Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

Nominated for Best Animated Film    I liked this movie better than the first one.  I don't know what it is about Dreamworks but they really take two films to get into the stride of a series.  Except for How to Train Your Dragon.  I honestly don't know how they're going to top that one.

Po (Jack Black) the panda is back, still training as the Dragon Warrior with the Furious 5 and trying to attain inner peace.  Word reaches them that one of the legendary kung fu masters, Master Rhino (Victor Garber), has been killed and Gongman City is now under the vicious rule of Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), an albino peacock with an arsenal of new weapons that, left unchecked, could destroy kung fu utterly.  To complicate matters further, Po finds himself dealing with the repressed memories of his birth family which Lord Shen had destroyed because a Soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh) predicted his defeat by a black and white warrior.  Po has to figure out who he is and who he will become before Shen takes over all of China.

Story-wise, it doesn't seem nearly as rushed as the first movie.  Rob thinks it's unfair to compare the two since Kung Fu Panda 1 is basically an origin story.  I don't think it's too much to ask that it also be a good movie, not just a set-up for one.  Back to the sequel.  The animation is superb.  The opening title sequence with the stylized turtle as the moon fisher, instead of the original Dreamworks logo was one of my favorite things and the movie hadn't even started yet.  I was glad that the Furious 5 got slightly more to say in this film, though I would like to see still more character development that way.  They go a little further with Tigress (Angelina Jolie) but stop before the spotlight can shift away from Po.  Maybe they're saving that for a spin-off movie or just a further entry in the series.  Of course they'll do a third one.

I am absolutely going to buy this on Blu-ray as soon as I get some money.  Christmas is coming soon, after all.  Ho ho ho!

Speaking of Christmas and my hos, my Cousin Extraordinaire got a box full of DVDs today from yours truly.  I sent her all the ones that came with my recent Blu-ray purchases.  She watched Rango for the first time tonight and laughed so hard she was tearing up.  I know this because I watched it with her over the phone.  Yes, we are that pathetic.  If you haven't had a chance to pick that one up as well, I highly recommend it.