Kung Fu Panda 2 – Movie Review:

Typically, in a movie review, you’ll write about how good the movie is, what kind of movie it is, and who the actors are. Well, you can read the reviews from many sources, one of which is Wikipedia, which does a good job. Having said all of this, he really wanted to know if Kung Fu Panda really knew martial arts. Are we seeing cartoon moves, or is there really something that Po, the Kung Fu Panda, knows? Is the movie real for the martial arts community? I decided to look at Kung Fu Panda martial arts in more depth.

Ok, we know that the master of Kung Fu Panda is called Shifu. Sifu is Chinese for teacher, so Po’s teacher Shifu is a name play on Sifu. Po must be doing some form of Kung Fu. With the snake, tiger, monkey, and other animal forms, we know that Po is versed in the Chinese animal forms of Chinese karate. This legend begins with a tortoise, Grand Master Oogway, leaving the Galapagos Islands to start a new martial arts tradition in China. This somewhat reflects that Bodhidharma left India for China in the sixth century. Bodhidhrama is the founder of the Shaolin School of martial arts, as well as yoga and Zen Buddhism. The movie incorporates a fair amount of philosophy, so there are a lot of parallels with the Shaolin School and Bodhidharma.

The principles of yin and yang are based on the balance between two extremes, such as dark and light, hot and cold, noise and loneliness. In this story, Oogway teaches Shifu the art of Hing Kung, which may be an offshoot of Qing Gong (Qigong), incorporating the teaching of “lightness” techniques. Through Oogway’s teachings, Master learned to restore internal balance, which is the basis of good health in the principles of yin/yang.

There is a section in the film that shows Oogway meditating by a pool, achieving focus and harmony, understanding the mysteries of the natural world. Oogway then developed his various animal styles of King Fu. This parallels the legend of Bodhidharma being secluded in a cave for ten years, where he developed Kung Fu, based on the fighting forms of animals.

Oogway favored basic karate, the open hand, techniques that used speed and great force for specific points of nerve pressure on his opponent. There is a fight scene where Oogway uses a powerful nerve lock on the snow leopard’s body, resulting in Tai Lung being knocked out.

Po, Panda’s Kung Fu techniques are a bit difficult to follow. We have the standard punches, kicks, reverse kicks, and lots of hand movement, along with “belly” techniques. Hey, you have to use what you have. There’s a funny segment where Po employs a mean face pose, which is actually taught as a martial art technique. Although Po is a cartoon panda who does Kung Fu, there are some lessons to be learned. Martial arts are as much a mental exercise as a physical one, and many martial artists argue that they are much more mental. This mental aspect of martial arts comes with a philosophy of how to use it.

We will see some of this philosophy of Master Oogway:

“When the path you walk always leads you back to yourself, you will never get anywhere.”

“You are too worried about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”

“One often meets his fate on the path he takes to avoid it.”

“Your mind is like this water, my friend. When it is agitated, it becomes difficult to see. But if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear.”

So you can learn something from a cartoon character.

RATINGS:

This reviewer rates Kung Fu Panda 2 a 4.5 chilies. Great entertainment, good story, likeable characters, there is depth to the story where you want to see, and just plain fun!