie marked has become inundated and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. More often than not, these movies are very clever, well thought out and entertaining to both children and adults and I’m happy to say that “Kung Fun Panda” is certainly no exception. What began with “Toy Story” in the holiday season of 1995 is now ancient history, but it started a trend that’s likely to continue for the next few decades at the very least. And why not? The possibilities are limitless in the realm of animation and with top notch talent lending their voices to the films, we get the “star power” as well. Pixar (a Disney company) has long been the leader in the computer animated films but Dreamworks has always been right there with films like “Antz”, “Madagascar”, “The Shrek Movies” and the title in question “Kung Fu Panda.”
The plot is relatively simple as we meet Po (voiced by Jack Black), an underachieving panda who really digs all the kung fu fighting. The trouble is that he’s destined for a life of boredom working in his father’s noodle shop. It so happens that his idols, the Furious Five, are close by and through a series of happenstances Po is mysteriously chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy. The Furious Five’s (Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey) leader, Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) must train Po in the legendary arts but before his training can be completed they learn of an impending threat. You see, the evil snow leopard Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane) and Po must defend everyone. The chance has come for Po to prove himself, but will he be up to the challenge or fail miserably?
It’s hard not to like “Kung Fu Panda” or any of these clever animated movies. Their allure, of course, is that they’re equally pleasing to children and adults alike. I’ve personally never understood why they pay movie stars such outrageous salaries to do these animated films when there are some actors out there who could do just as good of a job for far less money. But it’s Hollywood and it’s never really made sense. The cast if loaded with plenty of these stars and starlets including Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross and Michael Clarke Duncan to name but a few. “Kung Fu Panda” is something that was so enjoyable to me I’ll probably watch it a few more times, like I have with some of the Pixar titles. There’s no doubt this will be a best-seller on Blu-ray and kids and adults around the world will anxiously await the impending sequel. Recommended.
Video: How does it look?
“Kung Fu Panda” is the epitome of a perfect transfer. It’s flawless. The 2.40:1 AVC HD transfer is literally the best thing I’ve seen on my new plasma TV. Really, its movies with transfers like this that makes people plop down a few thousand dollars on a new HDTV. The opening 2-D sequences are amazing and as the “dream sequence” ends and the film transitions into 3-D, the colors pop the black levels are amazing and we can see details so minute that you’d think you could reach right out and touch Po himself. I can go on and on, but suffice it to say that when it comes to image quality, you can’t top this on Blu-ray.
Audio: How does it sound?
Equally as impressive as the video is the very robust Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. Just because there aren’t any bombs or airplanes to be found doesn’t mean that the soundtrack can’t rock. This does. Dialogue is, as expected, very clean and natural without a hint of distortion. The 7.1 soundtrack emanates from every possible speaker and gives the true feeling of being surrounded. From the loud thumps and bangs to the nearly noticeable discrete effects that give the film a bit of added depth this is every bit as impressive as movies like “Twister” and “Saving Private Ryan”. Suffice it to say that if you’re not impressed by the video, then the audio will make your jaw drop.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Dreamworks will obviously capitalize on the success of the film by giving us a Blu-ray version with plenty of supplements (and I’m sure there are tons more out there so they can drop the “Special Edition” bomb on us at some future point in time). They did. We start off with a commentary track by directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne as they dish on the production of the film, some of the problems they encountered and so forth. They actually manage to deliver a pretty solid track, though I don’t see the kids listening to anything like this. Next up are a series of featurettes which introduce us to the cast, teach us some Kung Fu moves and even some insight in to the ancient culture of China. All of these are presented in HD and offer plenty of insight into the film as well as some of the people that made it work so well. There are some features that are designed for children such as “Po’s Power Play Activities” which teaches us how to draw Po as well as an interactive game involving some noodles and we’re introduced to “Dragon Warrior Training Academy” as well. We also have some Blu-ray exclusive features with a Picture-in-Picture commentary track entitled “The Animator’s Corner” which gives us even more insight into the film, though at this point some of it is a little redundant. We have a very informative trivia track as well as some trailers and the disc is also BD-Live enabled to boot. Suffice it to say, this Blu-ray is filled with reference quality video and audio but packs plenty of extras in there as well.
