The Awesomeness of the Kung Fu Panda

Well, I just got back from watching Kung Fu Panda today, and there really is only one word to describe it - AWESOME(ness)!



I mean, seriously. This animated flick by Dreamworks totally bounced above all the other movies this half-year with a resounding "Boink!". As the poster says, be prepared for total awesomeness and craziness as Po, a big fat panda and kung fu fanatic suddenly finds himself chosen as the prophesied Dragon Warrior after crash landing into a tournament. What's more, the dangerous evil Warrior named Tai Lung has escaped from prison and it's up to Po, the Dragon Warrior, to save the day. Master Shifu, in charge of training the "Chosen One", despairs of ever molding the lazy panda into anything fit... That is, until he discovers the only thing that can motivate Po - food.

As all kung fu flicks go, the predictable always happens: Po is deprived of food until he learns enough kung fu to get it from Shifu. After several days of hard training in the mountains, the day comes when Po is finally able to get a dumpling from his master and tosses it away. He has "passed" the test and they go back to the Jade Palace in high spirits, only to find the other disciples (Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Viper and Mantis) beaten up by Tai Lung.

The city is evacuated and Shifu stays behind to fight with Tai Lung (they have a history that goes way back when Tai Lung was a really cute little cub). Po finally understands the meaning of the blank Dragon Scroll and hurries up to the Jade Palace, only to come face-to-face with Tai Lung, who is bent on getting the famous Dragon Scroll and becoming the Dragon Warrior.

A fight of awesome proportion ensues as both of them tumble down the loooooong stairs and into the empty town below. Boinking, crashing, flying and other -ings make up the fight between the lean and the pudgy. Tai Lung's powerful blows just bounced off Po's tubby stomach and after swinging the angry snow leopard around by his tail, Po finally finishes him off with the dreaded "WuXi Finger Hold" (LoL, don't ask). Po the Panda is finally recognised as the brave and mighty warrior he always imagined and everybody lives happily ever after.



The starting was quite a pleasant surprise, as the Dreamworks logo wasn't the usual one we see. In 2D cartoon style, it shows the silhouette of a monkey running across water, and then a crescent moon glides up from under it so that the monkey is then shown as sitting on the edge holding a pole for fishing. Other notable scenes were the part where Po was trying to watch the tournament, his chopstick fight with Shifu, Tai Lung's escape from prison and the Furious Five's tussle with Tai Lung on the rope bridge. Of course, let's not forget the awesomeness of Po's WuXi Finger Hold on Tai Lung, which sent shockwaves through the town in a 5-mile radius! XD

This animation deserves 5 out of 5 for total awesomeness! If Dreamworks keeps this up, Disney could very well be shaking on its pedestal of cartoon movie tycoon. *waggles eyebrows*

What ending could be more fitting than China's national treasure - the giant panda - saving it from evil baddies? ^^