Kung Fu Panda: An American Story
by Michael van der GalienDespite my natural dislike for animation movies – I like to see real people acting – I decided to give “Kung Fu Panda” a chance after a friend strongly recommended it to me. So I got myself a “Kung Fu Panda” DVD, shoved it into my laptop, thinking it would either be a highly entertaining 1.5 hours or the most boring evening I had in months. I’m happy to report it was the former; “Kung Fu Panda” is not only funny but also and more importantly a uniquely American film.
Here’s the basic story (for a longer summary, I suggest you go to WikiPedia ); a panda going by the name of Po wants to become a Kung Fu fighter but he’s ill-equipped to take on anything stronger and fiercer than bamboo. Not only is he a panda, he is also a panda who loves to eat cookies and, well, everything else. Despite his physique, Po becomes the hero of the story by beating tiger warrior Tai Lung.
It’s an incredibly funny movie – especially the scene in which Po is finally able to do the split after his teacher tells him that another fighter hides his cookies in a cupboard which is located at quite an inconvenient spot, high up at the ceiling, pushed between two walls – had me going for 15 minutes.
But what makes this movie even greater is that there’s much more to it than humor. Its message is truly American.
Sure, Po is in theory the anti-hero who can’t get anything done. True enough. But he turns out to be a real hero who, by pure dedication, succeeds in turning his weakness into his strength. Po does not merely overcome his arch-enemy Tai Lung, he overcomes the fiercest enemy of all: himself.
“Kung Fu Panda” is entertaining, a joy to watch for adults and children alike, but it’s also a movie that makes a fundamentally sound and conservative (and American! ) principle: If you work hard, you can become anything you want. You may face obstacles along the way - No, you will face obstacles – but the only one able to stop is you .
As if that’s not conservative and American enough, “Kung Fu Panda” also breaks with the average modern movie by allowing an ugly and fat panda to become the hero of the story. Po’s change takes place on the inside not the outside; he was and remains a chubby panda. This is not a film where the ugly girl becomes the beauty queen or the nerd blossoms — in this respect KFP is a nice break from our look-obsessive society.
Concluding, this animation movie perfectly combines humor with a message conservatives can believe in; no matter who you are, no matter who your parents are (Po’s father is a goose who owns a noodle soup shop), you can become everything you want, as long as you work hard and refuse to give up.
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24 Comments
Michael,
Great points and I’m glad you gave animation a chance! Animation is truely a great art form and too often pushed into the realm of children when it can be used to articuate whatever vision or idea you have. Some of our best satirists and commentators on the human spirit were the Warner Brother’s animators from the 1930’s-50’s.
For me, Kung Fu Panda was the first American animated film to join the Pixar films because the story and humor is based on timeless ideals and not pop culture references that will be dated in 10 years.
Great film, great message, and I encourage everyone to watch it.
Armand; just continue watching such movies – the message will sink in whether you realize it or not
Kevin, I agree completely with your comment.
it seems I missed the essence of the story </em
So did I, until a friend who was into Kung Fu movies pointed out the differences between them and KFP. His comment was that you’d never see that theme in a Hong Kong movie. I would add that the movie had some nice spiritual aspects conservatives might appreciate.
I ended up seeing KFP 3 times last summer. It helped me to get over missing Wall-e due to eco-prop overload.
“Po does not merely overcome his arch-enemy Tai Lung, he overcomes the fiercest enemy of all: himself.”
Not to mention his teacher that kept telling him he couldn’t do it. Just go back to the village and accept your fate.
I like the film, but I’m not sure how it qualifies as “uniquely American” given that it’s basically an animated version of [i]Drunken Master[/i].
There was some homework in the script about names –
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080615190717AAHbeyv
Tai Lung means “great dragon” as that link says, and what it doesn’t say is that Po means “broken” or something lesser, imperfect. Also in Chinese mythology it was believed that at death the spirit (called the “nin” meaning “you”) ascended to Heaven, while the lesser spirit running the body – called “po” – melded back into the Earth.
So there’s nice symbology in the story, and it’s a very enjoyable film. I agree that it is American in character (common guy becomes great hero) but a great many Asian movies are like that in the last few decades. Our cultural film exports are our greatest ambassadors when they’re good.
Yeah, keep the marks fooled into thinking if they “work hard” they will succeed. That is needed to keep the mindless cogs working harder and harder for less and less.
What you say may have applied at one point, but it doesn’t for most people since the creation of the Federal Reserve System. Read “The Creature from Jekyl Island.” The game is rigged.
Ewwwwwwwww Jack Black, another BOYCOTTED on my list! Won’t watch it, won’t buy it, any of Blacks movies!!!
It also had that uncommon lesson in contemporary American cinema: even the extremely overweight can save the day. While finding other heavy heroes is no small task, consider the role of Hurley on ABC’s “Lost”. He’s basically a plus-size Gilligan.
The funny thing is I wonder if it ever sunk into Jack Black’s thick head that this movie was all about conservative values. I’ve always liked JB and Tenacious D, but was saddened when he started spouting standard lefty drivel. Stick to the music and fart jokes JB.
It’s interesting how these conservative messages pop up in animated movies. Another example of this trend is Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles, with the central theme of striving for, and honoring excellence. When everyone is special, the film posits, no one is.
The story line, the plot, the style of characters all very closely follow a movie called Kung Fu Hustle. You should check it out. Far better than animated.
It’s Sam the plumber. Sam is his actual legal name. I mean, what could be so wrong about calling a person by their actual name, no?
I’m sorry, but Sam the plumber IS a loser. He thinks because his question about not being able to buy the business that he in fact wasn’t trying to buy got some attention from Hannity, that means that he feels obligated to make policy pronouncements on national televsion?
His “reporting” from Gaza was an abject embarassment, and merely confirmed that Sam is a publicity-seeking amateur.
‘It also had that uncommon lesson in contemporary American cinema: even the extremely overweight can save the day. While finding other heavy heroes is no small task, consider the role of Hurley on ABC’s “Lost”. He’s basically a plus-size Gilligan.’
Again, very true, and good point.
Okay, I have to admit that, as an animator, your opening dismissal of animated films got my hackles up. I hope your good experience with KFP will lead you to watch some more great animated movies!
That said, I didn’t think the message of KFP was as overtly conservative as, say, The Incredibles, but I’ll buy that it was very American and also, frankly, universal: I hear that KFP was extremely (and unexpectedly) popular in China. By contrast, Mulan absolutely bombed over there – the Chinese thought Kung Fu Panda reflected their culture better even than Mulan, even though the former is pretty irreverent.
Anyway, good point, though I think that KFP is more an example of a really excellent movie that allows a diverse audience to project their own values onto the characters than a direct cultural/moral statement.
Not only does he work to overcome his weaknesses, but the fact that he’s fat makes him immune to the villain’s deadliest attack! I thought that was the best part!
“There is no charge for awesomeness. Or attractiveness.”
Kung Fu Panda was also very popular w/ the Chinese group of post-docs/scientists @ my wife’s lab @ the local university.
They were commenting on how it was that Americans would make such a Chinese movie.
Anyways, there you have it. Something I overheard.
Incidentally, our local discount chain store was selling “Kung Fu Panda” Advent calendars before Christmas…
[...] real people act in it, which is, as I explained in my post on “Kung Fu Panda,” a definite pro for me. Secondly, “Traitor” deals with an incredibly hotly [...]
Didn’t I see this movie the first time when it came out when it was called “Beverly Hills Ninja” . . . Haven’t seen it, so please correct me if i am wrong.
“So if the theme of honoring excellence is “conservative”, why do you guys idolize mediocre losers like Sam the Plumber?”
Wow. Elitist contempt is breathtaking when displayed in all its naked ugliness.
To answer your question, Caltechgirl, the conservative philosophy is that all men are created equal, which means, equal in the eyes of God, equal in dignity, equal in rights. The poor, the humble, the oppressed, the downtrodden have rights that must be protected because their worth as a human being is no less sacred than your worth as a human being, even though they do honest work for a living.
The conservative philosophy is that a man’s place is society is one to which he rises or falls by his own merit and fortune. Place in society is not equated to dignity as a human being.
You are the greatest!
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Your loss. He, Dustin and Shane made this movie.
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