Tweekums A prologue explains how a peacock named Shen's family were the city's ancestral rulers of Gongmen City but his parents exiled him after he massacred the pandas because a soothsayer told him one would thwart his ambition to rule china. Now he has taken the city by force, using cannon to defeat the kung fu masters would had protected it.After the events of the previous film the panda Po has been accepted as the legendary Dragon Warrior but his training is far from over; before he can truly be a master he must find inner peace. After his first clash with Shen's forces he starts recalling his past and realises that the goose who raised him wasn't his actual father. When word of what happened in Gongmen gets out he, and the 'Furious Five' must go there and defeat him; if they are to prevail Po must come to terms with his past.This sequel is a lot of fun; I'm sure anybody who enjoyed the opening instalment in the franchise will enjoy this too. There is lots of enjoyable, well animated martial arts action and plenty of humorous moments; frequently at the same time. It is fun seeing the established characters again, if anything it is more fun than before as they have become friends. Shen is a fine antagonist; the backstory we are shown at the start of the film gives him a touch of King Herod as he attempts to eliminate the pandas because one is foretold to defeat him… of course as with all such prophecies it is ultimately correct. The animation is impressive with great looking backgrounds and nice character designs. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to those who enjoyed the first film.

vivifan Kung Fu panda 2 is one of the best film sequels of all time IMO. It took everything that made the first one great and made it better.The story line is more emotional, the villain was much better, the music was better, the furious five had more lines and development especially tigress.The animation is more crisped and it looks great! Every animal has a unique design and the fur detail especially is awesome! Every character in this film is better for example PO is more confident then before and is more wise while still being hilarious. Tigress is more likable and bad-ass here as well as having more personalty. The villain lord Shen voiced by Gary Oldmen did such a great job in making him believable. Lord Shen is way better then Tai lung since he more bad ass, more developed, had more screen time and did something horrible to PO which i won't spoil.Mr ping is more loving and kind here then he was in the first film (even tho I still found him likable in the first one) The films comedy is just as hilarious as it was before but I found the first film to be a bit more funny.The voice acting is better here to and displays more emotion then before. The pacing is very fast but that makes it more entertaining in my opinion and it never feels slow. The film is rather short too but then again a lot of kids movies are short so I can kind of understand why.The only down side to the film is Shifu being a minor character, but then again I think it helped the film in a way because it gave the furious five a chance to shine and somebody has to protect the valley of peace! not to mention he was in the climax which was epic!Overall Kung Fu Panda 2 is epic, emotional, beautiful, heartwarming, dark, hilarious and is worth checking out if you are a fan of the first film.

Mathewdixon42 SPOILERS INVOLVED HERE:Kung Fu Panda 2 exists as not only a wonderful film, but a benchmark for sequels in general. The animation is fantastic, the story is deep and dark, the characters evolve, and the acting is tremendous!Starting with the animation. This is a very energetic and fast moving film for the most part, and the animation follows suit. It's bright and colorful. It is a feast for the eyes, and it doesn't insult the audience by skipping through the animation too quickly. I don't know if it directly came from Guillermo Del Toro's involvement or not, but the story here took a very dark turn from the original. Po's past comes into play leading to some very real tear-jerking moments. Particularly his flashback to his last memories of his parents. This is handled with very little dialogue in two different animation styles. Po's budding friendship with Tigress is explored in this film. There are some very adorable and intense scenes between these two. It could almost be construed as a possible future romance, but this is just an interpretation. Po and Tigress have both taken steps forward as characters in this story. Tigress grows to accept and even like Po. This is a relief after her hard nosed disrespect for him in the first. Po is still a large clumsy Panda for the most part. He has learned Kung Fu and realized his dream, and has even shown to grow up a bit. He has some very serious moments this time. Jack Black is, as usual, very funny and breezy in this one. It's simply Jack Black being Jack Black, nothing special. Overall good. The real scene thief in this film is Gary Oldman. His slow, creepy voice is perfect for the calculating Lord Shen. His character and design is the opposite to Tai-Lung from the first. Lord Shen is the most interesting character is this film by far. Gary Oldman is always fantastic in his villain roles, and this is one of his best. His masterful voice work dwarfs just about any other animated villain of the modern age. Overall this is a wonderful sequel that builds upon everything established in the original in the best way possible. 10/10. It is mind-blowing just how great this turned out to be, considering it is a sequel. The world general agrees that follow-ups rarely match the original in quality, let alone to succeed it. Kung Fu Panda 2 is a better film than the original. Due mostly to the dark and engaging story-line, the growth of some characters, the fast paced animation, and in particular Gary Oldman's incredible performance.

Jawbox5 Kung Fu Panda 2 is pretty much everything a sequel should be. It builds upon its characters, it crafts a plot that is larger as well as more personal and its themes are even deeper than before. It sees Po (Jack Black), who has now been fully accepted by the furious five, forced to battle against a peacock named Lord Shen who plans to conqueror China with a new weapon. It doesn't seem like much on the surface, but Po begins to have flashbacks of why his parents abandoned him and it links directly back to Shen himself. Stories like this are brilliant because the set-up and main goal is relatively simple, but there is a very heartfelt and surprisingly emotion core to the film that is just fantastic.This feels like its Po's story, and it might annoy some people that the other characters aren't developed more, but for me it was the right move. It makes you always engaged in the journey that he goes through, you want to know what happened to his real parents and he grows as a hero as a result of everything that he goes through. Po himself is again a lot of fun and it impresses me how well balanced the character is, being naive but lovable at the same time with Jack Black adding his usual drive to the role. The furious five are still are really enjoyable team and I think the writers did a great job in giving them all the right amount of lines as well as making them a team you can connect to. Master Shifu has a more limited appearance, but he's still good fun when he shows up. Arguably the best thing is Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). This is a villain who is both intimidating and really funny, and so many times it's either too much of one or the other yet here they get it spot- on. He is never too serious and he is never too goofy, it is a perfect balance. He has a backstory that explains his actions and connects to Po's spiritual journey. The animation on him looks marvellous and Oldman is absolutely brilliant as usual.I think one of the main reasons the film works so well is because of the emotion impact it has. The characters all have legitimate reasons for what they are doing and they're feelings as well as flaws are shown fully. The scenes with Po and his adoptive father Mr. Ping (James Wong) are really touching as well as being amusing. The flashbacks are truly moving and even tear inducing. I believe it shows that you can be serious and even somewhat sombre if you can get the balance right. The jokes are consistently funny here, mostly due to Po's behaviour and a lot of Shen's lines. Once again with DreamWorks the animation is absolutely superb with this being some of their sharpest and most vibrant that they have ever produced. Pretty much everything from character designs to the scenic shots of ancient China look fantastic. The more 2-D style in Po's flashbacks is also a nice touch and helps it standout. The speed of the animation is another plus. When it is used for slapstick the quick pace makes everything seem even funnier, and it does a similar thing for the action scenes by giving them even more energy. The score (by Hans Zimmer and John Powell) is another positive, crafting the right amount of soothing melodies and backing the action effectively with some more upbeat compositions.I think balance is the key word here and it is where Kung Fu Panda 2 succeeds. The story itself is an excellent continuation and the way it unravels as the film goes on is just wonderful. It has plenty of comedy and well placed humour, but it never shies away from darker and more emotional material. I found myself both moved and laughing in equal measure. As said I think the main characters are all great, the animation is spectacular and the villain is outstanding. It is exactly what you want in a sequel and I can't wait to see where the series goes next.