Kung Fu Panda 2 Review

Kung Fu Panda 2


Release Date: 23rd June 2011 - Australia


Production Companies
DreamWorks Animation

Distribution
Paramount Pictures Australia

Genre: Animation/Family/

Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 90 minutes


Budget: $150,000,000

Box Office Gross: $665,692,281 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary
When a new enemy emerges, he plans to use a new unstoppable weapon, leading

to his conquest of China

and ending kung fu.

Po and the Furious Five

must travel across China

to thwart his attempt and

have him extinguished.

But how will Po ever

prevent a weapon that

could destroy kung fu?

He must look deeper

into his past and unravel

the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he succeed in unlocking the strength he needs to master.

Voice Cast

Jack Black - Po

Angelina Jolie - Tigress

Gary Oldman - Lord Shen

Jackie Chan - Monkey

Seth Rogen - Mantis

Lucy Liu - Viper

David Cross - Crane

Dustin Hoffman - Master Shifu

James Hong - Mr. Ping

Michelle Yeoh - Soothsayer

Danny McBride - Wolf Boss

Dennis Haysbert - Master Storming Ox

Jean-Claude Van Damme -

Master Croc

Victor Garber - Master Thundering Rhino

Crew

Director - Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Based on Characters - Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (Uncredited)

Writers/Co-Producers - Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger
Associate Producer - Chris Sanders

Executive Producer/

Creative Consultant - Guillermo del Toro

Producer - Melissa Cobb
Co-Producer - Suzanne Buirgy

Production Designer - Raymond Zibach

Art Director - Tang Kheng Heng

Character Designer - Nicolas Marlet

Head of Story - Philip Craven

Story Artist/Animation Supervisor/Animator:
2D Sequence Production/Choreographer:

Kung Fu - Rodolphe Guenoden

Head of Layout - Damon O'Beirne

Production Manager - Jeff Hermann

Head of Character Animation - Dan Wagner

Animation Supervisors - Marek Kochout,
David Pate and William Salazar
Animation Supervisor/Animator: 2D Sequence

Production - Philippe Brun

Effects Supervisor - Li-Ming 'Lawrence' Lee
Visual Effects Supervisor - Alex Parkinson

Global Leads - Jonathan Gibbs,

Jin Liou, Phil 'Captain 3D' McNally and

Jason Reisig

Head of Lighting - Dave Walvoord

Lighting Supervisors - Igor Lodeiro,

Aaron Smith, M. Scott McKee, Pablo Valle,

Michael Necci, Liang-Yuan Wang and

Marc Jason Scott

Supervising Character Technical Directors -

Martin Costello and Kevin Oochs

Technical Director - Serge Sretschinsky

Final Layout Supervisor - Richard Shiba
Surfacing Supervisor - Wes Burian

Stereo Consultant - Willem Drees

Editors - Maryann Brandon and

Clare De Chenu

Associate Editors - Mark Hester and

Anna Solorio-Catalano

Supervising Sound Editors - Ethan Van der Ryn

and Erik Aadahl

Sound Effects Field Recordist - John P. Fasal

Re-Recording Mixers - Andy Nelson

and James Bolt

Music - Hans Zimmer and John Powell
Composers: Additional Music - Lorne Balfe,
Dominic Lewis and Paul Mounsey

Scoring Mixer - Alan Meyerson

Review
Not only was KUNG FU PANDA 2 more awesome and funnier than the first movie (click here), but it also has a darker tone and a plot much deeper than the original. This continuation boasts excellent characterisation with other aspects that proved to be positive, including better animation and more well-choreographed action sequences. Alongside Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogen, and others are the new additions to the voice cast, such as Gary Oldman, who did a fantastic job of voicing Lord Shen. However, his character is compared to Ian McShane's Tai Lung in the predecessor and is more intimidating than the former. I can't believe I knew all this time that the goose, Mr. Ping, is not Po's dad. I laughed at the scene when Po says, "My fist hungers for justice!" and then his stomach growls, "That was my... fist."

KUNG FU PANDA 2 proves to be exciting in 3D when it delivers an immersive experience for fans. It was an entertaining, if not a more action-oriented animated sequel.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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