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Grand scale animated spectacle set amidst China's natural beauty is part and parcel to DreamWorks Animation's winning sequel to the 2008 original — a work so widely acclaimed that the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek devoted pages in his latest book to it.
Though the filmmakers only make full use of the film's 3D aspect once, when Jack Black's panda character Po discharges dumplings through the fourth wall, the animation is gorgeous. Now that Po has mastered the art of Kung Fu, he must learn inner peace. So advises his Kung Fu master Shifu (once again voiced by Dustin Hoffman).
Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, David Cross, and Lucy Liu also return from the first installment to reprise their roles as the "Furious Five," creatures that represent different styles of Kung Fu. Since we saw him last Po has graduated to the title of Dragon Warrior. He believes his Kung Fu is invincible. That is until he encounters the soldiers of an evil albino peacock, Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman).
On a mission to destroy Kung Fu and conquer all of China, Lord Shen is on a rampage to pillage metal from every regional community in order to build an arsenal of powerful cannons.
A well-executed optical illusion causes Po to lose an important battle after a symbol on his rival's uniform brings back long-forgotten memories about his past as an abandoned baby. Po sets about on a journey of self discovery to find the identity of his real father. His bumpy path to achieving inner peace runs alongside his unrelenting efforts to defeat Lord Shen.
The cartoon martial arts violence approaches an extreme level of exaggeration. Whether or not that's a good thing is a question parents, and Slovenian philosophers, will have to grapple with.
Rated PG. 90 mins.
