★★★★★
Kung Fu Panda centers around a panda named Po who becomes the dragon warrior to protect the valley of peace. This movie franchise has made four movies as it is one of the most loved franchises that DreamWorks has ever made.
It features an all-star cast such as Jack Black (School Of Rock), Angelina Jolie (Maleficent), James Hong (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie), Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels), Jackie Chan (The Spy Next Door), Seth Rogen (Neighbors), David Cross (Arrested Development), Ian McShane (John Wick movie franchise), Wayne Knight (Seinfeld), Gary Oldman (Bram Stoker’s Dracula), Michelle Yeoh (Wicked), Danny McBride (Pineapple Express), Dennis Haysbert (Major League), Jean-Claude Van Damme (Bloodsport), Victor Garber (Legally Blonde), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), JK Simmons (Spider-Man), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), Awkwafina (Jackpot!), Viola Davis (The Woman King), Ke Huy Quan (The Goonies), Ronny Chieng (M3GAN), Credric Yarbrough (Speechless), and Lori Tan Chinn (Orange is The New Black).
Kung Fu Panda came out in 2008, The second film came out in 2011, Third film came out in 2016, and the fourth film came out in 2024. There are talks about a secret sequel being in development so keep your eyes out online for any updates. The ratings for the Kung Fu Panda movies are great in my opinion as it has an 87 percent on the tomatometer for the first film, the sequel got an 82 percent, Third film received an 87 percent, and the fourth film received a 71 peecent as they all did well in the box office. Kung Fu Panda was inspired by Chinese culture, philosophy, and martial arts. Hand drawing and Chinese shadow puppetry which the company used at first but then made it computer animated. There are even television shows and short films as well as a holiday special. The movie soundtrack comes with the song “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas which has been covered by various music artists and is a very popular song for the movie. I would rate this movie 5 stars as it is very funny to watch.
The animals in the film are endangered species in China. The first film for Dreamworks that was not a pop-culture comedy or spoof. Po debuted many times during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Po’s real name is Lotus; his mother was killed during a massacre in China by Lord Shen and his wolves. Mr. Ping took Po in and raised him his whole life and took care of Po.
