Review: ‘Kung Fu Panda’ gives food for thought

Directed by: John Stevenson and Mark Osborne

Starring: (The voices of) Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Michael Clarke Duncan, Dan Fogler

Rated: PG

The name says it all. Anyone familiar with modern cartoons – ones that aim to please both young and old – will already know the basic plot when seeing the title, “Kung Fu Panda.”

That fact doesn’t diminish anything about the film that (as a DreamWorks production) features state-of-the-art animation, sweet characters and a storyline that has something to offer viewers of every age. Young members of the audience will get the follow-your-heart message, and older folks will recognize philosophical concepts drawn from Zen Buddhism and the “Tao Te Ching.”

That isn’t to suggest this is a heavy film. It’s filled with lots of laughs, and Jack Black, as Po, the panda of the title, wisely plays things down a bit to voice a sweet character who maintains a degree of dignity through all of his struggles, foibles and physical challenges. A pudgy panda striving to be a martial arts master could have easily been played strictly for laughs, but writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger never write down to the audience. The laughs are plentiful but never strictly at Po’s expense.

Po lives in China, in a place known as the Valley of Peace. There are no humans to be seen anywhere in the film, and the rules of nature are stretched somewhat. Po’s dad is some sort of pelican or stork. It’s never addressed how he might have fathered a panda.

Dad runs a noodle shop and is famous for his secret-ingredient soup. His wish is for Po to follow the tradition (it goes back several generations) and take over the shop. At that time he’ll be told the secret ingredient.

But Po’s dreams take him elsewhere. He wants to be a kung-fu master and finally, through circumstances that can only come about in finely crafted animated films, he gets thrown into circumstances that might allow that to happen.

The Valley of Peace, as its name implies, is a nice place to live. The only threat to the tranquility is housed in a prison, guarded by 1,000 sentries. Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane) is a former student of the kung-fu master Oogway (voiced by Randall Duk Kim). Tai Lung has gone to the “dark side” and thus been imprisoned. But Master Oogway has had a vision he is going to escape and try to obtain the “dragon scroll,” the secret to kung-fu’s mightiest powers.

A dragon master must be chosen, and there are five candidates, all under the tutelage of Oogway’s former pupil, the wise Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman).

But fate has Po – literally – drop in on the proceedings, and Oogway sees that the weight-challenged, clumsy and sweet-natured panda is the chosen one.

The other five and Master Shifu are horrified and think Oogway must be slipping. Shifu assumes if he can make short work of Po’s training, the panda will simply give up.

But that isn’t to be.

Po exceeds everyone’s, even his own, expectations.

The two key scenes, action-packed wonders that only modern animation can provide, involve dumplings (really) and the ultimate showdown with Tai Lung. Both are thrill-inducing, and the dumpling scene is laced with many good laughs.

The philosophical ends are tied up when both the secret ingredient to Po’s dad’s noodle soup and the wisdom in the dragon scroll are revealed. As one might suspect from the context of the film, both are very Zen-like.

“Kung Fu Panda” isn’t the best animated feature to come along lately (my heart still belongs to “Ratatouille”), but its animation, charming characters and story that offers food for thought make for satisfying viewing.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield freelance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.