   [**Tags**|adoption]The Kung Fu Panda series has always had a major adoption component; at one point, Huffington Post listed the franchise's second installment as the best family film about adoption. The third, most recent movie holds up well against the two previous episodes; it has some of the same shallowness early on, the same depth late in the film, and the same gorgeous animation throughout. It also has some of the same positive and thought-provoking messages about adoption, though in this film the adoption journey is really more about the biological and adoptive parents than about the adoptee himself.Film Grade: BAdoption Message: AThe core of the adoption story - particularly in Kung Fu Panda 2 - has been that the main character - Po, voiced by Jack Black - is a panda being raised by Mr. Ping, a goose. This is only lightly hinted at in the first film, but really gets explored well in the second film, when Po discovers that Mr. Ping (James Hong) is in fact not his biological father. For most of the second film, we believe that Po's biological family was killed by the lead villain, only to find out at the very end that Po's biological father is alive, but has only recently discovered that Po is also alive.The third film thus picks up with Li Shan - Po's biological father, voiced by Bryan Cranston - finding Po in the Valley of Peace, which he is sworn to defend as the Dragon Warrior. While the sudden appearance of his biological father moves Po onto a path to discover what it really means to be a panda (since Po has been raised with all manner of other animals), the real conflict here is between Po's adoptive father and his biological one. Mr. Ping is worried that the sudden appearance of Po's panda family will leave Mr. Ping out in the cold, abandoned by the son he raised for over 20 years. Mr. Ping sees Li Shan and, to a lesser extent, Po's desire to explore his panda roots as a threat. This should be a familiar theme to any adoptive parent - learning to accept that the desire to find out about your biological history and heritage is natural and not a threat. For his part, Li Shan deceives Po in order to get the Dragon Warrior to leave the valley and go to the hidden panda village where Li Shan and the other panda survivors live. If these sound like some pretty adult themes for a kids' film, they are. Although the initial reaction of Mr. Ping in particular rings a bit shallow, the fact that this film treats Po's biological and adoptive parents as people with flaws and motivations of their own is pretty advanced stuff for an animated film about a kung fu fighting panda. Unsurprisingly, when the truth comes out Mr. Ping and Li Shan are able to make peace with each other and the idea that Po needs both his biological and his adoptive fathers, which is brought home in the film's denouement when both work together to save Po.There's thus a lot to work with here as an adoptive family, and the film's ancillary products - particularly the book Po's Two Dads - seem to indicate that the filmmakers are looking to engage on these topics rather than flinching from them. Although the fathers in the film make bad choices at the beginning, they come around to the appropriate conclusions at the end, and the film seems destined to start some pretty important conversations with adoptive children.The film itself has the same strengths and flaws of the other two films. Like Kung Fu Panda 2, it starts a little rough, and for the first 15 minutes or so you feel you are just looking at another mediocre family film with some really good animation (this entire series can rival anything Pixar can put out in terms of visual content and voice talent). The main story arc is predictable - Po is faced with an apparently unstoppable enemy; he and the Furious Five look like they are about to be defeated; and then they ultimately triumph. However, the film gradually picks up depth and steam as it goes along, and as with previous installments hits on a variety of themes like redemption and honor that place it squarely in the realm of good kung fu films, animated or not. My understanding is that there was more Chinese animation in this film than in the previous two, and there are a couple of points where Chinese characters or visual style permeate the film. However, instead of detracting from the film they instead make a welcome addition to Kung Fu Panda's visual universe. The problems in the film come in character development, likely as a result of trying to do too much in a confined space. Tigress (Angelina Jolie-Pitt) - to me one of the most compelling characters in the whole universe - is again only lightly developed, and we still don't know much about her backstory or motivations. If DreamWorks elects not to have a Kung Fu Panda 4 (and there has been some talk about this as the conclusion of the trilogy), it seems that Tigress would stand on her own for a film. Similarly, while Mr. Ping and Li Shan ultimately reach the right conclusion, Mr. Ping's change of heart comes almost completely out of the blue - there is no obvious event and little gradual change that lead to his ultimate decision to accept the biological father. These are, however, minor points, and overall this is a satisfying installment in and could be a fine end point on the series. It easily kept the attention of both my six-year-old and myself, and is a good starting point for anyone looking to stoke a conversation about adoption, and particularly trans-racial adoption. |
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aut02016-02-01 12:31 am (UTC) Panda 3 (Link) Speaking as someone who has seen the first 2 but not the current one (on TV) I am quite impressed with your reviews. Your approach is clearly one of a caring adoptive father while still providing excellent commentary on the films themselves. Thank you,Luv ya,