Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American animated comedy blockbuster. It was directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne and produced by Melissa Cobb and stars Jack Black as Po. The film was produced by DreamWorks Animation's studio in Glendale, California and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film stars the voice of Jack Black as the panda, Po, along with the voices of Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong and Jackie Chan. Set in ancient China, the plot revolves around a bumbling panda who aspires to be a kung fu master. After a much-feared warrior is prophesied to escape from prison, Po is foretold to be the Dragon Warrior, much to his shock and surprise, as well as the chagrin of the resident kung fu warriors.

Although the concept of a 'kung fu panda' has been around since at least 1993, work on the film did not begin until 2004. The idea for the film was conceived by Michael Lachance, a DreamWorks Animation executive. The film was originally intended to be a parody, but director Stevenson decided instead to shoot an action comedy martial arts film in the spirit of Hong Kong action cinema that incorporates the hero's journey narrative archetype for the lead character. The computer animation in the film was more complex than anything DreamWorks had done before. As with most DreamWorks animated films, Hans Zimmer (collaborating with John Powell this time) scored Kung Fu Panda. He visited China to absorb the culture and get to know the China National Symphony Orchestra as part of his preparation.

Kung Fu Panda premiered in the United States on June 1, 2008, and has since received very favorable reviews from critics. The film currently garners an 89% "Certified Fresh" approval rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Kung Fu Panda opened in 4,114 theaters, grossing $20.3 million on its opening day and $60.2 million on its opening weekend, resulting in the number one position at the box office. The film has achieved DreamWorks's biggest opening for a non-sequel film, highest grossing animated movie of the year, and the third-largest weekend overall for a DreamWorks animated film, behind Shrek the Third and Shrek 2.

Plot

In an alternate China (populated entirely by anthropomorphic animals), the Valley of Peace is protected by the Furious Five - Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross) - a quintet of warriors trained in kung fu by the tortoise Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) and his protégé, the red panda Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). One day, Master Oogway has a premonition that Shifu's former pupil and foster-son, the snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane), who was imprisoned after turning to evil, will escape from his high-security prison and attack the Valley. Oogway instructs Shifu and the others to hold a tournament in order to choose the legendary Dragon Warrior, worthy to receive the power of the Dragon Scroll, which is said to give nigh-supreme power to whomever reads it.

Po (Jack Black), a young giant panda and kung fu fanatic who works in his duck father's noodle restaurant, is anxious to see the tournament, but is instead forced to take a noodle cart up the hill to the Jade Palace. When he arrives, the gates are closed and the tournament has already started. Desperate to see the tournament, Po tries several ways to get inside. In a final attempt, Po straps himself to a set of fireworks, by which he propels himself into the middle of the arena just as Oogway is about to point out the new Dragon Warrior, so that Oogway indicates Po as such. Unwilling to believe that a clumsy, fat panda can become the Dragon Warrior, Shifu attempts to berate and humiliate Po into quitting, subjecting him to a grueling series of matches with the Five, all of whom - especially Tigress - despise Po as an upstart, a failure, and a nobody. Po is dejected after his first day of training, but when he is given advice by Master Oogway, he refuses to give up. Soon, he endears himself to most of the Five (sans Tigress) with his impressive tenacity, culinary skill, and good humor, though he is still unable to grasp the basics of kung fu.

Tai Lung is able to escape from his Mongolian prison, despite Shifu's attempt to improve its security. Anxious to have the Dragon Scroll himself, he begins his return to the Valley. Meanwhile, Oogway exacts a promise from Shifu that the latter will believe in and train Po, and then ascends to heaven in a swirl of flower petals, conferring his status as master guardian of the Valley of Peace upon Shifu. Upon hearing that Tai Lung is coming, Po panics and tries to flee from the Palace. Shifu refuses to let him go, insisting that Oogway's advice must be followed, but Po has lost all confidence and Shifu is at a complete loss for a solution. After witnessing this argument on the roof of the Palace, Tigress leads the Furious Five in an attempt to stop Tai Lung themselves. The next morning, Shifu discovers that Po displays incredible and impressive agility when he is motivated by food. He therefore takes Po for solitary training in the mountains and, by promising food as a reward for learning his lessons well, trains Po into a skilled and capable warrior.

Master Tigress the leader of the Furious Five and the gang leap in and use their kung fu skills to battle Tai Lung over a long rope bridge over a misty canyon, in which the Five initially seem to win, but Tai Lung ultimately defeats them with the use of nerve strikes. Crane flies back to the Jade Palace with the other members of the Furious Five, who have been paralyzed. Feeling that Po is ready to beat Tai Lung, Shifu gives him the Dragon Scroll, which opens to reveal nothing but a blank, golden reflective surface. Shifu, stricken with utter despair at the scroll's apparent worthlessness, orders Po and the Five to evacuate the valley while he prepares to delay Tai Lung for as long as he can, knowing this attempt may lead to his death. During the evacuation, Po finds his father who, in an attempt to console him, reveals that the long-withheld secret ingredient of his famous secret ingredient soup is "nothing" - except the power of conviction. Po realizes that this idea applies to the Dragon Scroll as well and returns to face Tai Lung.

At the temple, Tai Lung confronts Master Shifu and demands for the scroll. When Shifu refuses, Tai Lung attacks and nearly kills him. He notices that the scroll has already been taken. Enraged, he asks Shifu where it is. Shifu tells him that Po has taken the scroll halfway across China by now, too far to chase. All of a sudden, right before Tai Lung lays down his death blow on his former master, an exhausted Po arrives with the Dragon Scroll. Tai Lung can hardly believe that the Dragon Warrior is a "big, fat panda", but as he battles Po to take the Scroll, Po unexpectedly proves himself an equal, which the leopard concludes could only be possible through the scroll's magic. After a frustrating struggle, Tai Lung gains the upper hand and opens the scroll, but cannot comprehend its symbolic value. Po explains that "there is no secret ingredient" other than the warrior's belief in himself, but Tai Lung fails to understand and attacks again. With the combination of his new understanding and the effects of his own body mass, Po counter-attacks with devastating effectiveness and finally defeats Tai Lung by means of a destructively powerful technique called the "Wuxi Finger Hold".

The Furious Five return with the village to find Po, dazed but victorious. Deeply impressed, Tigress leads the Furious Five in their acceptance of Po as a kung fu master. Po returns to Shifu and finds that he is barely conscious, but alive, and finally at peace now that Tai Lung has been defeated and peace restored. In a post-credits sequence, Po and Shifu are seen eating dumplings under Oogway's favorite peach tree, where a peach seed Shifu planted earlier has begun to sprout into a seedling.

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