Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu PandaYear: 2008Rating: PGLength: 92 minutes / 1.53 hours Many people give animated films flack for being directed at children. DreamWorks movies have historically leaned toward the younger demographic with plenty of fart jokes while still having the occasional adult jokes sprinkled throughout. The problem with discounting the medium on the whole is that there are some things it can do very well. Kung Fu Panda (2008) not only has a great message about playing to our strengths, but it also uses the fact that it's animated to present some extremely well-done kung fu fights. Jack Black brings Kung Fu Panda to life with Po, the kung fu obsessed panda who doesn't fit the physical model needed to practice the martial art. Despite being chosen as the next Dragon Warrior, Po must learn kung fu so he can protect the land from one of the most dangerous practitioners of the fighting style. It's important for kids to see that he struggles...

Raya and the Last Dragon Year: 2021 Rating: PG Length: 107 minutes / 1.78 hours For a studio that built itself on Euro-centric fairy tales and stories, I can appreciate how Disney is (finally) trying to make movies that explore other cultures of the world. While not necessarily based in any lore from Asian countries, Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) pulls enough aesthetic influence from these cultures to be a nice homage. As always, I’m stunned at the visuals Disney can produce with CGI, and Raya and the Last Dragon is no exception to this rule. Add to this the incredibly well-choreographed fight sequences, and this film certainly had its moments. However, what’s weird about Raya and the Last Dragon is how parts of it felt done before. Kung Fu Panda (2008) might not have had realistic humans using martial arts techniques. Still, the choreography for this kind of animated movie was already there more than a decade before Raya came along. Similarly, the “collect...

Tag: Kung Fu Panda

MOVIE: Kung Fu Panda (2008)

MOVIE: Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)