Kung Fu Panda (2008) Rank 2 Reviews

Sacramento News & Review (Jim Lane)

In a Chinese fairy-tale animal world, a lowly noodle-shop panda (voice by Jack Black) is chosen to defend his valley against a wicked kung-fu leopard (Ian McShane) who has escaped from prison. The script (by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Ethan Reiff and ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Sacramento News & Review (Jim Lane)

ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)

Enjoyable, superbly animated and frequently funny adventure with great voice work, strong characters and some excellent fight scenes. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)

Austin Chronicle (Josh Rosenblatt)

â��He sat on him again!â�� the kid squealed over and over, as if the secret to a happy life is watching a cartoon bear plant his big backside on the head of a cartoon tiger at least twice a day. And whoâ��s to say heâ��s wrong? ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Austin Chronicle (Josh Rosenblatt)

Future Movies (Jay Richardson)

Kung-Fu Panda looks fantastic and kids will adore its roly-poly, furry hero. But this is strictly formulaic animation from DreamWorks, wasting a stellar cast and a marvellously high concept idea. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Future Movies (Jay Richardson)

Scott's Movie Reviews (Scott Mantz)

"Kung Fu Panda" will have you rolling in the aisles â�� that is, if you're, like, 10. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Scott's Movie Reviews (Scott Mantz)

Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)

Zimmer Powell Kung Fu Panda: (Hans Zimmer/John Powell) Marking the first animated film by Dreamworks to be produced in 2.35:1 widescreen format, Kung Fu Panda has a more weighty dramatic storyline than you might expect. While the images of a cute ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)

The Cinema Source (Michael M. Dance)

It's really hard to fault Kung Fu Panda, because it knows exactly what it's doing and it does it well. I can just imagine the glee from development executives when someone came up with the title ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at The Cinema Source (Michael M. Dance)

Preview Family Movie Review

Enthusiastic, big and a little clumsy, Po is the biggest fan of Kung Fu around...which doesn't exactly come in handy while working every day in his family's noodle shop. Unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy, Po's dreams become reality when ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Preview Family Movie Review

Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)

What's sad is that everyone in the theatre was there to see a comedy, and everyone was prepared to laugh, but no one did. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)

Tiscali UK

The plot is thoroughly predictable and offers no surprises: Black is Po, an overweight and underachieving panda whose future as a noodle-maker is already plotted out by his father. But when freak circumstances lead him to become the next Dragon Warrior - ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Tiscali UK

PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)

Big and bouncy, Kung Fu Panda is another powerhouse Family Entertainment that means to pummel its young viewers into adulation. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)

Time Out London (Tom Huddleston)

Thereâ��s no chop-socky clichÃ© too hackneyed for the filmmakers to make meat of. Inscrutable, riddle-spouting guru, check. Ancient mystical jade temple, check. Uptempo training montage, check. The setting is a sort of Disneyland version of ancient ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Time Out London (Tom Huddleston)

Three Movie Buffs (Eric Nash)

Po is a Panda working in his, duck, fatherâ��s noodle restaurant. True to almost every animated film, minus The Incredibles, Po seems to be the son of a single parent. No mother is ever mentioned. Po dreams of being a kung fu master while his father ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Eric Nash)

KPBS.org (Beth Accomando)

The open got my interest up because the animation style recalled the Emmy-winning Cartoon Network show Samurai Jack. Unfortunately, when the dream ends, so does the innovative visual style... ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at KPBS.org (Beth Accomando)

efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

It lacks that final spark of ingenuity or inspiration that would have transformed it from an amusing idea into a full-fledged movie worth watching. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

National Post

Kung Fu Panda opens with Po showing off his martial artistry before a rude awakening confirms what we already knew; ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at National Post

kids-in-mind

An animal is shown getting acupuncture and is shown being stuck with needles; he says "ouch" repeatedly as other animals that are helping try to get it right; later the animal passes out and a friend says, "I think I may have stopped his ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at kids-in-mind

Wall Street Journal (Joe Morgenstern)

The film settles into a succession of ritual spoofs of the kung fu genre, and peddles the sort of cloying preachments about self-esteem and human potential -- panda potential -- that little kids hear all the time on TV. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Wall Street Journal (Joe Morgenstern)

USA Today (Claudia Puig)

Everything that happens in this dull tale of Po, a paunchy panda who becomes a zealous kung fu fighter, is telegraphed well in advance. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)

Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)

A relatively harmless bit of animated fun. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)

Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)

It's time to give the fallacy of the slacker hero (played by Jack Black, of course) a good kick in the pants. The animation looks great, ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)

One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

Except for an opening dream sequence, which is portrayed in ersatz antique art style, the computer-generated animation in this new DreamWorks picture is first-rate, with backgrounds of a mountainous Chinese countryside that are often strikingly lovely. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)

eFilmcritic.com (Jack Sommersby)

It's a pretty lame cinematic endeavor that never gets creative on us. ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at eFilmcritic.com (Jack Sommersby)

efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

The good news about â��Kung Fu Panda,â�� the latest attempt by Dreamworks Animation to capture the hearts, minds and petty cash of the increasingly lucrative family market, is that it manages to avoid a good number of the clichÃ©s that are often found in ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)

Film Freak Central

It's a missed opportunity that the film isn't about Shifu and the trials of his fractured family; instead, we are left with a work of CGI colonialism, as an ignorant oaf is ennobled by the mere impression of his background, invades a culture not his own, ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Film Freak Central

Time Out New York (Stephen Garrett)

The animation veers from dazzling (particularly in an opening sequence deeply indebted to Genndy Tartakovskyâ��s wildly superior cartoon saga, Samurai Jack) to merely mechanical, showing only sporadic visual flair but, like much of the movie, otherwise ...read the complete Kung Fu Panda movie review at Time Out New York (Stephen Garrett)

Critic Reviews

Kung Fu Panda (2008) Rank 2 Reviews

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