I have put off writing about this for a while for no good reason. In our family. I have turned into the one who takes our daughter to the movies. My wife works on Saturdays usually so it’s a great way to spend a weekend afternoon.
Well, sometimes. Some of these films make me lose what little faith I have left in the American entertainment system. Then there are ones like “Kung Fu Panda 2.”
I generally cringe at the second installation in most kid’s franchises. They have already hooked the youngsters with the idea so have every incentive to not really give a damn if the sequel entertains anyone.
At least a sequel aimed at adults might suffer from bad word of mouth. Try and tell a 10-year-old that Roger Ebert panned the movie they are begging you to see. I headed into the theater with great trepidation.
I worried even more when a bunch of seats in front of us filled with with 5-year-olds at a birthday party. I feared sitting through a bad movie with a bunch of kids acting up because their parents haven’t taught them the difference between the movies and their living room.
Luckily, I was wrong on both counts. The kids pretty much behaved, and the folks who made the movie resisted the temptation to mail it in. They may have put more thought into the plot than most writers of romantic comedies these days.
Yes, there was actually a coherent and interesting storyline supporting Jack Black’s weird vocalizations. I found myself actually caring about where the story went. They managed to provide the back story for those who missed (or forgot) the original, develop a conflict within the new structure and set things up for a third movie without making me cringe.
I could not believe when I read that the producers actually visited China to prepare for this movie in an effort to make it more representative of Chinese culture. Real research for a kid’s cartoon movie. That truly shocked me.
The first installment in this series won The Bridget for the best kid’s movie in 2009. That award has only limited time left as she gets older, but the sequel will definitely have a shot at the award this year.