365 Days. 365 Films.

Yes, the first film I have watched for this 365 Day Challenge is Dreamwork’s Kung Fu Panda. I don’t care if it’s supposed to be a kid’s film, I loved it. This is usually the type of movie I enjoy watching, being a massive fan of Pixar and Dreamworks, but I’ve found that the latter can be a bit of a let down from time to time – for example, the massacre of Shrek in it’s never ending sequel series. This film, however, was spectacular, and even after receiving a bit of bad news prior to watching this it managed to perk me right up and I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same.

The story follows a clumsy but lovable Panda names Po (voiced by Jack Black) who dreams of being a Kung Fu master until one day, entirely by accident, his wish is granted. After a lot of the expected (but still funny) clumsy humour of Po attempting the martial arts, news comes about of a superior fighter on his way to challenge him. With Po’s masters believing that he is, in fact, the ‘Dragon Warrior’ he must find a way to defeat the bad guy and save the day.

For a kid’s film I must say that, not unlike Pixar, the comedy in this film is clever and sometimes quite mature for it’s audience, which is not to say it won’t be enjoyed by children, but it’s something that can be enjoyed by anyone. The graphics in the film are also amazing with tremendous choreography of the lovable characters and thoughtful, loving references to Kung Fu, it’s country of origin and also the movies which inspired this one.

I don’t understand why it has taken me around three years to watch this film as it is a hilarious and visually spectacular achievement by one of Hollywood’s greatest animators, but in a way I am glad because of the sequels release coming soon – at least I won’t have to wait too long for it. After reading some reviews on the second Kung Fu Panda film, it does seem that Dreamworks have learnt their lesson about milking sequels (see above) and I hope so too because I am in need of another dose after watching that.