Plot
In the Valley of Peace, Po the Panda finds himself chosen as the Dragon Warrior despite the fact that he is obese and a complete novice at martial arts.
Release Year: 2008
Rating: 7.6/10 (121,615 voted)
Critic's Score: 73/100
Director:
Mark Osborne
Stars: Jack Black, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie
Storyline It's the story about a lazy, irreverent slacker panda, named Po, who is the biggest fan of Kung Fu around...which doesn't exactly come in handy while working every day in his family's noodle shop. Unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy, Po's dreams become reality when he joins the world of Kung Fu and studies alongside his idols, the legendary Furious Five -- Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey -- under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu. But before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung is headed their way, and it's up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat. Can he turn his dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master into reality? Po puts his heart - and his girth - into the task, and the unlikely hero ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strengths.
Writers: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Cast: Jack Black
-
Po
(voice)
Dustin Hoffman
-
Shifu
(voice)
Angelina Jolie
-
Tigress
(voice)
Ian McShane
-
Tai Lung
(voice)
Jackie Chan
-
Monkey
(voice)
Seth Rogen
-
Mantis
(voice)
Lucy Liu
-
Viper
(voice)
David Cross
-
Crane
(voice)
Randall Duk Kim
-
Oogway
(voice)
James Hong
-
Mr. Ping
(voice)
Dan Fogler
-
Zeng
(voice)
Michael Clarke Duncan
-
Commander Vachir
(voice)
Wayne Knight
-
Gang Boss
(voice)
Kyle Gass
-
KG Shaw
(voice)
JR Reed
-
JR Shaw
(voice)
Opening Weekend: $60,239,130
(USA)
(8 June 2008)
(4114 Screens)
Gross: $631,744,560
(Worldwide)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Baseball player Pablo Sandoval earned the nickname of "Kung Fu Panda" after leaping around a tag at home plate against the Dodgers on September 19, 2008. Teammate Barry Zito commented that he thought that Sandoval looked like the Kung Fu Panda in avoiding the tag.
Goofs:
Continuity:
Before Po catches the last dumpling, he jumps over and behind Shifu. In the following close shot, we see Shifu looking straight up as if Po was still right above him. Moreover in this close shot, Po's shadow passes over Shifu. This is inconsistent too, as Po's shadow clearly points away from Shifu in the next shot. As Po was already behind Shifu, so was his shadow.
Quotes:
[first lines]
Po:
Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend.
User Review
Jack Black is the Greatest Panda in the World!
Rating: 10/10
Caught a screening of "The Panda" and all I can say is wow! I took my 6
year old daughter, who has the attention span of a 6 year old, and she
wants to see it again. So do I!
Jack Black is not only half of the greatest band in the world, he is
also a fine voice actor. His flawed character, Po the Panda is very
refreshing. So is this film. After having to sit through the boring
"Over the Hedge" and the last two "Shrek" messes, I really appreciated
an animated feature form Dreamworks that didn't have too many celeb
voices all competing for screen time. This is Jack Black's movie. He
has 75% of the lines in the script and that is not a bad thing.
Don't just drop the kids off to see Kung Fu Panda. Go with them. I
think it's one of those rare movies like The Incredibles and Finding
Nemo that adults can enjoy as much as the kids.
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