Kung Fu Panda

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/13/09 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson with a screenplay by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger based on a story by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris. Kung Fu Panda tells the story of a kung fu-loving panda in ancient China who is mistakenly chosen to become a legendary warrior. Meanwhile, an angry tiger breaks free from prison to wreak havoc on a peaceful valley as the only person that can stop is the panda. A mixture of martial arts films with comedy, light-drama, and inspirational drama. It's a film that is truly entertaining while having something to say. With an all-star voice cast that includes Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Ian MacShane, Dan Fogler, Michael Clarke Duncan, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, and Jackie Chan. Kung Fu Panda is a charming, fun, and entertaining film from Mark Osborne & John Stevenson.

The film is a lot of things but really, it's about a panda who becomes an unlikely hero despite the fact that he's clumsy, fat, and not knowing a lot of skills that a kung fu master would have yet. There's something else that makes the film far more than just an entertaining film with action sequences and comedy. It's about how a teacher like Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) can make a fat, clumsy panda like Po (Jack Black) into a warrior that he's destined to be. At first, Shifu is convinced that Po is not the Dragon Warrior only to realize that he might be the only person that can help rectify the mistake he made in raising Tai Lung (Ian MacShane) to believe that he would be the Dragon Warrior.

While Shifu has taught his students in ways that is traditional, with Po, he realized that he can't teach him the same way he taught the Furious Five. In this unconventional approach, both teacher and student bond while becoming unlikely heroes where the student gains confidence while the teacher finds a sense of redemption and peace that he's craving for. That's one of the big themes about the film while the secret revealed in the Dragon Scroll is actually much simpler than it is. For someone as inexperienced and with a limited knowledge of kung fu like Po to face someone as fierce and as skilled as Tai Lung seems like a total mismatch. Yet, it's not about how many moves or how fast or powerful your moves are. It's all about what you can do with what little you know and how to apply while still getting the job done.

The writers of the film do an amazing job in creating universal themes that aren't heavy-handed along with memorable characters and development for the story to be engaging. The direction of Mark Osborne and John Stevenson is truly superb in its recreation of ancient China along with sequences and set pieces that are phenomenal. Notably the action sequences that move with great rhythm and composed with great style that is similar to the film work of Zhang Yimou as well as Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. At the same time, they make a martial arts film that isn't a parody but rather as an action film with dabbles of humor and drama. The visual look of the film is definitely stunning as they do raise the bar for everything they did in comparison to the other work that Dreamworks animation do. While it may not have the vast visual flair of Pixar, Osborne and Stevenson do succeed in crafting a solid film that is entertaining and enlightening.

The animation is definitely phenomenal with some fantastic lighting designs by cinematographer Yong Duk Jhun along with art direction by production designer Raymond Zibach and art director Tang Kheng Heng in the look of the Jade Palace and prison where Tai Lung stayed. Clare De Chenu's editing is definitely phenomenal in its sense of rhythm while using jump-cuts and freeze-frames for the action sequences to keep things going. Sound designer Ethan Van der Ryn and sound editor Erik Aadahl do great work in the sound of swords and grunts that goes on for the action sequences. The music of Hans Zimmer and John Powell is wonderful for its mixture of intense orchestral pieces for action scenes along with traditional Chinese music for its scenery and atmosphere. The soundtrack also includes a fantastic cover of Kung Fu Fighting performed by Cee-Lo and Jack Black.

The casting is excellent with some cameo voices from Wayne Knight, Laura Kightlinger, JR Reed, and Jack Black's Tenacious D partner Kyle Gass. Michael Clarke Duncan's voice as the prison warden Vachir is wonderfully comical along with Dan Fogler as the scared goose Zeng. Randall Duk Kim provides the right notes for the wise tortoise Master Oogway while James Hong provides a nice warmth and humor to the role of Po's goose father Mr. Ping. In the roles of the Furious Five, Seth Rogen provides some nice humor as Mantis while David Cross plays straight man as the calm, restrained Crane. Lucy Liu is very good as the sensitive Viper while Jackie Chan adds some humor and restraint as Monkey. In the role of Tigress, Angelina Jolie is excellent as the humorless and skillful warrior who doesn't respect Po only to realize that she is not strong enough to face Tai Lung.

Ian MacShane is great as Tai Lung, the fierce warrior who is anxious to attain the Dragon Scroll while is filled with lots of hate and anger over the fact that he wasn't chosen the first time around. Dustin Hoffman is brilliant as Master Shifu, a skillful master who at first ridicules Po while possessing no humor until he realizes how he can reach him where Hoffman displays a sense of warmth and charm. Finally, there's Jack Black who is perfectly cast as Po, the title character who is this clumsy yet funny panda who becomes this great warrior while displaying some vulnerability and confidence that makes his character appealing.

Kung Fu Panda is a marvelous film from Dreamworks Animation. With an amazing voice cast and phenomenal technical work, it's a film that is visually stunning but also entertaining. While the story is formulaic but works, it is a film that is worth watching over and over again as Kung Fu Panda is just a fun, enlightening film to watch.

© thevoid99 2013

How to Train Your Dragon

Based on Cressida Cowell’s book, How to Train Your Dragon tells the story of a young Viking teenager who captures a mysterious dragon in hopes to gain acceptance from his father and tribe. Instead, he befriends the dragon whom he starts to care for and help create a prosthetic tail to help him fly. Directed Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois with an adapted script by Sanders, DeBlois, and Will Davies. The computer-animated film is among one of Dreamworks Animations finest projects to date eschewing their more entertaining stories for something more profound. With a voice cast that includes Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, T.J. Miller, and Craig Ferguson. How to Train Your Dragon is a thrilling yet heartwarming film from Dreamworks Animation studio.

All Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) ever wanted was to win the approval of his Viking chief father Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) yet always end up causing trouble with his strange ideas. While he works as an apprentice for the blacksmith Gobber the Belch (Craig Ferguson), Hiccup wants to prove himself by capturing and kill a dragon as the island he and other Vikings live in are often under attack by dragons. The most dangerous dragon is the Night Fury whose speed and fire power is beyond anything that other dragons could do. Hiccup manages to capture one as he later finds the dragon only to realize that it’s afraid as he lets it go only to realize it lost part of its tail. With Stoick asking Gobber to train Hiccup to attack dragons as he goes on shore leave to find the nest, Hiccup reluctantly takes part in dragon training.

During his time with the Night Fury whom he calls Toothless, Hiccup learns about the dragon where he uses his knowledge to deal with other dragons during his training. Once the trouble-making outcast, Hiccup becomes the top student of dragon training though Astrid (America Ferrera) seems suspicious over Hiccup’s frequent disappearances. With Stoick learning about Hiccup’s progress at dragon training, he seems impressed as he hopes Hiccup will kill his first dragon. When Astrid discovers Hiccup’s secret that included creating a prosthetic tail for Toothless, the two make an even bigger discovery during an impromptu flight to the dragon lair. When Stoick eventually learns what Hiccup had been doing all along and the dragon’s nest, he makes a trip to the lair with a captured Toothless. Realizing that his father is walking towards danger, it’s up to Hiccup, Astrid, their friends, and other dragons to help out.

Since Dreamworks Animations founding in 1998 with its first film Antz, which was a computer-animated film, the studio has been making films that always try to provide a much more family-friendly kind of entertainment towards its audience. Yet, those films have often been peppered with pop culture references to keep younger audiences excited but always tend to lose focus for the story. With this film, directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois along with co-screenwriter Will Davies stray from that kind of humor for something much more profound while retaining some of the humor that has kept Dreamworks Animation successful.

Since the film is about a young Viking teenager trying to win his father’s approval while befriending a dragon. The character of Hiccup is one filled with conflict since he suddenly cares for this dragon that he’s captured and help make it fly again by creating a prosthetic tail. Yet, he also wants to prove to the Vikings that everything they knew about dragons were wrong while wanting his father to accept him. Yet, the character of Stoick isn’t a one-dimensional father that is very ignorant and wanting his son to be like him. He’s also someone who is unsure if he’s raising him right while wanting to protect him from all sorts of danger. The emphasis on character development and creating something more full-fledge allows the story to progress without having to dwell into any tricks. The dragons that Hiccup encounters, notably Toothless, have a personality all to their own which helps Hiccup understand these creatures.

The direction of the film by Sanders and DeBlois is truly spectacular as they go for something that is both rough in its landscapes but also broader in its scope. Taking on a much more textured look for the rocks and caverns plus the islands that Hiccup and Toothless encounter, there is a more life-like feel to the way these landscapes look that is similar to what Pixar studios have done. Still, Sanders and DeBlois do retain a cartoonish look to the characters and the dragons while making them seem a bit real and lively. The overall work in the animation and look to the film is phenomenal as Sanders and DeBlois create a moving yet visually-dazzling film.

Helping the directors to create the lighting and visual beauty of the film is renowned cinematographer Roger Deakins. Known mostly for his work with the Coen Brothers and having contributed his services to Pixar’s 2008 film WALL-E. Deakins work as a visual consultant help give the film a look that is livelier and more realistic that strays away from the cartoonish look of previous films. The overall look and photography that Deakins provides is truly amazing. Editors Maryann Brandon and Darren T. Holmes do some excellent work with the editing by creating some intense, fast-paced cuts for some of the flying scenes and action sequences while maintaining a leisured, straightforward approach for the dramatic moments of the film.

Production designer Kathy Altieri and art director Pierre-Olivier Vincent do a superb job with the look of the island and its homes along with the dome where Hiccup and his friends train in and the secret nest that Toothless takes Hiccup and Astrid to. Sound designer Randy Thom and sound editor Jonathan Null do great work in the sound from the fire-breathing sounds of the dragons to the creaking of ships in the sea for its climatic battle. The film’s score by John Powell is definitely a major highlight of the film as Powell’s score is filled with sweeping orchestral arrangements with bombastic rhythms. Even as he fills the scores with layers of Scottish bagpipes and other woodwinds to add flair and emotion to the musical pieces. Also in the film’s soundtrack is Jonsi’s Sticks & Stones which is a wonderful companion piece that is played during the final credits.

The voice is cast is definitely brilliant as it features small voice roles from Ashley Jensen and David Tennant as a couple of Vikings while Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller are funny as the battling twins Ruffnot and Tuffnot, respectively. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is very good as the nervous but book-smart Fishlegs while Jonah Hill is excellent as the arrogant but dim Snotlout. America Ferrera is wonderful as Astrid, a tough Viking girl who discovers Hiccup’s secret while learning why the dragons were trying to steal food from the Vikings. Craig Ferguson is great in a very funny role as peg-legged and one-armed Gobber, a blacksmith who tries to help Stoick about Hiccup while teaching the young boy about dragons and such.

Gerard Butler is brilliant as Stoick, a Viking leader who wants to protect Hiccup while trying to make him into a great Viking warrior only to realize how different he is. Finally, there’s Jay Baruchel who is amazing in providing the voice for Hiccup as Baruchel brings a sense of confusing and curiosity to a young boy striving to win his father’s approval. Particularly as he gains understanding about the creatures he’s learned to hunt for only to have a bigger appreciation for them.

How to Train Your Dragon is a marvelous film from Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois that truly brings not just a wonderful sense of entertainment but with a story that is touching and engaging. With a great visual look and a superb score from John Powell, it is definitely a film that truly can go toe-to-toe with the array of great films that Pixar has made since the mid-1990s. In comparison to the films that Dreamworks Animation has made, this film is undoubtedly their best film so far as How to Train Your Dragon is a stunning achievement for that studio.

© thevoid99 2011