panda/!?!
I watched Kungfu Panda 2 with my sister today. I really REALLY enjoyed it. It was funny, BEAUTIFUL, had great action, real stakes, and very good character development. It seems sad that I should actually be excited for those kinds of things to be in a movie, but it IS tragic how so many movies these days bank only on action and hot people and leave nothing left for real genuine story telling.
Gary Oldman was spectacular as the villain, Chen. He had real pathos as this sociopathic megalomaniac who just couldn't understand why his parents would send him away, even though he committed genocide and invented cannons. I was especially pleased that he was a WHITE peacock. The writers could have very easily been lazy and made him into a black peacock. There were probably certainly visual benefits of making him white since black is more difficult to CG with dimension and the white really pops out in those dark backgrounds and it set him apart from his henchmen who were grey wolves and gorillas. But STILL. It's so frustrating these days when people continue to play into those old tropes of white=good and black=bad as though that were the literal story device that makes good or bad. Like actions, intention, and a lack of decency weren't technically what made for a good villain. It's really lazy when movies just decide the bad guys should wear black outfits and that all the heroes are going to be played by white people. But Kungfu Panda DEFINITELY did not play it lazy when they designed the peacock. And his feathers were gorgeous. Simply awesome all the wonderful fluid motions they were able to get out of that plumage.
I was upset that wolves were used as the henchmen though. Don't wolves get it bad enough without you making them the faceless, kind of stupid, backup bad guys to your actual baddy? I suppose the movie had pretty much run out of animals at that point and had to figure something out but they could have used dogs. Or panthers. Or all sorts of animals. Oh well.
I'm also really surprised by how deep Michelle Yeoh' voice got for the part of the soothsayer. Is it normally that low?
The only thing that actually bothered me about the movie was the comedic timing. The film was hilarious but it irritated me how the script was constantly undermining dramatic moments with gems of comedy. It was like the filmmakers were scared do death of you actually being nervous or on the edge of your seat or holding your breath too long. So during basically every action sequence or dramatic moment or whatever they would break up the tension right down the middle with some kind of visual gag or one liner. It was annoying. For just one scene I wanted to enjoy the suspense and let my heart race a little without having Po's hand be on fire or someone's stupid comment to diffuse it.
::sigh::
The part where Po finally remembers what happened to his family was very well played. I got very teary eyed. It was just so sad. And I applaud how the filmmakers dealt with the topic of adoption and the meaning of parents. Obviously Po is adopted. Because geese don't give birth to pandas. And I liked that they didn't make much of a deal about Po's absent goose mother. Single fathers aren't seen every day but I appreciate Dreamworks making the concept of a single father a non issue. Men are just as capable of being loving and nurturing as women and like women, they are capable of taking in orphans and loving them like their own. But not only that, Po felt so accepted by his father that it never occurred to him that he wasn't his father's biological son, even though it was pretty obvious. And in the end it didn't matter because what matters is finding that place where you feel 100% loved and accepted.
What a great message for kids, and I think it's a great message for children who were adopted. A lot of kids will wonder about their biological parents but it's also a really important thing to realize that just because your parents didn't give birth to you doesn't mean they aren't in every way just as integral to your lives and your growth as biological ones. I think its nice that Angelina Jolie did this movie and took her kids to see it and that they liked it because her family very much represents the kind of family found in Kungfu Panda 2. Say what you will about her public persona but she's taken all the right steps as a parent and I like that she makes her adoption a non-issue in her family. Biological or adopted, those are your kids and you love them equally and you don't patronize them by thinking they couldn't possibly handle the concept of you not being their "real" mother and father. Because kids are smart and they're resilient and they can handle anything.
As a side note, is it just me or are the new Mazda cars SUPER creepy? It's like crazy gaping Joker grins whenever I drive down the street. I hate it.
Gary Oldman was spectacular as the villain, Chen. He had real pathos as this sociopathic megalomaniac who just couldn't understand why his parents would send him away, even though he committed genocide and invented cannons. I was especially pleased that he was a WHITE peacock. The writers could have very easily been lazy and made him into a black peacock. There were probably certainly visual benefits of making him white since black is more difficult to CG with dimension and the white really pops out in those dark backgrounds and it set him apart from his henchmen who were grey wolves and gorillas. But STILL. It's so frustrating these days when people continue to play into those old tropes of white=good and black=bad as though that were the literal story device that makes good or bad. Like actions, intention, and a lack of decency weren't technically what made for a good villain. It's really lazy when movies just decide the bad guys should wear black outfits and that all the heroes are going to be played by white people. But Kungfu Panda DEFINITELY did not play it lazy when they designed the peacock. And his feathers were gorgeous. Simply awesome all the wonderful fluid motions they were able to get out of that plumage.
I was upset that wolves were used as the henchmen though. Don't wolves get it bad enough without you making them the faceless, kind of stupid, backup bad guys to your actual baddy? I suppose the movie had pretty much run out of animals at that point and had to figure something out but they could have used dogs. Or panthers. Or all sorts of animals. Oh well.
I'm also really surprised by how deep Michelle Yeoh' voice got for the part of the soothsayer. Is it normally that low?
The only thing that actually bothered me about the movie was the comedic timing. The film was hilarious but it irritated me how the script was constantly undermining dramatic moments with gems of comedy. It was like the filmmakers were scared do death of you actually being nervous or on the edge of your seat or holding your breath too long. So during basically every action sequence or dramatic moment or whatever they would break up the tension right down the middle with some kind of visual gag or one liner. It was annoying. For just one scene I wanted to enjoy the suspense and let my heart race a little without having Po's hand be on fire or someone's stupid comment to diffuse it.
::sigh::
The part where Po finally remembers what happened to his family was very well played. I got very teary eyed. It was just so sad. And I applaud how the filmmakers dealt with the topic of adoption and the meaning of parents. Obviously Po is adopted. Because geese don't give birth to pandas. And I liked that they didn't make much of a deal about Po's absent goose mother. Single fathers aren't seen every day but I appreciate Dreamworks making the concept of a single father a non issue. Men are just as capable of being loving and nurturing as women and like women, they are capable of taking in orphans and loving them like their own. But not only that, Po felt so accepted by his father that it never occurred to him that he wasn't his father's biological son, even though it was pretty obvious. And in the end it didn't matter because what matters is finding that place where you feel 100% loved and accepted.
What a great message for kids, and I think it's a great message for children who were adopted. A lot of kids will wonder about their biological parents but it's also a really important thing to realize that just because your parents didn't give birth to you doesn't mean they aren't in every way just as integral to your lives and your growth as biological ones. I think its nice that Angelina Jolie did this movie and took her kids to see it and that they liked it because her family very much represents the kind of family found in Kungfu Panda 2. Say what you will about her public persona but she's taken all the right steps as a parent and I like that she makes her adoption a non-issue in her family. Biological or adopted, those are your kids and you love them equally and you don't patronize them by thinking they couldn't possibly handle the concept of you not being their "real" mother and father. Because kids are smart and they're resilient and they can handle anything.
As a side note, is it just me or are the new Mazda cars SUPER creepy? It's like crazy gaping Joker grins whenever I drive down the street. I hate it.
