Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) or, The Heritage of Po

11/10/2015

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) or, The Heritage of Po

♥♥♥♥

1 Time Film Excess Award Winner:

Best Animation: Jennifer Yuh

1 Time Film Excess Nominee:

Best Animation: Jennifer Yuh (won)

Panda hero Po and his friends are back on this vibrantly colorful poster for Jennifer Yuh's Kung Fu Panda 2

QUICK REVIEW:

Po, the kung fu panda from the first, great Kung Fu Panda (2008), is haunted by some disturbing dreams that raise questions as to his parentage, meanwhile he and the Furious 5 must fight the evil peacock and his new fire-powered weapon!

Panda 2 is nearly as good as the excellent first film in the franchise: Jack Black's (School of Rock (2003)) humor and persona is still a major part of the equation and attraction, with other wonderful voices given by, among others, James Hong (Air Plane! (1980)), Dennis Haysbert (The Details (2011)) and Seth Rogen (The Night Before (2015)).
The animation is once again overwhelmingly beautiful and detailed. The film's best scenes from this standpoint interweave traditional cartoon animation with the general CGI animation in flashbacks to Po's tragic beginnings. Panda 2 is clearly made to jump out and grab us in 3D, but the film works just as well if seen in 2D. It is written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger (Kung Fu Panda, both) and directed by South-Korean Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Spawn (1997), TV-series).
There is lots of fun, adventure, a few tears and lots of wow moments here in the infectiously delightful Kung Fu Panda 2.

Related post:

2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Watch the trailer for the movie here

Cost: 150 mil. $
Box office: 665.7 mil. $
= Big hit
[Charlie Kaufman (!) consulted on the script for Panda 2, and the development included more China research than for the first film, with Dreamworks personnel traveling to Chengdu, China for inspiration. Production began in 2009. The film was shown in Cannes (out of competition) before its May premiere. It received positive reviews and opened #2 (behind The Hangover: Part II) in North America to a 60.9 mil. $ first 4-day Memorial Day weekend. It broke the opening day record in China, where it grossed 92.1 mil. $ (13.8 % of the total gross). It became the highest-grossing film in Vietnam, surpassing Avatar (2009). It was the highest-grossing movie directed by a woman until Frozen (2013). It grossed 165.2 mil. $ (24.8 %) in North America. The 3rd biggest market was Nelson's native South Korea with 41.1 mil. $ (6.2 %). Kung Fu Panda 2 was, like its predecessor, the highest grossing animated film of the year, (6th highest grossing film of 2011 overall); it got nominated for the Best Animation Oscar, and it is certified fresh at 81 % with a 6.9 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes. Kung Fu Panda 3 is coming out next year.]

What do you think of Kung Fu Panda 2?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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11/10/2015

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) or, The Heritage of Po

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