Rated PG for sequences of martial arts action.
Directed by John Stevenson, Mark Osborne (first feature film)
Starring the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Ian McShane, David Cross, Seth Rogen, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, Dan Fogler
This is the best movie with “Kung Fu” in the title… ever. In fact, the question is not, “Will you sing ‘Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting’ out loud?” the question is, “How many times will you sing it?”
Kung Fu Panda is the story about a slacker panda, named Po, who is the world’s biggest fan of Kung Fu and the legendary Furious Five — Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. While working in his family's noodle shop, he dreams of fighting along side his heroes. Unexpectedly (or ‘accidentally’) he is chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy and his dreams become reality. He joins the Kung Fu Master, Master Shifu, and trains to defeat the vengeful and treacherous Tai Lung. Po puts his entire heart into the task, and the unlikely hero ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strength.
From beginning to end, Kung Fu Panda is a solid animated film for kids and plenty of adults. While it’s not Shrek or Disney’s Cars, Kung Fu Panda is fantastic. It has a great story and an amazing cast; lead by the perfectly paired Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman as the student and teacher ala the Karate Kid. Instead of wax and paint, Shifu uses food as the incentive, and the rest of the Five reluctantly come to appreciate and befriend Po.
Like most animated kid movies, Kung Fu Panda has its fair share of life lessons. Everything from learning how to work together, not judging others based on outward appearances, and others are taught in a funny and clever way.
In fact the film's co-director Mark Osborne has said, “It was important to all of us, from the start, that Kung Fu Panda would have a theme, a positive message that we really believed in. We wanted it to be a fun experience loaded with comedy and great action. But we also wanted there to be a takeaway that we all believed was a good one.” As far as my family and I are concerned, they did just that. Kung Fu Panda is so “Theatre Worthy.”
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Definitely.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
