March Review: Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) (Patreon)

As a longtime fan of martial arts flicks and a child of the early 2000s, I was at one point in my life, the exact target audience for Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), and all of the films in the series. The first film was an enjoyable animated homage to kung fu movies with a charming storyline about overcoming life's obstacles through what makes you a unique individual. So how did the second match up to that legacy?

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) introduces a new threat to our at this point, well-oiled machine of heroes. Critical for any sequel is a change of story type. If the first film is about rising to meet an unexpected challenge through accepting yourself, then the second cannot do exactly the same arc and expect to be as beloved and novel. To that end, Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) removes the tension between Po and the other warriors, he is solidly accepted by his peers, and instead places the focus on a threat to the very art the previous film mastered, and forces Po to rediscover his roots. There aren't really any surprises, and Po's main character backstory takes up much of the room the ensemble had to shine in the first film, but the story is pretty simply executed and thematically incomplex. Likely a side effect of it's younger intended audience, simplicity is not something the film intends to transcend. Po defeats the villain, accepts his Goose father, adopted or otherwise, and gains inner peace. At no point did I doubt this would be accomplished, and honestly, the inner peace thing was a bit of a surprise, but hey, more power to the panda.

Overall the writing is acceptable. Perhaps a bit joke-heavy, but it rarely undercuts the most emotional moments. The plot holds together, and hits the beats you need it too. There are a few stand out moments of humor where the writing gets to flex a little, such as Tigress' genuine surprise to learn Po's father, a goose, is his adopted father, but for the most part the jokes are meant for a younger demographic. Not a fault of the film, given the target audience, but a point that prevents older audiences from deeply engaging with it.

As mentioned, Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) pulls a lot of influence from the martial arts flicks of Hong Kong and China. As an animated feature, it forgoes a lot of the camera work that is so iconic to this films, particularly long takes where the focus is on the martial ability of the performers. To compensate, Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) frequently introduces highly artistically stylizes sequences, and allows the camera to break the bounds a real lens would be constricted by. It's an ultimately smart move, leveraging the medium to recreate the awe generated by physical mastery. As much as I might love to see a long take rendered lovingly with skillful choreography, it is impossible to deny the equal skill with which this film is storyboarded and rendered.

The cast is star-studded, all of the Furious 5 and Po reprising their roles, and the addition of Gary Oldman (Lord Shen) and Michelle Yeoh (Soothsayer). Everyone is doing a a strong job, with Oldman and Jack Black (Po) notably carrying, though as the good and evil leads, they also just have the best opportunity to shine. There is something to be said about how white the cast of this China-set martial arts film is, though there was a clear effort made in casting industry legends like Jackie Chan (Monkey), James Hong (Mr. Ping), and Lucy Liu (Viper). As a part of the ongoing conversation in race and casting specifically within voice acting, Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) lands sort of in the middle of the road, aided in large part because the entire cast is anthropomorphic animals.

Speaking of animals, the character designs are something Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and the first film really nail. There is an incredible humanization of the animal characters, while never removing the features that make them their respective species. Viper has decorated her snake eyes while still being noodle shaped, Lord Shen's peacock plumage is only exaggerated by his noble robes, and thankfully, critically, no one has any sort of imposed cleavage. The animation lets the designs shine as well, using each characters' unique features to emphasize their movement and inform the style of martial arts they perform.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) is far from the greatest film ever made, but for what it is, it remains perfectly serviceable and fun. The story is simplified to allow it's younger audience to enjoy it, but it hits the emotional beats it must while including enough jokes to keep the tone from becoming too frightening. Stakes are clear, animation is lovely, and the voice performances are fun. Overall, a worthy follow-up to a successful premise.

7 out of 10 bowls of noodles

P.S. As a fun afterthought, "Shifu" in Chinese means "master," so they kept calling Master Shifu "Master Master" the whole time and it drove me crazy. What in the Jake Dragon American Dragon is this!