Kung Fu Panda [DVD] (2008)

I am a long time fan of Kung Fu films, absolutely loving the old school Jackie Chan films like Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin, Drunken Master, etc. I take the genre pretty seriously, and was hesitant when I saw the title. I thought Dreamworks would just butcher the genre with some preconceived notions of China, Kung Fu and the inherent philosophy woven throughout. What I got was a very well reasearched and thought out film with true-to-life philosophy, kung-fu action and styles. The five masters, Snake, Crane, Tiger, Mantis, Monkey are not the original five but they are indeed an integral part of the kung-fu animal styles. For a cartoon, the fighting is just awesome, and Dreamworks really stuck to the tradition of kung-fu flicks, making well choreographed, and true-to-style fight scenes. This is also one of the funniest Dreamworks films I have ever seen, it kept me laughing throughout. Jack Black is brilliant as the voice of the Panda, really bringing the moods, and attitudes to life. Dustin Hoffman also does a great job as Master Shifu. Five stars for brilliant voice-overs, great action, great story, and the inherent philosophy woven thoughout. This film delivers a strong message about believing in one's self which makes it great for kids as well.The blu-rayPicture:1080P Transfer is just brilliant. Dreamworks did not skimp on this and the film is just a treat to watch on blu-ray. Reference quality here, nothing bad to say whatsoever.Sound:Dolby True HD- WOW. This is probably the best DT soundtrack I have ever heard. The bass is huge, the soundstage clear and awesome, the sound filling your room to put you in the middle of the action and the thumping hard bass perfectly timed with the action sequences. This is not only reference material sound, but also a film to show off your subwoofer with.Languages:Dolby True HD- EnglishDD 5.1- Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, TurkishSubtitles:English, English SDH, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, TurkishRegion- Not mentioned anywhere on the cover or disc...Summary- Buy it!

I had heard a lot of good things about this film so went for a blind buy having missed it in the cinemas. The film more than met my expectations.The success of Kung Fu Panda is that it is serious about the Kung Fu element and that makes the panda part even funnier. This isn't some parody with pop culture references like Dreamwork's Shrek or Madagascar. The makers seem to really love and appreciate martial arts film and, as a result, this gets the adult market despite the childish concept. The action is really visceral and exciting, especially in HiDef. The film is shown in 1:2.35 anamorphic.The sound is in Dolby 5.1 TrueHD and your speakers will get a good workout. As for voice talent, the three leads, Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Ian McShane do sterling work. The rest of the talent, who are voicing the furious five (Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross) are good but don't really get a chance to shine.The packaging makes it seem like the are only a few extras but there are a lot, equal to the US release (I am assuming my copy is Region B as it was bought through Amazon UK, but the packaging gives no apparent info about regions). I haven't watched these yet to comment, but I sucked at the games.Languages: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, plus all the following in Dolby 5.1: Dutch; French; German; Italian; Portuguese; Spanish and Turkish (there are also commentaries). Subtitles cover the same languages plus English for hard of hearing and a trivia track.

I saw Kung Fu Panda on the big screen in a theatre and told myself I must have a copy of this movie when it is out on DVDs.As a matter of fact, I have it both on DVD (so I can view it on my portable DVD player) and Bluray ( so I can view it in the best viewing media available now). I must have seen this movie at least 8 times since it was released. It's fun( just imagine a big clumsy Panda who wants to learn Kung Fu and you can see ) The setting of the movie is spectacular with Chinese scenery,palaces and architecture.Dreamworks animation is outstanding especially those kungfu fighting actions which are stunning. Dreamworks has set a new level of action animation. The expressions of the charaters are real first class (just look at the Panda's facial expression for example). It's a great entertainment for the family. It is humorous and full of humanity. I've loved animation since my first love for Mickey mouse and Donald duck and Walt Disney's Snow White and the 7 dwarfs...There are many animation masterpieces and this is one of them. By the way the Bluray gives crystal clear and ultra sharp pictures and colours, a lot better than the normal standard DVD ( My way of comparison this movie between the standard dvd and the bluray is like a step forward to colour from black and white)It is truly a pleasure to watch Kung Fu Panda and I am very content and happy to have it in my animation Video collection and would recommend this masterpiece to anyone who appreciates animation and good family entertainment.My rating 5 stars out of 5.

If you’re thinking of getting this on dvd, forget and pay for the Blu-ray. It’s only a couple quid and it’s great for it.

Picture is a very worthy upgrade and contains all the special features from previous Blu ray. Sadly nothing new. But it's still worth it if you love the film.