I recently went to see Dreamworks latest animation offering, Kung Fu Panda II. This is the latest instalment of the Panda franchise and sees us revisit Po's early childhood in an attempt to understand how he became the panda that he is today, for a full synopsis please click here.
It seems that with a lot of these animation films being released lately, the technology and the animation is exceptional, but the storylines and character development seem to be left behind. I loved this film, this was one of the first CGI animation films I have seen where I actually forgot I was watching CGI animation- odd but true, quite often the rigs and unnatural movement can be distracting- but not in Kung Fu Panda II. Now that the technology of CGI animation has been advanced there is a return to and application of the classic actions, 'rules' of animation and guidelines to creating convincing movement on screen. I also enjoyed the number of animation styles used throughout the film from 'fake' shadow puppets to 2D Flash animation- all of which served a purpose as plot device in the narrative (usually to signify a leaving of the now to return to the dream world or memory).
There were lots of really cute nawwwwwww moments with little Po- his relationship with his adoptive parent and the story of how he came to be the son of a noodle making goose- were well rounded and engaging. The panda movements were very natural and VERY cute!
Also love the inclusion of Van Damme- bit of a nod to 80s westernised martial arts movies.
The plot seemed to grind a little with the repetition of the flashbacks inspired by the villain's feathers and the other Kung Fu characters seemed to serve no real purpose in this sequel, unlike in the first film where they were key in creating Po's experience. The peacock as a villain was less than convincing and his character seemed 2 dimensional and repetitive.
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| Concept Art- Backgrounds |
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| Scene from Kung Fu Panda II: |
Loved the backgrounds and the variety in settings, fantastical and colourful. I preferred the strength of story and character in the first film, however this film surpasses it in visual style and animation execution. Yep I have the Art of Book and I can also recommend that as well.
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| The Art of Kung Fu Panda II- Worth a look |
Appreciaate you blogging this
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