Goldberg74

I am quite surprised that there isn't a thread about this movie yet.

I took my 4 year-old to see this this afternoon (2:40 showing) in a DLP theater and it was packed.

Great crowd reaction from kids and adults alike.

Going in, I thought Jack Black was going to be a little over the top, but he was surprisingly restrained. You can easily pick out his 'improv' stuff, but all-in-all I found the film to be surprisingly light and wonderful.

I loved the character design (especially Oogway the turtle) and also thought the use of slowing down and speeding up the action was a great effect as well.

Although, my favorite part of the film was the Genndy Tartakovsky styled opening. That was wonderful!... and the end credits weren't bad either.

All-in-all I give the film high marks and one that I will definitely buy and watch several times.

... plus I would admonish you to stay through the credits, there is a scene at the end... but if you missed it, here's a description of the scene:

fumanstan

This has looked great and funny to me. I'll probably catch it this weekend.

Zen Peckinpah

Saw it today and LOVED it. The most fun I've had with a kids' animated movie since The Incredibles. Basically was Kill Bill for kids who aren't old enough.

Patman

Kids will love this film. I didn't think much of the opening 20 minutes, but then everything just clicks into place, and it's a really enjoyable ride of a hero's journey done with fantastic animation and solid storytelling. The animation is just amazing and the action was entertaining and furious, while always maintaining a sense of whimsy and fun. I actually wanted a little more time within this world, it was that engaging.

The voice acting is pretty solid, with Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Ian McShane providing really good performances. Have I said how much I liked the animation?

I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.

big whoppa

The reviews I've seen have been positive. I still don't want to be in an audience with a bunch of kids.

g

This movie was excellent. Was better than most of dreamworks output. Way better than expectaions in every way. The training of the Panda was hilarious. I am surprised there isnt more discussion here of such a fun movie.

Krug

Yes, and thank god no pop culture or bodily function jokes, though maybe a bit too many fat jokes. Definitely the best summer movie so far. Nice homage to classic martial art movies too, such as the 18 Chambers series. Only thing I found jarring was all the movie star talent for the VOs, when good voice actors would probably do better. Of course, some of the characters seemed just there for action figure fodder.

Giles

that was a big relief too, but the animation was stunning to say the least, even though I saw in digital projection, I'm sure the IMAX experience is an absolute blast (the bridge sequence in particular). The audience I was with loved it - kids and adults. After 'The Fall' this is the second 2008 film I am looking forward to owning on home video.

Kal-El

Saw it at midnight last night and absolutely loved it! Skadush!

The Bus

Saw it in IMAX and it was my favorite IMAX film to date. I thought the movie followed Over the Hedge's trend well in that it was touching and hilarious without too many pop culture references. Probably in my top 3-5 animated movies of this decade.

Only complaints:
- I thought a lot of the voice acting was wasted. I couldn't even tell that was Jolie or Lucy Liu. Stop giving these actresses VO jobs please. Hire real voice actors.
- Some of the characters / animation was a bit off. The "matching" of the character's face, mouth, and what they were saying seemed a bit off. I think it's the way the birds were animated, because I only saw the problem with David Cross's character and Panda's dad.

Overall, a great recommendation and this might be the second movie this year I go back and see again.

TomOpus

Good to see an IMAX report. I might check it out tomorrow morning at the local IMAX.

fumanstan

I didn't get a chance to see it (since the GF dragged me to Sex and the City) but the AMC here was giving away headbands and stuffed panda plushy toys I wanted one

onebyone

I loved it! I was just fantastic. I was not expecting to like it so much, now I want to turn around and go see it again.

Hiro11

Saw it with the kids today. Great movie, better than either Shrek. Had some really funny stuff and the animation was often spectacular. I'm definitely going to buy the DVD.

Also, that new Wall-E trailer.... wow. that movie looks seriously beautiful. We'll see about the plot, but I don't think I've ever seen better eye candy.

Shilex

Well color me surprised! When I first saw the poster to Kung Fu Panda, all I could do was roll my eyes. Then word was leaking out that this was a good movie. Went to see it with my girlfriend and let me tell you:

This was the most fun I've had at the theater this year. I had a grin on my face the entire time. Probably the funniest children's CGI movie I've ever seen. This is Pixar level entertainment folks. It actually went by so fast I wished they would have taken more time to let us indulge in the world they created. Jack Black was hilarious (awesomeness) and Dustin Hoffman was pitch perfect. I do agree that some voice talent was wasted (Jackie Chan had like 2 lines), but this was really Po's show anyway. The fight scenes were incredibly well done (capturing the weight of martial arts in animation is difficult enough). The plot had a been there done that feel, but the writing was so strong that it felt fresh. I highly recommend this to people, especially if you like old kung fu films. Don't let the cutesy animals scare you away from a terrific film.

Draven

Took our kids to see this this afternoon. It was my daughter's first movie and my son's second, but we all had a great time.

The animation was JAW-DROPPING, especially the prison scene and the bridge scene. And Jack Black was great, along with everyone else. Just loved it from top to bottom, and I can't wait to get this in high definition. It's a gorgeous movie, and the sound is pretty amazing as well.

kstublen

Easily the best thing Dreamworks Animation has done. I actually enjoyed Over The Hedge and the Shrek movies are pretty good, but this was definitely on an entirely different level than them. Shrek and its constant pop culture references kind of annoys me after a while, and the rest of Dreamworks' offerings aren't anything special, at least as far as I am concerned. But if Dreamworks continues their 3-D Animated movies in this fashion, then they may actually be more competitive with the powerhouse that is Pixar. I will definitely be picking this up on DVD and I look forward to a sequel.

My only complaint:



lol @ Po when he said

and Shifu when he said

EDIT: And how could I forget Po saying

Jon2

Have to say that I wholeheartedly agree.

KFP is just delightful and, although it might be just a tad scary in some parts for the youngest members of the family, I think this is the best thing to ever come out of Dreamworks Animation.

No imitation or slamming of Disney. I don't mean it as a back handed complement or as a comparison, but if you could distill the essence of what makes a great Disney animated movie, that isn't made by Disney, this is it.

If I have any issue with KFP, it's that they used James Hong for the voice of Po's father. He would have been great as the master. Still... Hong did a great job.

Just out of curiosity, it will be interesting to see how well KFP does in the Asian and Chinese markets. I wonder if it will be as accepted there as well as it is here.

The Bus

My favorite parts:

When Po breaks the vase with the souls in it and it goes "ooOOOoo" I was waiting for the third one. It happens when he says "Someone broke it" and he shoves the pieces with his foot.

When Po first makes his soup and someone (the monkey? the mantis?) "I wish my mouth was bigger!"

kstublen

lol yeah I liked when Mantis said that too.

toddly6666

Great movie! Stay to the end - there is a final scene at the end of the credits!!!

big whoppa

Thanks for the tip. A buddy and I are seeing it tomorrow despite all the kids who are expected to be there.

Goldberg74

For those who missed it, I put it in spoiler tags in my original post up top.

FiveO

Brought my 4 and 9 year old neices to see this today and we all loved it. Very well done and I too, like others have said, had a smile on my face the whole time. The animation was simply amazing.

GrouchoFan

Brought my 6-year old daughter to see this, expecting a funny, slapsticky movie with some funny kung-fu stuff. What we got was excessive kung-fu stuff and not enough funny business.

My daughter hated it, and had to leave the theater with her mom after the fight between the little Master and the escaped bad-guy tiger. Too intense for her--she was really shaking. (About the only "scary shows" she really likes are Scooby-Doo cartoons. And I've raised her on classic Looney Tunes, so it's not like the she hasn't seen cartoon animals get bopped on the head and fall of cliffs.) Hours later, she was doing some kung-fu moves on the bed, and my wife brought up the movie. My daughter said that she liked the panda, but didn't like all the parts where they were trying to kill each other.

Hate to be the first nay-sayer (heck, I thought it was ok), but if you have a "sensitive" child like mine, you might want to think twice about taking him/her. Please, I'm not looking for a big debate on child-rearing here; as with any movie, some kids will like this, and some won't. Just trying to express one family's point-of-view.