The roly-poly Po is "kung fu Panda 2", high energy, some lovely Visual and voice peppy, fun work, as always, Star Jack Black.
But freshness and novelty which is the original film, that such a kick back in 2008 has been, well, kicked of bits. And the scenario of this suite feels overstuffed with the storylines and characters, of which none gets his individually due. Parents should also be aware of some violent images, frightening which may be too large for the littlest children (we talk about 4 years).
Throughout the world, although that probably will delight the spectacle of animation Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who is lively and tactile, bold and subtle. The 3D - you didn't think it would in 3 - d, now that you have? -is usually discreet but it is not really add anything, either. The most beautiful parts are actually other types of Visual styles that are worked, including a delicate segment of this animation of paper-style features.
"Delicate" probably not the first word that comes to mind when pondering the corpulent Po, which rose from the underdog dreaming of a magnitude of kung fu all day at the restaurant of his Dad for the Dragon Warrior himself. It must protect the Valley of peace with the help of The Furious Five, various animal species who are fighting alongside him and happen to come with the voice of the celebrity.
One day, Po starts having flashbacks to long suppressed childhood memories, and he begins to wonder who could have his biological parents. As head lug as Po can be, so he can discover that Mr. Ping (lovingly doubled by James Hong), duck who run the village shop noodles in the version of the film of ancient China, probably did not provide any DNA.
And then Po goes on a quest - like many kung fu warriors must - for its past. At the same time, a megalomaniac Peacock named Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) is determined to dominate the country with a serious fire power. These two lines of the story are parallel to each other and finally face but never really gel. It is an admirable attempt to develop the character beyond animated film heroes usual kids', but it also translates a crammed story you'll wish they had blocked with a history or the other.
In every sense, it feels like there is too much going on - and that includes having too many characters. This is especially true when it comes to posse Po, The Furious Five. Except for Angelina Jolie: the fierce what, the animals that make up the team of Po - Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross) - do much fighting but only get a few lines here and there, and they are not flesh terribly well.
Dustin Hoffman returns to a role reduced as diminutive inch mentor, master Shifu (and there is not enough of it), with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Haysbert and Michelle Yeoh among other actors joining the cast of support.
The way to true inner peace just knowing that more is not necessarily equal better.
"Kung Fu Panda 2," a DreamWorks Animation and Paramount Pictures release, is rated PG for mild violence and martial arts action sequences. Duration: 90 minutes. Two stars out of four.
