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• Director - Mark Osborn, John Stevenson
• Genre - Family/Comedy/Animation/Adventure
• Year - 2008

I expected little and instead I got a lot! In fact, when I started hearing the comments on this movie, the week it opened, I was still incredulous, because to be honest, the trailers did absolutely nothing to get me to want to watch this movie. Chuck it to poor marketing or something, I don’t know. It is not that I thought the movie would flop, but that it would be so lukewarm that it would provoke no reaction whatsoever, which sometimes is worse than outright hating a movie.

Now, I can actually and very honestly say, this is the best NON-PIXAR animated movie since the original Shrek. It is a movie in fact that got me truly excited with only its opening scenes, which are actually 2-D animation very reminiscent (stylistically) of Samurai Jack.

Blissfully, there is a plot here and not just a tolerable plot, but an intriguing, charming and moving plot. Yes, it is kept simple enough for the youngsters to grasp, but it is effectively enough told to satisfy the adult audience. The animation is well crafted; the characters are neatly designed and their personalities thankfully fail to fall into stereotypes. Most impressively however, is that this movie, unlike Shrek, does not have child humor and adult humor. Allow me to explain. One of the plus sides to a lot of movies is their ability to keep a thread of humor directed to children and a more subtle thread aimed to adults. This is a tactic that has managed to fill seats in many a theater with adult butts. This movie does not do that, it does something that in my mind is infinitely better. It blends child and adult humor so well it satisfies the entire spectrum of age.

What’s more, this film is also packed with enough action, details and cool little concepts that even the action fan may be entertained. Animation or not, there are a number of feats that on screen, look absolutely stunning. Truly, this is the sort of movie that will have you trying to pick which character you would rather be…in fact, about halfway through the movie, my youngest daughter did just that, leaning over the seat and saying: “I want to be Master Tigress.” Characters are developed, not without flaws, in ways that make them believable and easy to relate to, which is a nice change from pretty much every other Dreamworks animation movie that has come out lately.

Watch this movie. Yes, it is a family film, yes it is not going to deliver the complicated story of a drama, but by far, this is one of the best animated films of the decade, not just the year.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Notes: Some violence through the martial arts fighting scenes, but no blood is shed, so it is definitely kid friendly.
Quote: Oogway: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.