Kung Fu Panda (Widescreen Edition)

I have this at home to entertain my grandchildren when they visit. It did the job very well

I love it. My wife loves it. My son loves it. My son is 8 and has seen it 7 times already. Very funny. Good cast, Jack Black rules!

Beautifully animated and rich with meaning, `Kung Fu Panda' is a surefire crowd pleaser and, well, a whole lot of fun. Pairing crisp imagery with some sublime voice over actors, `Kung Fu Panda' is as entertaining as the trailers would suggest and definitely deserves a spot as one of the best animated films of the year.

The film tells the story of Po, a Panda who dreams of one day achieving Kung Fu awesomeness. The only problem is that he comes from a long line of noodle makers and his father just doesn't understand his desire to fight. When word comes that the evil kung fu master Tai Lung may escape imprisonment it is time to name the Dragon Warrior, a kung fu master who will receive the dragon scroll and all its endless power. The ceremony is held and it is believed that one of the furious five (Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Crane and Viper) will be named the Dragon Warrior, but not all is as it seems and Po is named the warrior. Kung Fu master Shifu must train Po in order for him to defeat Tai Lung.

The storyline is simple enough for children to grasp yet not too dulled down to the point where parents are bored stiff. The action keeps coming and the hilarity rarely lets up, and the message about believing in oneself is very strong and very enlightening, especially for children.

I will give a word of caution, and beings that this is a film targeted towards the young ones I feel that this `warning' is valid and justified. The film is filled with kung fu violence. Now yes, I understand that a lot of cartoons have violence within them, and I normally am not one to balk at all, but there is a slight difference (is it really slight?) between stylized comical violence and intentional dark violence. Tai Lung is an evil soul and the fight scenes between him and the furious five or him and Shifu are quite violent and not comical (his fight with Po is rather funny). His escape from the prison is rather violent as well. The point being that, while a film like `The Incredibles' is violent, it is a comical kind of violence (the villain in that film is funny in itself) but the violence here is darker and may not be something you want your children imitating. Just a word of caution to parents, since being a parent I appreciate those words myself.

Anyways, I really like this movie, and I think that most parents and children will too. Just know your kids first, that's all I say. It's entertaining and action packed and funny to boot. Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman make a great team here.

Light, unchallenging "unlikely hero" story for the kiddies. Mostly pratfalls, fat jokes and clever references to other movies. Beautiful animation. Be yourself and dream, baby.

Definately entertaing when watching with a child, the story is predictable but the humour makes up for that.