Ska-doosh! DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda came out over 12 years ago, and a real standout amongst their library of over 30 animated features. The Mark Osborne/John Stevenson film marked something of a departure in the realm of computer animated DreamWorks films, in that it wove fun humor and slapstick into a martial arts adventure epic with legitimate stakes and a beating heart. This film eschewed the route of previous DreamWorks films like Shrek, Shark Tale, and Bee Movie. Tonally, it veered more towards a more classical approach, tying great gags and wit with a palpable sense of danger and effective action. Stevenson, in the film’s audio commentary, says that a Walt Disney-esque mixture of these two styles was the intention. I feel that their film sees that through, and does not spare anything in the process. Taking over the series was Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who kept the…
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