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80A precisely calibrated crowd-pleasing machine, balancing action, comedy and just the bare minimum of pathos.
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67Kids are bound to get a kick out of these kung fu creatures.
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63It's still Black's franchise, though. And part of the problem with this sequel is how little it lets its star just riff with silly abandon, as he did throughout the original.
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May 24, 201180A fun and surprisingly affecting little adventure, Kung Fu Panda 2 ranks among the best films DreamWorks has ever done.
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88The animation is elegant, the story is much more involving than in the original, and there's boundless energy.
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75For a movie touting "inner peace," this 3-D sequel sure goes in for its share of battle scenes, but for the most part they are excitingly conceived.
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80A richer plot, life lessons and loving Chinese cultural references rendered by turns sweet, scary and charming, with yet more fantastical kung fu, make this an engaging winner. Stunning visuals make it real art as well.
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83At times, Kung Fu Panda 2 suggests "Bambi" redone as an episode of Oprah. Yet it's a more-than-worthy sequel.
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80The big action pieces, particularly the final face-off, are masterful both for their cleverness in bringing down the house and the detail jammed into every frame. Even composers Hans Zimmer, who's scored a zillion movies, and John Powell seem to be having more fun than usual.
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75Scenic, inventively playful, and successfully serious when it wants to be.
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80Kung Fu Panda 2 plunks down squarely in the spot marked for "chop-socky action with heart."
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63It wouldn't be right to say that, half an hour after Kung Fu Panda 2 ended, I was starving for laughs again. In truth, I was starving pretty much all the way through.
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75A sequel that delivers more heart than laughs, and is, if anything, more visually dazzling than the 2008 original film.
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75Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who oversaw the elegant title sequences from the first film, likewise gives Kung Fu Panda 2's series of flashbacks a different look, harking back to Chinese shadow puppetry and delicate watercolors. With its mix of vibrant CG and classical elements, the movie dazzles.
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42Kung Fu 2 does almost NOTHING to advance the story, to deepen the characters, or to charm, amuse or entertain.
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75This is the most mature animated feature since "Rango."
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25A ghastly sequel to a charming animated film.
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50Exquisite looking but substantially hollow.
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75This well-executed sequel is sneaky. While it distracts us with Chinese backdrops and buffoonish humor, it sucker punches us with a message about belonging.
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91Part two is even more gorgeous to behold, and deeper in substance.
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42The sequel remains visually beautiful and strikingly designed, but otherwise, it's a surprise in all the wrong ways.
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50There just isn't the same zingy rapport. Seth Rogen's praying mantis and Jackie Chan's monkey have no more than a dozen lines between them. Even Jack Black's Po is more subdued.
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90It all moves along briskly, with a degree of visual grace and a solid feel for 3D.
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70Accomplishes the depressingly familiar mathematical trick of being both more and less than its predecessor.
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70The new Panda has a bright palette, an amiable vibe and enough vivacity to keep kids entertained and any accompanying moms from bolting for "Bridesmaids."
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60For an animation studio that too often specializes in the frivolous and glib (begone, Shrek series!), the move to the dark side is refreshing.
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75Black is clearly suited for the role of a modern-day Inspector Clouseau, a hero clown who can't help but save the day.
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May 23, 201190Once again, the DreamWorks team demonstrates that humor is the primary weapon in its arsenal.
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80Jennifer Yuh Nelson's sequel delivers a bevy of superpowered set pieces that are dexterous and delirious, as well as tonally confident.
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70Hardly a scene goes by that isn't visually striking or kinetically thrilling, and all of it enhanced by 3-D.
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50And, yes, Kung Fu Panda 2 is a little darker and a little more intense than the first film, especially for very young viewers.