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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
‘Kung Fu Panda’ grounded in classic physical comedy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The two main scriptwriters for DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda” worked on TV’s heady “King of the Hill.” Well, that explains why the big-screen animated feature isn’t anything like the quippy, pop culture heavy monstrosities (can you say “Shark Tale”?) parents have often had to endure while trying to to find something to entertain their kids.
The humor in “Panda,” which debuts in theaters June 6, is based in the story’s characters and in classic physical comedy.
Clearly the filmmakers are fans of the earlier Cartoon Network series “Samurai Jack,” because “Panda” has pacing, epic scenes and opportunistic slow motion that harkens to Genndy Tartakovsky’s television masterpiece.
Jack Black voices Po, the big — and often clumsy — Panda pulled into martial arts warfare with formidable, renegade foe Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane).
Here’s what fans will likely be talking about once “Panda,” rated PG, arrives in theaters:
Po (or rather, Jack Black): As he did in “School of Rock,” Black is totally involved in his character. Po is a village noodlemaker in China but he dreams of being the kind of martial artist that would cause onlookers to “go blind” from his “true awesomeness.”
The fights: They are either violent and ultra-dramatic — the evil Tai Lung versus a band of heroic animals on a long suspension bridge — or violent and ultra-comedic — Tai Lung versus Po in the film’s ultimate showdown.
The humor: It emerges not only from the plentiful physical comedy, but from the sly dialog. During Po’s training, martial arts master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) has to chide him: “We do not wash our pits in The Pool of Sacred Tears.”
The CGI: The colors are vibrant and include deep reds and blinding yellows. Scenes are often accented with stunning sunlight. Some of the characters, especially Shifu, sport individual hairs that realistically move in gentle breezes.
Will you take your family to see “Kung Fu Panda”?
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