Kung Fu Panda 2!

An action-packed sequel that manages to sustain the warmth and humour of its predecessor.

Now... I LOVED the first KUNG FU PANDA, it's one of my favourite animated films, it's fast-paced, hilarious and 'tear jerking' (well, I started to tear up in certain scenes). The sequel is similar. However, its extremely fast pace can be rather draining, which is why we greatly appreciate the calmly paced scenes [of character development]. I'm glad, the film allocates time for the 'emotional journeys'; the 'expected' adoption [of Po] storyline is especially well handled and my eyes definitely got watery in ALL those parent-child bonding scenes (no point denying that). The 'inner peace' issue is a rather nice touch, and is nicely integrated with the demise of lord SHEN, who obviously is a stranger to peace.

Every 'adventure' film NEEDS a villain and Gary Oldman's Lord Shen (the evil peacock) is an interesting villain; he's ruthless, scarred, and 'dead inside', but unlike Tai Lung (of the first film) Shen is NOT a Kung Fu prodigy. All that he has are flashy 'moves', SHARP metal talons, a band of barbaric minions (wolves and gorillas), a secret weapon, which is really just gun powder, and a bunch of hilarious and rehearsed lines; so, I'd say he's your typical sinister war lord... a nice surprise indeed!

Another interesting addition to the cast is Michelle Yeoh (the soothsayer); her 'chemistry' with/ hunger for Shen's silk robe is rather funny and she is essential in binding the destinies of our hero, Po, and lord Shen. In a way, she helps her prophecy come true... so YAY!

Other great voices are from the original cast... Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman obviously get the BULK of the lines, but Lucy Liu (viper)'s line 'Po has DADDY issues' is just too funny to not mention. On another note, Po (Black) and Tigress (Jolie) are 'getting to know' each other... oh yes.

The film is a perfect blend of spectacular computer animations and beautiful [traditionally] drawn animation (for the flashbacks). The action sequences and humour become even more 'accessible' (especially the humour) as the film progresses, and that is 'greatness' indeed.

To wrap this up, if you haven't already seen it... do go watch it; Kung Fu Panda 2, although may not be as GREAT as the first one, is thoroughly enjoyable to both adults and children, and OMG I did not see the cliff-hanger coming... seriously (and I usually do)!

Final verdict: 8.5/10

P.S. DID NOT watch it in 3D... it was AWESOME!