Atomic Fangirl

Caveat: I grew up outside of DC, so I’m programmed to swoon every time I see a panda.  It’s a thing.  With the internets, my thing is probably your thing too, even if you’re in Jakarta right now.  (And if you are, could you send some sunshine?  I’d even take rain after all this snow around here.)

So with the world’s panda obsession, it’s no wonder the Kung Fu Panda series has been so popular.  Kids love it, critics love it, and everyone with a pulse enjoys when Jack Black (the voice of panda kung-fu prodigy Po) flexes his comedic chops.  Even still, I was pleasantly surprised when Kung Fu Panda 3 hit all the right notes.  That it’d be cute was a no-brainer; check out all the pandas in the poster, and peep the trailer for wide-eyed panda adorableness.

What I didn’t expect was that Dreamworks would still be all-in for this franchise.  Yes, there’s talk of the Panda films being a six-story franchise.  But instead of dashing off a story and simply sitting back letting the noodles roll in, screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger build from their earlier stories, taking Po’s Campbell-esque hero’s journey to a satisfying mid-point that works equally well as an end in itself, if needs be.

With Po now settling into his role as the Dragon Warrior, master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) gives him his toughest challenge yet; teaching.  While Po struggles to take over teaching duties (causing no small pain to the “Furious Five”, Tigress, Viper, Monkey, Crane and Mantis), he also struggles to figure out what his life’s purpose is.  Cue two newcomers to the Valley of Peace; Po’s long-lost, presumed dead, father Li (Bryan Cranston), and evil villain Kai (J.K. Simmons).  While Po goes with Li to meet other pandas and get to know himself better, Kai — a former Master who was banished to the Spirit Realm — is looking for payback.  But Po, Shifu, and the Furious Five may have met their match.  But hey, lookit all those pandas! Continue reading →