Kung Fu Panda 2 is disappointing only because it is not the original Kung Fu Panda, a rare animated action-packed adventure that managed to delight adult filmgoers as well as kids not by injecting sophisticated humor but by making a story of a fat Panda bear incontestably exciting. The second entry in the trilogy (this one ends with a unabashed plug for a third film) is not bad. It’s just uninspired and lacks that special something that pushed the first film over the top and showed that Dreamworks could make a great animated film if it actually tried (it would take How to Train Your Dragon to make that fact incontrovertible).

Po (Jack Black) is settling into his role as The Dragon Warrior, the rotund leader of The Furious Five (Angelina Jolie, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan) who guard the tranquil Valley of Peace. But their kingdom is threatened by the return of Shen, an exiled prince who is bent on seizing control of China and destroying kung fu with an unstoppable super weapon. Po discovers that vanquishing Shen once and for all will take more than physical skill; it will require him to address his own murky and uncomfortable origins.

I suppose it is only natural that a sequel feel as if it is beginning in the middle of things. Assuming we’ve seen the first installment, a sequel, more or less, picks up where we left off. Yet such an assumption comes with drawbacks, some of which are likely—given the depth of the characters involved—nearly impossible to avoid. One of the largest gaping holes in Kung Fu Panda 2 is its lack of compelling character arcs, something the first film had in spades. Even with a series of flashbacks meant to explain how Po got from there to here, the film never quite manages to tap into its heroes as it did the first time around. This goes doubly for the villain, who, while admittedly a very different personality from the first film’s nemesis, pales in comparison to Ian McShane’s menacing dynamo of fur and claws.

Upon reflection, I think the mixture is simply off here. The first film found the perfect mix of character, story and action/adventure, while the sequel takes the “too much of a good thing” approach and runs with it. It amps up the action and fantastical elements to nearly chaotic levels, making nearly every action set piece feel like it could stand in for the film’s climax. (It doesn’t help that, as gorgeous as the animation is, too much of it takes place in the dark—not a wise choice when 3D is already known for its dim projections.)

Kung Fu Panda 2 is all just a bit too familiar, a bit too common, a bit too unimaginative. The first film took risks while this one seems satisfied to merely ride its cinematic coattails. Dreamworks needs to use this as a “lesson learned” and go into the third film with a fresh resolve to recapture the novelty and sweetness of the initial outing. In the real world, recycling is a great and admirable thing. In cinema, it is a death knell.

© Copyright 2011 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.

Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Starring: Jack Black, Gary Oldman, Angelina Jolie, James Hong, Dustin Hoffman, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Victor Garber, Michelle Yeoh, Dennis Haysbert, Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme
Rated PG for mild violence.
Running Time: 92 minutes