Kung Fu Panda 2
Director: Jennifer Yuh
Voices by: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Verdict: Laugh out loud 3D sequel that tops the original
THE extra dimension offered by the addition of a 3D option is mirrored by even sharper writing from the ten-strong team behind the all-important dialogue.
Sure, the stars of the show are the animated creations of a legion of computer whizz kids capable of bringing to life the vision of an ambitious young director.
But that would count for nothing if there weren't more laugh out loud lines than you can wave a karate chop at and a storyline capable of engaging an audience ranging in age from four to seventy.
In in this installment, we find Po (Jack Black) and the Furious Five defending the Valley of Peace from evil when a new threat rises. Lord Shen (brilliantly voiced by Gary Oldman in evil mode), an albino peacock banished by his parents many years ago, has returned with a technology capable of ending kung fu and conquering China.
As the Furious Five embark to destroy the weapon, Po begins to realize that Shen may be linked to his lost childhood past as a panda bear. A series of increasingly detailed flashbacks in dream form help flesh out the back story as we hurtle towards a gripping finale.
How can a peacock be animated to become a threatening character? In addition to the part played by Oldman's voice acting, the animation team have pulled out all the stops to create some pretty impressive moves. Never mind the peacock: one of the dream sequences has a radish transformed into a kung fu master...
Jack Black has pretty much made a career sending himself up as a loveable buffoon - and thankfully here he gets some great lines to continue the tradition. If the voices of the other characters sound familiar, take a look at the cast list and you'll understand why. Dustin Hoffman is back as Master Shifu, the calm at the centre of the storm. Multi-Oscar winner or not, his is a relatively small role in the great scheme of things as he guides Po towards finding the inner peace he needs to carry out his seemingly impossible mission.
Po's dad Mr Ping remains the comic counterpoint he was in the original, seldom seeing much beyond the noodle shop he has worked to build up down the years. Not yet knowing the outcome of Po's battle in the fight against evil, he prepares a poster for his shop: "My son saved China - you, too, can save! Buy one dumpling, get one free!"
Kung Fu Panda 2 is being screened at Vue Cinemas in Inverness. For a full listing of films, see www.myvue.com
Hector Mackenzie
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