“Kung Fu Panda”
If I could write a two-word review of “Kung Fu Panda,” it would be this: kung phooey.
But allow me to elaborate.
This computer-animated romp, aimed squarely at kids, gets the job done, I suppose, making an adequate cinematic baby sitter for cranky kids destined to adore its broad slapstick and roly-poly panda hero.
The best animated features, however, have something for kids of all ages — and the ability to entrance parents along with their young offspring.
“Kung Fu Panda,” alas, does not fall into that category. It’s the kind of movie dutiful grown-ups endure rather than enjoy.
Which is not to suggest that it’s totally devoid of interest. But you know you’re in trouble when the movie’s backgrounds turn out to be more interesting than most of the characters in the foreground.
True to its title, “Kung Fu Panda” focuses on pot-bellied Po (voiced by Jack Black), who’s plucked from obscurity to train as his hometown’s ultimate martial arts protector, the legendary Dragon Warrior.
Of course, the doddering turtle sage Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), who chooses Po for the honor, may be out of his mind, if not his shell.
Especially considering how much better one of the formidable fighters known as the Furious Five — Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Crane (David Cross) and Mantis (Seth Rogen) — would fill the Dragon Warrior role.
Nevertheless, Po gets the nod, enabling him to duck the drudgery of his father’s noodle shop and train with the revered Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), a pint-sized Mr. Miyagi in wolf’s clothing who has transformed the Furious Five into an unstoppable fighting force.
Surely Shifu can mold the bumbling Po into the Dragon Warrior. He’d better — everyone’s safety depends on it, now that the vengeful snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane) has escaped from a mountain fortress and its 1,000 guards.
Tai Lung’s still peeved he was passed over for the plum post of Dragon Warrior — and he’s only going to get angrier once he finds out who Oogway’s chosen for the job.
Assuming Shifu can impart his wisdom to Po in time, that is. Which might be easier if Po would stop eating everything in sight.
Po’s prodigious appetite and resulting rotundity generate much of “Kung Fu Panda’s” mild humor, but few sequences transcend the obvious and labored. (One that does: an inventive chopsticks duel in which Shifu tries to stop Po from stuffing his face.)
The movie’s screenplay (by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger of TV’s “King of the Hill”) follows a familiar path, alternating predictable slapstick with heartfelt “you gotta believe” homilies.
Then again, how could it not, considering the inherently cartoonish qualities of the live-action martial arts movies that inspire “Kung Fu Panda”?
Also to its detriment, the movie makes zero effort to develop the personalities of the Furious Five. Despite the high-profile names supplying their voices, they’re little more than vivid background figures.
Speaking of backgrounds, “Kung Fu Panda” boasts plenty of additional eye candy, thanks to beautifully animated landscapes (inspired by the Li River Valley) reminiscent of Chinese paintings.
In the foreground, however, directors John Stevenson (a story artist on “Shrek” and “Madagascar”) and Mark Osbourne (whose credits include live-action “SpongeBob SquarePants” sequences) never quite find a way to mesh “Kung Fu Panda’s” comedic and chop-socky elements.
As a result, the movie can’t shift gears fast enough as it lurches and jerks from one side of the cinematic road to the other. And once the serious stuff kicks in, the brutality of the combat scenes may be a bit much for younger, more impressionable audiences.
And while we’re on the subject of “a bit much,” let’s not overlook Black’s boisterous presence and booming voice, which tend to overwhelm rather than enliven his character. That leaves it to the wry, wily Hoffman and the seething McShane — who know the difference between creating character and caricature — to share the movie’s vocal honors.
But they’re not the characters kids will clamor for in their fast-food minimeals or Toys “R” Us shopping sprees.
No, they’ll go for Po, Mr. “Kung Fu Panda” himself.
As a toy, he’ll be a cuddly joy. As the centerpiece of a major motion picture, however, he’s a bit thin.
Contact movie critic Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.
REVIEWmovie: “Kung Fu Panda”
running time: 124 minutes
rating: PG; martial arts action
verdict: C
now playing: Boulder, Cannery, Cinedome, Colonnade, Fiesta, Neonpolis, Orleans, Palms, Rainbow, Red Rock, Santa Fe, Showcase, South Point, Suncoast, Sunset, Texas, Town Square, Las Vegas Drive-in; in Imax at Palms and Red Rock
DEJA VIEW
Amazing computer-generated animals enliven a variety of animated features. A few favorites:
“Ice Age” (2002) — In prehistoric times, a woolly mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano), a sabertooth tiger (Denis Leary) and a sloth (John Leguizamo) team up to return a human baby to its tribe.
“Finding Nemo” (2003) — A timid clownfish (Albert Brooks) searches Australia’s Great Barrier Reef for his lost son with the help of an absent-minded pal (Ellen DeGeneres).
“Shrek 2” (2004) — The swashbuckling Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) joins the title ogre (Mike Myers) and his faithful Donkey companion (Eddie Murphy) in this sequel to 2001’s fractured fairy-tale.
“Flushed Away” (2006) — Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet and Ian McKellen lead the vocal cast in this tale of a sophisticated rodent who finds himself flushed down the loo — and into the London sewers.
“Surf’s Up” (2007) — Young Rockhopper penguin Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf) takes a surfing competition by storm with the help of washed-up former champ Big Z (Jeff Bridges).
— By CAROL CLING
