Kung Fu Panda 2, For Those Who Like Good Movies

I really, really liked this movie. You can try to shame me or make me feel embarrassed that a guy who just turned 25 is still into kid films, but it’s a guilty pleasure, only in my case, there’s not much guilt.

What Works: Everything. Seriously, the animation, the fight scenes, the villain, the mysticism of Kung Fu, all of it. By digging into some of the more mysterious aspects of martial arts, this movie creates some of that organic magic Disney used to.

What Doesn’t Work: Although I understand the need for the scenes with Po’s adoptive father, they’re less than interesting. And the movie feels a little over stuffed when compared to the beautiful, simple first one, but these are minor problems in a franchise I’m majorly enjoying.

What I Would Have Done Different: It’s hard to say. Really the only aspect you can argue with is that it’s not as good as the original because it’s not as beautifully simple, but in a sequel you have to expand the universe of the first movie a little bit. I would only say not to make future installments (and the ending sets up that there will be) more complicated than this one. Other than that one word of caution, I can’t really split hairs with a franchise that is doing everything the Pirates of the Caribbean films gave up on (magic, mystery, excitement, humor that’s actually funny).