A few weeks ago my genial co-host Mr Jett Loe acclaimed Dreamworks’ gorgeous, fun and sassy animated astonishment ‘Kung Fu Panda’ in the wake of its upset victory over ‘Wall-E’ at the Annie Awards. He included some rather delightful screen caps to bolster his case. I got around to watching last week, delayed by other more pressing matters (the inauguration, a couple of snow days, a cold, catching up with ‘Lost’ and ‘Battlestar’, fearing that Jett might be right). And there’s certainly more reason to view the Chinese cuddly mammal show than you might expect on the basis of its marketing – presented, as it was, and as Jett said, as if it were an Eastern ‘Shrek’. Not that I have anything against the first ‘Shrek’…’Kung Fu Panda’ is vibrant, funny, features a few fleshed-out characters, and is, most of all, one of the most beautiful-looking animated films I’ve ever seen.
But it’s not ‘better than ‘Wall-E’.
(I should acknowledge at this point that ‘better than/worse than’ is often the lazy critic’s way out. I’m not even sure that ‘Wall-E’ and ‘Kung Fu Panda’ should be compared to each other; just because they’re both computer-animated family-friendly films doesn’t have to mean anything. ‘Citizen Kane’, ‘Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid’, ‘Stardust Memories’ and ‘Schindler’s List’ are all black and white – but I don’t see anyone making a case that they should be compared just because they have the same colour schemes. That said, I’ll take the lazy critic’s way out: ‘Kung Fu Panda’, while delightful in many ways, is not better than ‘Wall-E’.)
Why? Let me count the ways:
While both tell an old story – outsider conquers adversity and saves the world – the invention, imagination, sense of place, and demand for sustained attention from the audience in ‘Wall-E’ are beyond anything I had seen in an animated family film before. And most of all, ‘Wall-E’ transcends traditional genre norms by inviting no cathartic violence; whereas ‘Kung Fu Panda’ climaxes all too predictably with the gentle giant being fuelled to kill. Up to the point where the Panda (Spoilers ahoy!) kills the tiger/leopard/monster thing, I had hoped that something other than murder would be used to make a point, but it was not to be.
In ‘Wall-E’, however, something far more complex – and better for the world – is attempted; sure, the HAL-like computer is disabled, but we’re not supposed to draw an analogy between this and violence against humans: I’m not sure the computer represents anything other than what it is: inanimate power with far too much authority over human life. The tiger/leopard/monster thing in ‘Kung Fu Panda’, however, is the latest in a long line of cinematic villains whose motivation – childhood disappointment – is used to explain their behaviour, but, like human beings who engage in bullying in the real world, are still not allowed to receive anything like mercy in socially acceptable discourse. I know this might sound pompous – so, dear listener, if you want to comment below to tell me that it does, please know that I’m already there - but I think it’s simply obvious from the way we deal with people who behave ‘badly’ – you only have to think of how rare the generosity of not taking revenge is in public life to see it.
In that sense, ‘KFP’ does something that so much of our common entertainment does: endorses social Darwinism, salutes force above intellect, and ultimately negates every earlier sweet moment about meditation and Tao and Zen and love-all-the-creatures schtick in favour of total war. (It’s also tremendous fun and stunning to look at.)
‘Wall-E’, on the other hand, re-invents the world, without violence: this film climaxes when someone plants a tree.
Hmm… this may require a re-watching of both films :)
My feeling still is that Kung Fu Panda is the better movie, but Wall-E is the better lecture.
I am watching KungFu Panda right now… but I have to say… Im almost positive its a remake of Star Wars
Take comfort in the fact that in a couple of years kids will think Star Wars is a rip-off of Kung Fu Panda.
Man,I will say one thing….. I could seriously go for some Dim Sum right about now…
My biggest turn-off in movies/ books/ plays/ any kind of art is when they try to teach me a lesson. I hate that. For that reason alone, Kung Fu Panda is twice the film Wall-E thinks it is.
…And some crab rangoon
Gareth, you are absolutely right, and I have to actually vehementally disagree with Jett on this.
While Kung Fu Panda is indeed colorful and beautiful in its animation, its also calculated, predictable, and indicative of everything that I dislike about most animated movies (Pixar tends to avoid this category lately). Think about how familiar of a story it is, its literally the plot of 90% of animated movies, and you can practically guess the outcome 10 minutes in.
Then think about the concept itself:
Lets take a cute cuddly, talking animal, that'll get the young kids' attention right away
Then lets add kung-fu violence, that'll get their parents attention
Now lets get our voice actors, lets see, who's big right now, ok so we got Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, and Seth Rogan. (By the way, these actors are barely present as characters in the movie, they're completley unmemorable).
And throw them into the most typical, tried and true formula we can come up with.
You were talking about that automatic script generator before Jett, well here it is in action.
The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and most of all, Wall-E, don't follow these tried and true molds, you don't have any idea where those movies are going until at least half-way through, and they never go for the big recognizable voices, they get people who will fit the part best.
I would also point out that in terms of animation Wall-e is actually more impressive, because its very difficult to make a robot seem like a real, lovable character, while a cute fluffy panda is going to inherently connect with the audience.
Plus, just on an intellectual level, Wall-E has so much more to say, its not just trying to be a family entertainment. I shouldn't overstate things, I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda, and its the best thing Dreamworks has done since ANTZ, but not even in the same ballpark as Wall-E.
Anyway, those are my two cents on the issue, I'm still shocked Wall-E lost to KFP in almost every category at the Annies, no idea what that's all about.
Kung Fu Panda vs. Wall E
In my humble opinion, Wall-E wins hands down. Ever since Shrek, things have been going slowly downhill for Dreamworks, partly, I think, because you can only parody Disney fairytales for so long before it becomes tired. Kung Fu Panda was Dreamworks attempt to get back to your typical feel-good film, but they forgot to spice it up at all, so we were left with a fun but forgettable animation. Wall E, on the other hand, was as original as Ratatouille and the like, as Peter commented, and wasn't afraid to break the boundaries of animation while still retaining that feel good factor. One problem, however, is that Wall E and Ratatouille are possibly better appreciated by adults than children (I remember two little ones leaving halfway through Ratatouille when I saw it in the cinema), and these kids are unlikely to pick up on the Wall E's subtle themes. Still, I enjoyed it so no complaints here!
Enjoying your blog btw!
WallE
I agree with you that it's not really fair to compare the two films, but I'm surprised that you get a message of force over intellect or compassion out of KFP. I think that the film's whimsical tone invites too cursory a viewing, and it's easy to be fooled, the same way it's easy to dismiss an old turtle or a gentle zen master, without close inspection. But even on a surface level you do not have sheer force winning in KFP — Tai Lung (the snow leopard) has exponentially greater force available to him than any of the other characters, but he fails (and even strives for an illusion) because he lacks self-knowledge. The panda understands something he does not, and that is why he wins, even though his physical strength is lesser.
I think you're right Erin – am thinking now that Gareth and I should have a Wall-E / Kung Fu Panda special podcast to review the films in depth…
Nooo. You'll spend an hour going over the same ole same ole. We get it already. Who's to say what's better & worse than what anyway? Don't waste your time on it. Move on. Life is too short.
…<ahem>… of course you're free to do it if you really feel you must. :)
I agree with Stanly – move on ;)
oh…alright!
No!
Fight!…Fight! …Fight!…
Nooo. You'll spend an hour going over the same ole same ole. We get it already. Who's to say what's better & worse than what anyway? Don't waste your time on it. Move on. Life is too short.
…<ahem>… of course you're free to do it if you really feel you must. :)
I agree with Stanly – move on ;)
oh…alright!
No!
Fight!…Fight! …Fight!…
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I saw this movie, I giggled for probaly more than five minutes … Wall-e was much better. I saw both, and Kung Fu Panda had only two
without a doubt kung fu panda is a billion times better, i HATE walle, it was boring, stupid, it wasnt funny in any way, i thought it was stpuid how they made the robots fall in love with each other. how they made all the humans fat ans stupid. walle is definitely my least favorite movie of all time. dreamworks is better then pixar
obviously you are either biast towards Dreamworks or simply did not pay attention or even understand the point of WaLL-E. The movie….its not meant to be funny its meant to show depth and feelings and its supposed to leave you there with a heavy feeling inside. KFP is really there for comedy.
So yes KFP is funnier, much funnier but that does not necessarily make it the BETTER movie.
Have you ever thought of considering these two amazing films as equals?
That is the only way you will get to actually compare them. Being biast towards one does not make it better.
I think both films are great though i do appreciate Wall-E more because of its depth and feeling it puts into you.
in what way is it a remake of star wars, i have seen both like a million times, i cant see how its a remake
“Remake” in the sense that they have almost the same storyline. A loved and trained entity turns bad and the situation has to be solved by another chosen one. Something like that.