Reel Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Reels
MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of martial arts action
Genre: Family, Animated, Comedy, Action Adventure
Runtime: 92 minutes
Directed by: Mark Osborne
Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Ian McShane, Dustin Hoffman
Sex/ Nudity: None
Violence/Gore: Lots of martial arts action, including punches, kicks, falls and other thrilling stunts. Also, the vengeful Tai Lung might be scary for little ones, especially the scene where he escapes from prison.
Language: Mild, although “suck” is used throughout. Also, Po must endure insults from various characters.
Which Kids Will Like It? Kids 5 and older who like animated tales with lots of action.
Will Parents Like It? Yes, this movie offers a positive message about being your own hero, but Jack Black lends a fresh air to the familiar tale.
Review: Jack Black is such a big kid, and this animated movie is the perfect vehicle for his awesome talents. The story is set in ancient China, and Black voices the part of Po, a big, fat panda who’s not happy about working in the family noodle-making business. He’d rather fight alongside the legendary Furious Five stars of the Kung Fu world: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross).
Through a weird twist of fate, Po is chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy — protect the valley where he lives from the vicious snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane). But how can a big, fat panda be expected to take on such a job? He’s none of the things required of such a hero — agile, mentally focused and lighting fast. Instead, he’s plump and lazy and can barely move through the family’s noodle restaurant without knocking things over.
But Po is enthusiastic and eager to learn, so he travels to a temple in the mountains where Kung Fu guru Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) reluctantly takes him under his wing.
The training trudges along until Shifu realizes that he’ll have to meet Po on his own level. He sets up a session whereby Po is rewarded with dumplings for his feats. Pretty soon, Po is gaining the confidence and strength needed to complete his mission.
While I wouldn’t say this is the best family movie I’ve ever seen — Finding Nemo and The Incredibles still jointly hold that title — it’s still a fun movie with great characters, plenty of action and, of course, some good lessons about believing in yourself, even if all the odds are stacked against you.
It offers a positive message for kids and a good reminder for adults: Be your own hero. Don’t look outside yourself for the answer. And don’t expect someone else to make things right for you.
And even though the story is set in ancient China, it applies to anyone in any time period. Po doesn’t have any big physical transformation, but he does learn the secret to greatness: Be yourself. Simple, huh?
Jane Boursaw is a family entertainment writer specializing in movies and TV. Visit her at Reel Life With Jane; follow her on Twitter; become a friend on Facebook; email jboursaw@charter.net.
