Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2 (also known as Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom) is a 2011 American computer-animated china action comedy movie and the second movie in the series. A sequel to 2008's Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black again played the main character. In the movie, Po is now the Dragon Warrior, and is fighting with his fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five: Tigress, Viper, Monkey, Mantis and Crane. They go on a quest in Gong-men City to stop Lord Shen, an evil albino peacock from using a weapon to destroy kung fu. The film is directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who previously worked as a storyboard artist in Kung Fu Panda. It received critical acclaim and is the highest-grossing movie to be directed by a woman.

Kung Fu Panda 2
Directed byJennifer Yuh Nelson
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based onCharacters created
by Ethan Reiff
Cyrus Voris
Starring
Music byHans Zimmer
John Powell
Edited byClare Knight
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • May 24, 2011 (2011-05-24)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$150&.27 million
Box office$665.7 million

Plot

Po (voiced by Jack Black) is now the Dragon Warrior and a Kung Fu master protecting the Valley of Peace together with his friends, the Furious Five, but must now find inner peace. Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) then sends him on a journey with the Furious Five to Gongmen City and stop Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman), an evil albino peacock who has made a new weapon that can stop Kung Fu. Po has trouble on his journey because he's worried about what happened to his real parents. An old soothsayer (voiced by Michelle Yeoh) helps Po remember that his parents sent Po away as a baby to protect him when their village was attacked by Lord Shen many years ago because Shen learned he would be defeated by Po, the foretold warrior of black and white. Now knowing where he came from, Po finds inner peace, destroys Shen's cannons by throwing the cannonballs back at them, defeats Shen (who also gets killed and crushed by his own cannon), and accepts Mr. Ping (voiced by James Hong) as his dad.

Characters

Old characters

New characters

Reception

Critical Response

Kung Fu Panda 2 was acclaimed by critics. It holds a rating of 85% in Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 7 out of 10. The consensus is "the story arc may seen a tad familiar to fans of the original, but Kung Fu Panda 2 offers enough action, comedy and visual sparkle to compensate". Just like in the original film, the animation, voice acting and character development were praised.

Box Office

The film became a box office success. It grossed $667,692,281 on a $150 million budget. It is the highest grossing animated film of 2011, the 9th highest grossing animated film ever released, the 53rd highest-grossing film of all time and the 6th highest-grossing film of 2011. It is also the highest grossing animated film directed by a woman (Jennifer Yuh Nelson).

Awards and nominations

Award Category Winner/Nominee Result
84th Academy Awards Best Animated Feature Jennifer Yuh Nelson Nominated
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Animated Feature
Best Animated Female Angelina Jolie
Best Woman Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Annie Awards Best Animated Feature
Animated Effects in an Animated Production Dave Tidgwell
Jason Mayer
Character Animation in a Feature Production Dan Wagner
Pierre Perifel
Directing in a Feature Production Jennifer Yuh Nelson Won
Production Design in a Feature Production Raymond Zilbac
Storyboarding in a Feature Production Gary Graham
Philip Craven
Voice Acting in a Feature Production Gary Oldman
Voice Acting in a Feature Production James Hong Nominated
Editing in a Feature Production Clare Knight
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Best Animated Feature
Online Film Critics Society Best Animated Feature
Producers Guild of America Awards Best Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures Melissa Cobb
2011 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Animated Voice Jack Black
Virgin Movie Media Awards Best Family Movie Of The Year
Women Film Critics Circle Best Animated Females
2012 People's Choice Awards Favorite Movie Animated Voice Jack Black
Denver Film Critics Society Best Animated Film
Satellite Awards Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
Houston Film Critics Society Best Animated Film
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards Best Animated Film
Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards Best Animated Film
Evening Standard British Film Awards Blockbuster of the Year
Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Animated Movie
Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie Jack Black
World Soundtrack Awards Film Composer of the Year Hans Zimmer
World Soundtrack Awards Film Composer of the Year John Powell
Saturn Awards Best Animated Movie
As Seen By Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Voice-Over Role Angelina Jolie Won
Motion Picture Sound Editors Best Sound Editing - Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR in an Animation Feature Film John Marquis Won

Soundtrack

Kung Fu Panda 2:
Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedMay 24, 2011
Recorded2011
GenreScore
Length64:26[1][2]
LabelVarèse Sarabande
ProducerHans Zimmer
John Powell
Hans Zimmer film scores chronology
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
(2011)
Kung Fu Panda 2:
Music from the Motion Picture

(2011)
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
(2011)


{{{This album}}}

Kung Fu Panda 2 is the soundtrack of the film of the same, scored by Hans Zimmer and John Powell and released on May 24, 2011. Just like the movie, the soundtrack received positive reviews from music critics.

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Ancient China / Story of Shen"   2:43
2. "Dumpling Warrior"   1:20
3. "Inner Peace"   2:25
4. "Musicians Village"   1:20
5. "Save Kung Fu"   3:41
6. "Daddy Issues"   4:22
7. "Stealth Mode"   4:04
8. "Gongmen Jail"   2:40
9. "Rickshaw Chase"   2:36
10. "Po and Shen / Face to Face"   5:58
11. "More Cannons!"   3:00
12. "Fireworks Factory"   6:48
13. "Po Finds the Truth"   5:03
14. "Invasion Begins"   2:37
15. "Zen Ball Master"   7:21
16. "My Fist Hungers for Justice"   4:55
17. "Dumpling Warrior Remix"   3:30
Songs

Sequel

After the success of Kung Fu Panda 2, DreamWorks Animation confirmed that there will be 6 movies in the franchise. Kung Fu Panda 3 is confirmed to be released in 2016, with Jennifer Yuh Nelson returning to direct and Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger returning to write the script. The original cast will return in the movie, and Kung Fu Panda 3 will be the first American animated movie to ever be co-produced by a Chinese firm.

References

  1. "Kung Fu Panda 2 Soundtrack (2011)". Soundtrack.Net. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  2. "Kung Fu Panda 2". hans-zimmer.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2014.