Kung Fu Panda 2 is a 2011
3D computer-animated action comedy film and the sequel to the 2008 film
Kung Fu Panda. The cast of the original film reprised their voice roles. The film was released on May 26, 2011 in
Real D 3D and
Digital 3D.
Plot
Long ago, Lord Shen (voiced by
Gary Oldman), heir to the
peacock clan that ruled Gongmen City, sought to harness the power of
fireworks as a weapon with which to rule China. When he learned from the court's
goat soothsayer (voiced by
Michelle Yeoh) that "a warrior of black and white" would one day defeat him, Shen assumed she was referring to the
giant pandas and had them exterminated to avert the
prophecy. Shen's parents were horrified at this atrocity and exiled him. He vowed to return and take revenge.
Years later, Po (voiced by
Jack Black) is living his dream as the Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow
kung fu masters, the Furious Five, but Master Shifu (voiced by
Dustin Hoffman) tells him that the greatest masters are disappearing and he fears it is the work of Lord Shen and he has yet to achieve
inner peacewith this new threat. While fighting off a pack of
wolf bandits who have been stealing refined metal for Shen to use for his newly developed
cannon, Po is distracted by a symbol on the head wolf's (
Danny McBride) armor that causes Po to have a
flashback of his mother, allowing the wolves to escape. Po asks his
goose father, Mr. Ping (
James Hong), where he came from, but all Ping can tell him is that he found Po as an infant in a vegetable crate and
adopted him.
Afterward, Shifu receives word that Master Thundering Rhino (voiced by
Victor Garber), leader of the kung fu council protecting Gongmen City, has been killed by Shen's new weapon, which threatens to destroy kung fu tradition. Po and the Five are sent to stop him, reaching Gongmen City to find it under the control of Shen's forces. The heroes ask the imprisoned council members Storming Ox (voiced by
Dennis Haysbert) and Croc (voiced by
Jean-Claude Van Damme) for their help to liberate the city, but both masters cite their helplessness against Shen's weapon and refuse to escape. Po and the Five are then discovered by the wolf leader, who they chase to prevent him from alerting Shen, only to be captured.
Upon being brought before Shen in his tower, Po and the Five free themselves and destroy Shen's weapon. However, Po is again distracted by flashbacks upon seeing the same symbol as before on Shen's plumage, allowing Shen to escape and destroy the tower with an arsenal of cannons, though Po and the Five escape. After confronting Po over his distractions, Tigress (voiced by
Angelina Jolie) tells him to stay behind for his own safety while she and the Five leave to destroy Shen's cannon factory. Hoping to question Shen about his past, Po ignores Tigress and finds Shen in the factory, inadvertently foiling the Five's plan to destroy it. Shen admits to destroying Po's village and, claiming that Po's parents abandoned him, blasts Po out of the factory and captures the Five. Po is rescued by Shen's soothsayer, who has been exiled by Shen to the ruined village where Po was born. Guided by the soothsayer to embrace his past, Po remembers that his parents endangered themselves to save him as an infant and attains inner peace.
Po returns to Gongmen City to save the Five from being executed by Shen at the city harbor. During the ensuing battle (in which Shifu also participates after having persuaded Ox and Croc to do the same), Po uses his inner peace to gauge Shen's cannon fire and redirect it against Shen's armada, destroying it. He then urges Shen to come to terms with his own past, but Shen refuses and attacks Po until he inadvertently slashes the ropes holding up his cannon, which falls and kills him. Victorious, Po returns to the Valley of Peace and reunites with Mr. Ping, declaring him to be his father. At the same time, Po's biological father (voiced by
Fred Tatasciore) is shown to be living in a hidden village inhabited by other pandas, and senses that his son is alive.
Cast
Production
Kung Fu Panda 2 is the
sequel to the 2008 film
Kung Fu Panda. The first film was released in June of 2008, and by the following October, the studio
DreamWorks Animation announced plans for a second film. Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who was head of story for the first film, was hired to direct the sequel. The original film's cast members reprise their voice roles. Like the other DWA films beginning production in 2009,
Kung Fu Panda 2 was produced in stereoscopic 3-D technology. The studio also plans to release the film in IMAX theaters worldwide.
Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger were screenwriters and co-producers for the first film, and while they returned for the sequel.
Charlie Kaufman later helped to revise the screenplay.
Marketing
DreamWorks Animation has invested
$100 million in creating promotional partners and building up marketing for its films. For
Kung Fu Panda 2, DWA has partnerships with
McDonald's,
AT&T,
Best Buy,
General Mills (cereals),
Sun-Maid (raisins),
Airheads (candy), Hint Water and
HP. The film's characters are used in products and advertising campaigns across various media. The studio is also pursuing social media efforts to promote the film.
DWA partnered with
House Foods America to brand its products, notably tofu, with advertising of the film.
Variety reported that the partnership was the first-ever between a film studio and a tofu company. The studio also enlisted the parade balloon of Po from the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to tour in six cities, concluding with
Los Angeles over
Memorial Day weekend in late May of 2011.
Merchandise is also being produced for the film:
Mattel (toys),
THQ (video games),
Hallmark Cards (cards), and Jem Sportswear (apparel). Publishers
VTech,
Penguin Books, Dalmatian Press, and Ape Entertainment are releasing books tied to the film.
Release
Theatrical release
Kung Fu Panda 2 was screened at the 2011
Cannes Film Festival in early May before its commercial release.
Box Office Mojo reported the film's release date as advantageous; the computer-animated family film
Rio is concluding its theatrical run, and another computer-animated family film,
Cars 2, is scheduled to open in four weeks. The website also noted that 3-D sequels in territories outside the United States and Canada typically outgross the original films.
The film was released in the United States on
May 26, 2011, a Thursday. It earned an underwhelming $5.8 million, taking second place to
The Hangover: Part II. This trailed recent Thursday holiday openings including
Shrek 2 ($9.2 million) and
Tangled ($8 million). However, only 10% of US children were out of school on Thursday, and DreamWorks predicts that business will pick up over the four-day holiday weekend.
On Friday,
Panda's woes continued as it earned $13.2 million, which was far behind the originals' $20.3 million opening Friday. But, yet again, only 20% of kids were out on Friday, and DreamWorks is expecting a nice bump over Saturday through Monday.
Over the three-day weekend, Panda earned an estimated $47.8 million, which was far behind the first Panda's $60 million start. However, the sequel is expected to catch up with its predecessor on Memorial Day in five days.
Anne Globe, head of worldwide marketing for Dreamworks Animation, said the company was pleased with the film's opening since it was part of a record-breaking weekend. She also went on to say that the opening came in at high end of expectations and the film played very strong to families and kids, who made up 60% of their audience.
CinemaScore concurs that the film is finding favor with audiences as evidenced by their audience survey giving the film an "A."
The film's three day opening weekend also beat
Rio's opening weekend of $39,225,962 for the highest opening weekend for an animated film in 2011.
[ Kung Fu Panda 2 went on to make an estimated $14.4 million on
Memorial Day bringing its four day weekend total to $62.2 million.
Overall the film made an estimated $68 million in its first five days, but it still trailed behind the original film's five day opening of $72.8 million.
Critical reception
Kung Fu Panda 2 has received generally positive reviews, with many critics praising its animation, 3D effects, and character development. The film received a "Certified Fresh" score of 80% on the review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 101 critics and a rating average of 7 out of 10, with the consensus being that "The storyline arc may seem a tad familiar to fans of the original, but
Kung Fu Panda 2 offers enough action, comedy, and visual sparkle to compensate."
It also received a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 at Metacritic, based on 23 reviews from mainstream critics.
Variety called the film "a worthy sequel that gets an extra kick from the addition of dynamic 3D fight sequences"
while
The Hollywood Reporter similarly praised the film.
Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising the sequel as superior to the original and as an ambitious extension of the previous story.
Some critics noted the influences of executive producer
Guillermo del Toro's works in the film's darker themes,
and Jim Tudor of
TwitchFilm.net describes that with del Toro on board, the film "effectively probes deeper into Po's emerging hero's journey and personal issues, evoking a truly fulfilling Campbellian archetype, but also remains fully viable as mainstream entertainment suitable for all ages."
As with the first film, the animation has been praised.
Frank Lovece of
Film Journal International describes the film as "truly beautiful to behold" and states it "works on both aesthetic and emotional levels."
Betsy Sharkey of the
Los Angeles Times writes that "For
Panda 2 is not just wall-to-wall animation, it is artistry of the highest order."
