I recant!

As of last night, I have officially taken back everything I said about Dreamworks.

Bet that got your attention, didn't it?  Those of you who know me are probably very familiar with my allegiance to Pixar supremacy in the animation world - and my dubious opinion of Dreamworks.  Pixar is a master of story with (generally) clean content; Dreamworks is a wishy-washy storyteller with (often) crude content.  To claim that anyone tells a better animated story than Pixar is treason; to describe something as "like a Dreamworks film" is an insult of the highest degree.

Well, I take that back.  I recant everything I said about Dreamworks being an inferior animation studio. Okay, almost everything. I still won't do Shrek because of content issues, but if Dreamworks' films continue on their current trend (following Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, and Megamind), they will rival Pixar in my heart.

Yes, that's what I said.  There's no reason to be alarmed about my mental health, although if you feel like gloating you are welcome to.  I'll admit that I'm a little shaken in my Pixar supremacy right now; Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs made me lose faith in my loyalties.  But I'm not here to rant about that film for the fiftieth time, or to ramble about Pixar.  I'm here to talk about Dreamworks' latest film, Kung Fu Panda 2.

I watched Kung Fu Panda (the original) for the first time not that long ago.  The story didn't exactly sweep me off my feet, but I was impressed with the low content.  Clean films are hard to find, especially from Dreamworks.  I appreciate a film I can watch without being bombarded by crude humor and innuendo, so I was happy to add Kung Fu Panda to my shelf.

It is a nice "brainless" film I can watch when I wanted to "shut down," so I've seen it quite a few times.  In the process the characters grew on me, despite the shallow story.  (I just love Shifu's fuzzy ears.)  When I heard about the sequel, I was optimistic.  Perhaps the second film would have a meatier story while keeping the content low.  We'd have a winner, then.

Well, that is exactly what I got.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is an absolute riot.  The first two-thirds are unstoppable insanity, with "laugh out loud" humor and wild action sequences reminiscent of the first film.  The last third had me trying not to cry, with beautiful emotion that pulled on the charm of the first film to wrap up the rich theme.  It was "love at first watch" and I was raving about it for an hour afterwards to anyone who would listen.  (You should be glad I waited to write this post until the next day.)

Storywise, the plot of the sequel is definitely weightier than the first.  There are a few places where the plot twists are rushed or the characters seem overly exaggerated, but overall the story has more substance.  The threat of evil is more tangible, giving the action sequences more significance.  Additionally, the kung fu fighting is supported by a very emotional and personal theme as Po struggles to understand the situation surrounding his abandonment and adoption as a baby.

Normally I am not very fond of stories that involve the premise of "My parents didn't tell me I was adopted and now I'm going to go out and discover myself."  I think it's an overused trope, and it's usually done in a way that muddies the morals.  However, I felt it was done tactfully and wholesomely in this film.  Po ultimately realizes how wonderful adoption is, and how precious his adoptive father is to him.  The final scene between Po and his adoptive father almost made me break down.  (And, of course, the scenes with baby Po were adorable.)

As I'd hoped, the content of the sequel stayed on par with the first.  There is a smattering of crude humor but nothing excessive, and no harsh language.  Mysticism still plays a role, although the focus is different than it was in the first film.  There is less talk of destiny and more of inner peace, and while less time is spent meditating, the yin yang symbol appears more often.  A soothsayer is consulted a few times.  If the quasi-religion of the first film didn't ruin the experience for you, the sequel should not be an issue.

In terms of art, Dreamworks pulled out some beautiful animation to tell their latest story.  The red-gold color scheme is warm and vibrant, and the Asian settings are even more stunning than last time.  The character design deepens the story by adding a strong visual presence to each character; Shen's bold peacock tail enhances his evil overlord mystique, for example.  Of particular interest is the use of "cut-paper" style animation.  In the prologue of the first film, a simplified style of animation reminiscent of Asian art was used.  This same style is employed more frequently in the second film for a very lovely effect.

To top it off, the evocative score brings out the emotions and vibrancy of the film.  But I don't need to talk about that - it was co-composed by John Powell.  Enough said.

Kung Fu Panda 2 absolutely delighted me.  The story captured my heart easily, and the art was engrossing.  Even the DVD menu is cute.  This film is up there on my list of favorite recent movies; it may have surpassed Cars 2 for charm.  There's a good chance it may find a place on my list of all-time favorite movies, up there with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Wall-E.

Only one part of the movie threw me for a loop.  The last fifteen seconds absolutely and totally came from left-field.  I think they may be hinting at a third movie.

And, at the moment, I'm all in favor of that.