It had everything I hoped it would have: More personal story, great art work, and character development.
Po and the Furious Five are called upon when they learn that a peacock named Lord Shen has taken control of Gongmen City with a weapon so powerful it threatens the very existence of kung fu. They set out to destroy the weapon, liberate the city, and stop Shen. However, Po soon learns that Shen may be connected to his past in more ways than he can imagine.
The story in this movie, while still retaining its humor and heartwarming moments, also has a darker tone to it this time around. Those who have had that one big question from the first movie: "Why is Po's father a goose?", they will get that answer, as well as what happened with his biological parents. I won't spoil anything, but be prepared for an emotional "Bambi"-esqe moment.
The characters are also worth taking a great note of. Po goes through many emotions in this flick: Happiness, sadness, anger, courageous, etc... as he learns about his mysterious past. Of course he also has many funny moments. I love that they've matured him without sacrificing his natural sense of humor. And more importantly, while he is voiced by Jack Black, there's a lot less Jack Black-y and more of a character that you can totally believe. I know, it's hard to describe with words. XP Go see the movie for yourself and you'll see.
The Furious Five also have a much bigger role this time around, especially Tigress and Mantis. It was really nice to see Tigress not only far less hostile towards our favorite panda, but also as a close friend and confident. And there were some scenes between the two that suggest that the writers toyed around with the idea of a romance sub-plot between them. While there is no romance between Po and Tigress in KFP2, there could most likely be some in the future films. And even if Po doesn't hook up with Tigress, I'm perfectly fine with them being close friends.
While the rest of the Five could have been used more, they still had their moments to shine. Mantis was my particular favorite with many great lines such as:
(May not be 100% accurate)
"I always figured I'd go out by settling down with a nice girl... then she'd eat my head."
I also wished they used a lot more of Master Shifu. I loved his dry sense of humor in the first movie. At least he does have a great scene near the beginning of the movie.
Lord Shen may now go down as one of my favorite animated villains. Kudos to Dreamworks for casting Gary Oldman for the role. He delivered the voice of a truly psychotic and deranged mad man obsessed with conquering China. Plus, it's the first time I've ever seen a peacock look intimidating and even scary at some moments.
The artwork has got to be some of the best I've seen in any animated film; and that's coming from a guy who's seen every Pixar movie ever made. I loved the different styles they used for the intro sequence, the mainstream film, and the flashbacks. All so different yet the blend together so well.
In conclusion, despite it's flaws (underused secondary characters and somewhat predictable plot) they can be easily overlooked with their outstanding attention to art, story, and characters. I seriously think Pixar will really have a run for it's money this year.
9.5 out of 10 STARS
