By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 15 seconds ago
If you’re a parent, you know how difficult it can be to find animated movies that entertain children and adults alike, which is vitally important if you just can’t handle watching another episode of Paw Patrol. With the holidays around the corner, it’s more important than ever to know where to find family-friendly movies that won’t make mom and dad regret having children in the first place.
But you don’t have to search the far east for such a movie…all you have to do is stream Kung Fu Panda (featuring Mario Bros. and Minecraft star Jack Black) on Netflix to become the dad who saved family night!
Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting
The premise of Kung Fu Panda is that a big-hearted (and big-boned) Panda who dreams of becoming a martial arts champion is dubbed the Dragon Warrior by the resident king of kung fu. This allows him to join the group of elite warriors he idolizes, but they treat him as a joke that shouldn’t be there in the first place. But nobody’s laughing when their master’s old student escapes, looking to get revenge on the man who raised him as a son.
Like many big-budget animated films, Kung Fu Panda has some of your favorite Hollywood stars as voice actors, including Angelina Jolie (best known for Maleficent), Seth Rogen (best known for Pineapple Express), Lucy Liu (best known for Kill Bill Vol. 1), David Cross (best known for Arrested Development), and Jackie Chan (best known for Rush Hour) as members of the Furious Five. Our main character idolizes them, but his adoptive father (played by martial arts legend James Hong) wishes the young panda would focus on the family noodle restaurant. But that restaurant and life as they know it is threatened by a chilling Big Bad played to purring perfection by Ian McShane (best known for Deadwood).
Always Bet On Black
While this talented voice cast is giving it their all, nobody makes an impression quite like Jack Black (best known to younger viewers for video game adaptations such as The Super Mario Bros. Movie and A Minecraft Movie), who plays our titular Kung Fu Panda. Black utilizes his ample onscreen experience playing one manchild character after another to portray this plucky panda’s journey from chubby obscurity to fierce, fighting legend. The actor is perfect at landing each high-flying punchline, but he’s also surprisingly great at giving the film’s warmer moments the extra emotional oomph they so desperately need.
The concept behind Kung Fu Panda (namely, that a bumbling panda becomes a martial arts master) seemed crazy at the time, but it didn’t take long for the film to earn its box office black belt. Against a budget of $130 million, the movie earned $631.7 million, which is enough to buy more than a few karate lessons. That success kicked off an entire Kung Fu Panda universe that consists (so far) of four feature films, five short films, and three television shows.
Fights, Camera, Action!
When Kung Fu Panda came out, it quickly managed to high kick its way into the hearts of critics everywhere. It has an 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising the animation that helped to bring this tale of martial arts madness to life. They also applauded the mixture of humor and action that helped to make the film (with an admittedly shopworn message) so compelling from beginning to end.
Considering that I love both cartoons and Jack Black (himself a highly animated kind of guy), I had high hopes for Kung Fu Panda. Fortunately, the movie delivered: while the script is predictable at times, I never saw most of the film’s best punchlines coming, and they connected with all the meaty weight of an uppercut. The animation is also top-notch, and it will feel like a real palate cleanser if you’ve been spending the holiday season watching low-rez cartoon clips your kid keeps pulling up on YouTube.
Fun For Kids And Adults Alike
Fortunately, Kung Fu Panda isn’t just “good for a kid’s movie”…it’s the kind of thing an animation lover of any age can put on at the end of a long day. The movie’s vibe is as warm and cozy as a steamed dumpling, and the breezy banter between these celebrity-voiced characters makes watching feel like hanging out with your funniest friends. Plus, the action scenes are a joyful blur of kinetic speed and grace, and this film can rightfully stand tall with some of the best modern kung fu films.
Will you agree that Kung Fu Panda is a full-course martial arts meal, or would you rather go grab some noodles at your local than finish the film? The only way to find out is to put down the chopsticks, pick up the remote, and stream this karate comedy on Netflix. It may not teach you wise lessons like “wax on, wax off,” but it should give you plenty of laughs and more action scenes than you can shake a bamboo stick at.
