Product Description

Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth RogenDirectors: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1976 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Animation
• Released on: 2008-11-17
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 92 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
What's a panda to do when his dreams of kung-fu awesomeness awake to the cold reality of noodle-making? Clumsy, overweight Po (Jack Black) dreams of becoming a kung fu master like China's revered "furious five," but instead seems destined to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in the restaurant business. When great leader Oogway has a vision that the imprisoned kung fu warrior Tai Lung (Ian McShane) will soon escape, he declares it time to choose China's dragon warrior--one kung fu master deemed worthy of possessing the dragon's scroll and its secret to limitless power. Po and all the townspeople rush to the Jade Palace atop the highest mountain to witness the contest between Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross) and Viper (Lucy Liu), but Po is locked outside the palace. After a miracle of sorts, Po lands inside the palace gates, where he is chosen as the dragon warrior and placed under the tutelage of the decidedly non-plussed master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). An unconventional student to say the least, hilarity reigns as Shifu tries desperately to make Po into some semblance of a kung fu warrior. Can Po possibly fulfill his destiny as dragon warrior, or was Oogway's final decision a critical mistake? A film rich with hilarious moments, superior animation, and an important message about believing in oneself and the power that comes from within, Kung Fu Panda is great entertainment that will have the whole family laughing and begging for more. (Ages 3 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Stills From Kung Fu Panda
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Synopsis
With 2008's KUNG FU PANDA, the talking-animal CGI film enters a new era, one that makes room for both painterly artwork and fierce martial-arts action. Po (voiced by Jack Black), a clumsy and ever-hungry panda, is a huge kung fu fan, but seems destined to sell noodles like his father, Mr. Ping (James Hong), who inexplicably happens to be a goose. When Po literally crashes a ceremony involving martial-arts masters Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) and their pupils, the Furious Five--which includes Tigress (Angelina Jolie, in a surprisingly small part) and Crane (David Cross)--he ends up being selected by the latter elder as the revered Dragon Warrior. As the sceptical Shifu reluctantly trains the hapless Po, his former star pupil, Tai Lung (Ian McShane), escapes from a high-security prison, setting up a collision course between the bumbling bear and the powerful villain.
One of the finest animated films released under the DreamWorks banner, KUNG FU PANDA deftly avoids many of the pitfalls of the genre (i.e. cheesy musical sequences), juggling action, heart, and humour in a highly entertaining way. While Black (in endearingly restrained mode), Hoffman, Kim, and McShane voice their characters with verve, the real stars of PANDA are directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson and their animators, who lovingly depict ornate Chinese chambers and vast mountainous vistas, as well as blazing kung fu battles. A movie with remarkably wide appeal, KUNG FU PANDA delivers on its quirky, high-concept title with gleeful aplomb.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Kung Fu
I had heard a lot of good things about this film so went for a blind buy having missed it in the cinemas. The film more than met my expectations.

The success of Kung Fu Panda is that it is serious about the Kung Fu element and that makes the panda part even funnier. This isn't some parody with pop culture references like Dreamwork's Shrek or Madagascar. The makers seem to really love and appreciate martial arts film and, as a result, this gets the adult market despite the childish concept. The action is really visceral and exciting, especially in HiDef. The film is shown in 1:2.35 anamorphic.

The sound is in Dolby 5.1 TrueHD and your speakers will get a good workout. As for voice talent, the three leads, Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Ian McShane do sterling work. The rest of the talent, who are voicing the furious five (Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross) are good but don't really get a chance to shine.

The packaging makes it seem like the are only a few extras but there are a lot, equal to the US release (I am assuming my copy is Region B as it was bought through Amazon UK, but the packaging gives no apparent info about regions). I haven't watched these yet to comment, but I sucked at the games.

Languages: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, plus all the following in Dolby 5.1: Dutch; French; German; Italian; Portuguese; Spanish and Turkish (there are also commentaries). Subtitles cover the same languages plus English for hard of hearing and a trivia track.

Fantastic Hi Def experience!
This is simply the best Blu Ray I have ever seen! Better that Wall E in terms of the scintillating images, colour, and detail! If you have anything like a decent Hi Def set up, this is a must demo and 'show off' disc. The film is good too, and extrtemely enjoyable, funny, full of action, and engaging! You can't go wrong with this movie, especially if you have kids! These animated blockbusters really do get better all of the time, Cars, Ratatouille, Happy Feet, Wall E, Shrek etc. and this is surely the best looking one yet! Ok, I am an adult, and we have no kids, but I suspect like many of us over 25, I do have a soft spot for these films, which really do make the best of your expensive equipment. This is utterly enagaging on a aesthetic level. Forgot work and real life for a short while, and enjoy this absolutely excellent movie!!

True Awesomeness
Just brilliant, exactly why we bought our PS3 and true HD set up. The picture and sound quality are outstanding. This will sit in our collection with pride. The detail in the animation especially in the kung fu sequences is extremely good quality, from the authentic movement right down to the way the fur/skin reacts on the characters. If you own a good blu-ray set up then I would definitely recommend this version.

The film itself is laugh-out-loud funny and is definitely not age specific. A definite for repeated viewing.