With 2008's KUNG FU PANDA, the talking-animal CGI film enters a new era, one that makes room for both painterly artwork and fierce martial-arts action. Po (voiced by Jack Black), a clumsy and ever-hungry panda, is a huge kung fu fan, but seems destined to sell noodles like his father, Mr. Ping (James Hong), who inexplicably happens to be a goose. When Po literally crashes a ceremony involving martial-arts masters Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) and their pupils, the Furious Five--which includes Tigress (Angelina Jolie, in a surprisingly small part) and Crane (David Cross)--he ends up being selected by the latter elder as the revered Dragon Warrior. As the skeptical Shifu reluctantly trains the hapless Po, his former star pupil, Tai Lung (Ian McShane), escapes from a high-security prison, setting up a collision course between the bumbling bear and the powerful villain.

One of the finest animated films released under the Dreamworks banner, KUNG FU PANDA deftly avoids many of the pitfalls of the genre (i.e. cheesy musical sequences), juggling action, heart, and humor in a highly entertaining way. While Black (in endearingly restrained mode), Hoffman, Kim, and McShane voice their characters with verve, the real stars of PANDA are directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson and their animators, who lovingly depict ornate Chinese chambers and vast mountainous vistas, as well as blazing kung fu battles. A movie with remarkably wide appeal, KUNG FU PANDA delivers on its quirky, high-concept title with gleeful aplomb.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen
Audio:
2.0 Surround - English, French, Spanish
5.1 Surround - English, French, Spanish
Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1. Filmmakers
Featurettes - 1. "Meet The Cast"
2. "The Tech of Kung Fu Panda"
3. " The World Of Panda: Connservational Internaitional Piece"
Music Video - 1. DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox

Distributor Notes: Enthusiastic, big and a little clumsy, Po works in his family's noodle shop while daydreaming about becoming a Kung Fu master. His dreams soon become reality when he is unexpectedly chosen to join the world of Kung Fu and study alongside his idols-the legendary fighters Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey-under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu. But before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung is headed their way, and it's up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat. Can he turn his dreams of becoming a Kung Fu hero into reality? Po puts his heart and his girth into the task, and ultimately finds that his greatest weaknesses turn out to be his greatest strengths.

Source - Paramount Home Entertainment

Mark Osborne: Director, KUNG FU PANDA (2008)
John Stevenson: Director, KUNG FU PANDA

Melissa Cobb: Producer, KUNG FU PANDA

Jonathan Aibel: Screenwriter
Glenn Berger: Screenwriter

Jonathan Aibel: Screenwriter
Glenn Berger: Screenwriter

Hans Zimmer: Composer

"[T]he fight scenes, which are the heart of the film, are lickety-split mad fun..." -- Grade: A-
"[I]t looks fantastic....[The filmmakers] have inserted vast, moody, misty landscapes, fanciful interiors and traditional Chinese colors to give the movie an epic, expansive, ancient quality that's a real pleasure to inhabit."
"At once fuzzy-wuzzy and industrial strength...KUNG FU PANDA is high concept with a heart....Visually arresting."
"[H]ighly entertaining....Full of verve, visual panache and sock-it-to-you action scenes."
4 stars out of 5 -- "There's a level of visual beauty here that's a notch above anything DreamWorks has attempted before..."
"The animation is beautiful, from the ethereal Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom to the elegant Jade Palace and its Moon Pool."
3 stars out of 5 -- "Armed with a sublimely silly concept and an A-list voice cast....This is energetic, exciting and consistently funny..."