Kung Fu Panda 2

''Kung Fu Panda 2'' is a 2011 American animated martial arts comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson (in her feature directorial debut) and written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. The film is the sequel of ''Kung Fu Panda'', and the second installment in the ''Kung Fu Panda'' franchise. The film stars Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong and Jackie Chan reprising their character roles from the first film, with Gary Oldman, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride, Dennis Haysbert, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Victor Garber voicing new characters. In the film, Po and his Furious Five allies (Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Crane and Mantis) travel to Gongmen City to stop the evil peacock, Lord Shen, from conquering China, while also rediscovering Po's forgotten past.

The film was released in theaters May 26 to positive reviews. It grossed $665 million worldwide against its $150 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film directed by a female director until ''Frozen'', as well as being the highest-grossing film solely directed by a female director until ''Wonder Woman''. It was also the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2011, and the highest-grossing animated feature film of the year. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 84th Academy Awards, losing to '' Rango''. Nelson became the second woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, after Marjane Satrapi for ''Persepolis''. It was followed by ''Kung Fu Panda 3'' in 2016.

Plot

Long ago, the peacock rulers of Gongmen City invented fireworks for peaceful purposes, but their son, Lord Shen, discovered that the gunpowder used in firecrackers could also be used as a weapon. Troubled by Shen's obsession, his parents consulted a soothsayer, who foretold them that if he continued too far down this path, he would be stopped by "a warrior of black and white". Overhearing the prophecy, Shen deduced that the warrior would be a panda, and led his wolf army to exterminate the pandas. Horrified by the genocide, Shen's parents banished him. In the present day, Shen and his wolf army raid villages for scrap metal, hoping to build cannons that Shen can use to conquer all of China.

Meanwhile, Po is enjoying his new life as a kung fu master alongside the Furious Five, although Master Shifu warns him that he has not yet achieved inner peace. When the wolf army raids another village, Po and the Five intercept them; however, a symbol on the leader's armor that resembles a red eye gives Po a flashback of his mother. Po questions his father, Mr. Ping, and the goose reveals that he found Po as a cub in a shipment of radishes outside his restaurant. When no one came forward to claim the cub, Mr. Ping adopted Po as his son. Po and the Five are dispatched to Gongmen City after learning that Shen killed Master Thundering Rhino, a regent of the city, with a cannon. Shen imprisons the other regents, Masters Ox and Croc, and takes over the city. However, the soothsayer constantly reminds him of the prophecy until he learns that Po is a panda.

On arrival at Gongmen City, Po and the Five free Masters Ox and Croc, but the duo refuses to help, believing that kung fu died with Master Rhino. Po and the Five feign surrender to Shen, secretly replacing Master Mantis with a dummy. The real Mantis frees the others when they are inside the palace; they destroy the prototype cannon, but Po sees the same familiar symbol on Shen's plumage, which distracts him long enough for Shen to escape and destroy Gongmen Palace with his cannonade. When the masters are safe, Tigress demands answers, so Po reveals that he somehow remembered Shen was there the day he last saw his biological parents. Tigress sympathizes, but fears that Po's lack of focus will get him killed. The Five abandon Po for his safety, and proceed to Shen's cannon factory with the intent to blow it up.

However, Po follows and confronts Shen, inadvertently spoiling the plan and allowing the Five to be captured. Shen lies, saying Po's parents hated him, and shoots him with a cannon. Badly wounded but alive, Po floats downriver and is rescued by the soothsayer. She tells him about the panda genocide, and encourages him to embrace his past. Po, finally achieving inner peace, is able to remember his father fighting off the army while his mother hid him in a radish crate, drawing off Shen's army so he could survive. Rejuvenated, Po returns to Gongmen City, where Shen is sailing downriver with his cannons and army. Po frees the Five, and with the help of Masters Ox, Croc and Shifu, they are able to wreck the foremost ships and prevent the army from reaching the harbor. Lord Shen fires a cannon, killing some of his own soldiers, to clear the way.

Po stands alone against Shen, using his newfound inner-peace skills to deflect the cannonballs shot at him back at the fleet, destroying it. Po offers mercy to Shen, but Shen rejects it and attacks Po with a spear. This accidentally severs the lines holding up one of the cannons, and it falls onto the ship, killing Shen. Po is congratulated by Shifu and the Five; returning to the Valley, Po reaffirms his identity as Mr. Ping's son and his love for his adopted father. Meanwhile, at a secret panda village in the mountains, Po's biological father is revealed to still be alive, and he senses his son.

Voice cast

* Jack Black as Master Po, a giant panda and the Dragon Warrior.
:* Liam Knight as Baby Po
* Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress, a South China tiger
* Gary Oldman as Lord Shen, a power-hungry white and red peacock
* Michelle Yeoh as Soothsayer, a wise goat
* Seth Rogen as Master Mantis, a Chinese mantis
* Lucy Liu as Master Viper, a green tree-viper
* David Cross as Master Crane, a red-crowned crane
* Jackie Chan as Master Monkey, a golden snub-nosed monkey
* James Hong as Mr. Ping, a Chinese goose and Po’s adopted father
* Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu, a red panda
* Dennis Haysbert as Master Storming Ox, an ox
* Jean-Claude Van Damme as Master Croc, a crocodile
* Victor Garber as Master Thundering Rhino, a rhinoceros
* Danny McBride as Wolf Boss, a wolf with one eye
* Fred Tatasciore as Li Shan, a giant panda and Po’s biological father (credited as "Panda Dad")
* Lauren Tom as Market Sheep
* Conrad Vernon as Boar

Production

When ''Kung Fu Panda'' was released in June 2008, DreamWorks Animation planned a second film with the subtitle, ''Pandamoneum'', which was changed by 2010 to ''Kaboom of Doom,'' before being wholly retitled to ''Kung Fu Panda 2''. Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who was head of story for the first film, was hired to replace John Stevenson and Mark Osborne as director for the sequel when it became known that they would not be returning for the sequel. The first film's cast members reprised their voice roles. As with every DreamWorks Animation film from ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' onward, ''Kung Fu Panda 2'' was produced in DreamWorks's stereoscopic 3D technology.

Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, screenwriters and co-producers for the first film, returned to write and co-produce the sequel, with Charlie Kaufman consulting on the screenplay early in the development process.

In ''Kung Fu Panda 2'', the production crew showed increased familiarity with Chinese culture. In 2008, after the release of ''Kung Fu Panda'', DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and other DreamWorks members, including production designer Raymond Zibach and director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, visited Chengdu, which is considered the "panda hometown". In addition to seeing real pandas at the Giant Panda Research Centre, the production-design crew learned about the local culture. Katzenberg has stated that the sequel incorporates many elements of Chengdu in the film.

The film's landscape and architecture also found inspiration from those found at Mount Qingcheng, a renowned Taoist mountain. In an interview with the ''China Daily'', Zibach recounted that the Panda research center influenced the movie in a big way, as did their experience of holding a month-old panda cub named A Bao, which gave them the idea for baby Po in a flashback. It also gave them the idea of featuring Sichuan food, such as Mapo tofu and Dandan noodles. In an interview with ''Movieline'', Berger stated, "We never really thought of this as a movie set in China for Americans; it's a movie set in a mythical, universalized China for everyone in the world."

Release

''Kung Fu Panda 2'' was screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival in early May, before its commercial release. In the United States, it premiered May 22, 2011, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. The film was widely released in the United States and South Korea May 26, 2011, in the United Kingdom June 10, 2011, and in Australia June 23, 2011. It was also released in IMAX theaters in the EMEA region.

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray December 13, 2011, accompanied by the short film, '' Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters'', and an episode of the '' Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'' television series. As of February 2013, 6.5 million home entertainment units were sold worldwide.

Reception

Critical reception

On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of , based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's consensus reads: "The storyline arc may seem a tad familiar to fans of the original, but ''Kung Fu Panda 2'' offers enough action, comedy, and visual sparkle to compensate." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an "A" grade on a scale of A+ to F.

''Variety'' called the film "a worthy sequel that gets an extra kick from the addition of dynamic 3D fight sequences", while ''The Hollywood Reporter'' similarly praised the film. Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, praising the sequel as superior to the original, and as an ambitious extension of the previous story.

Some critics noted the influences of executive producer Guillermo del Toro's works in the film's darker themes. Jim Tudor of TwitchFilm.net said that, with del Toro on board, the film "effectively probes deeper into Po's emerging hero's journey and personal issues, evoking a truly fulfilling Campbellian archetype, but also remains fully viable as mainstream entertainment suitable for all ages".

As with the first film, the animation has been praised. Frank Lovece of ''Film Journal International'' described the film as "truly beautiful to behold", and stated that it "works on both aesthetic and emotional levels". Betsy Sharkey of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote that "''Panda 2'' is not just wall-to-wall animation, it is artistry of the highest order".

Many critics praised Gary Oldman's voice acting and developed characterization of Lord Shen, with some comparing him favorably to Ian McShane's voice performance as Tai Lung in the first film. Angie Errigo of ''Empire'' called him "fabulous as the feathered fiend and his character animators do his performance proud with a stunning, balletic fighting style, the fan tail flicking with lethal fascination". Kyle Smith of the ''New York Post'' said, "It's a bit hard to be terrified of a peacock (the snow leopard in the first movie was way more sinister). But the animators are in charge, and they succeed in dazzling with Lord Shen's look."

Box office

The film grossed $165.2 million in the United States and Canada, along with $500.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $665.7 million. In total, 3D contributed approximately 53% of the film's worldwide gross. Worldwide, it was the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2011, and the 28th highest-grossing animated film. During its first weekend, it earned $108.9 million worldwide, ranking third behind '' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' and ''The Hangover Part II''. It was the highest-grossing film directed by a woman until ''Frozen'' two years later, as the well as the highest-grossing film directed solely by a woman until ''Wonder Woman''.

In North America, the film earned $5.8 million on its opening day (Thursday, May 26, 2011), ranking second behind ''The Hangover Part II''. On Friday, the film earned $13.1 million, which was behind the first film's $20.3 million opening Friday. Over the three-day weekend (Friday-to-Sunday), the film earned $47.7 million, which was behind the first film's $60.2 million debut; it also finished second at the box office, behind ''The Hangover Part II''. The film made $13.2 million on Memorial Day, bringing its four-day weekend total to $60.9 million.

Outside North America, the film debuted with $55.5 million on the same weekend as its North American debut, topping the box office in nine of eleven countries in which it was released. It ranked third overall, behind ''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' and ''The Hangover Part II''. The film topped the box office outside North America on two consecutive weekends (its third and fourth weekend).

In China, its highest-grossing market after North America, two different grosses were reported: a $19.3 million two-day weekend and a $16.7 million two-day weekend. Either way, the film set an opening-day record in the country. It earned $93.19 million in total, making it the highest-grossing animated film released in China, surpassing the previous record-holder, ''Kung Fu Panda'' ($26 million). It held the record until 2015, when it was surpassed by the Chinese film, '' Monkey King: Hero Is Back''. The Asian-themed film scored the largest opening weekend for an animated film in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. It became the highest-grossing film released in Vietnam, surpassing ''Avatar''.

Accolades

Marketing

DreamWorks Animation has invested in creating promotional partners and building up marketing for its films. For ''Kung Fu Panda 2'', DWA had partnerships with McDonald's, AT&T, Best Buy, General Mills, Sun-Maid, Airheads, Hint Water and HP. The film's characters were used in products and advertising campaigns across various media. The studio also pursued social media efforts to promote the film.

DWA partnered with House Foods America to brand its products, notably tofu, with advertising of the film. ''Variety'' reported that the partnership was the first ever between a film studio and a tofu company. The studio also enlisted the parade balloon of Po from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to tour in six cities, concluding with Los Angeles during Memorial Day weekend in late May 2011.

Merchandise was also produced for the film: Fisher-Price, THQ, Hallmark and Jem Sportswear. Publishers VTech, Penguin Books

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