Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2 (also known as Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom) is a 2011 American computer-animated china action comedy movie and the second movie in the series. A sequel to 2008's Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black again played the main character. In the movie, Po is now the Dragon Warrior, and is fighting with his fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five: Tigress, Viper, Monkey, Mantis and Crane. They go on a quest in Gong-men City to stop Lord Shen, an evil albino peacock from using a weapon to destroy kung fu. The film is directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who previously worked as a storyboard artist in Kung Fu Panda. It received critical acclaim and is the highest-grossing movie to be directed by a woman.

Kung Fu Panda 2
Directed by	Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Screenplay by	Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger
Based on	Characters created by Ethan Reiff Cyrus Voris
Produced by	Melissa Cobb
Starring	Jack Black Angelina Jolie Dustin Hoffman Gary Oldman Seth Rogen Lucy Liu David Cross James Hong Michelle Yeoh Jackie Chan
Edited by	Clare Knight
Music by	Hans Zimmer John Powell
Production companies	Nickelodeon Movies Village Roadshow Pictures DreamWorks Animation Amblin Entertainment
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	May 26, 2011 (2011-05-26)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$150&.27 million
Box office	$665.7 million

Plot

Po (voiced by Jack Black) is now the Dragon Warrior and a Kung Fu master protecting the Valley of Peace together with his friends, the Furious Five, but must now find inner peace. Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) then sends him on a journey with the Furious Five to Gongmen City and stop Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman), an evil albino peacock who has made a new weapon that can stop Kung Fu. Po has trouble on his journey because he's worried about what happened to his real parents. An old soothsayer (voiced by Michelle Yeoh) helps Po remember that his parents sent Po away as a baby to protect him when their village was attacked by Lord Shen many years ago because Shen learned he would be defeated by Po, the foretold warrior of black and white. Now knowing where he came from, Po finds inner peace, destroys Shen's cannons by throwing the cannonballs back at them, defeats Shen (who also gets killed and crushed by his own cannon), and accepts Mr. Ping (voiced by James Hong) as his dad.

Characters

Old characters

• Po, a panda. He is the Dragon Warrior, Kung Fu master, and hero of the film. Jack Black reprises his role.
• Shifu, a red panda. He is Po's Kung Fu teacher and sifu. Dustin Hoffman reprises his role.
• Tigress, a Southern China tiger. She is a member of the Furious Five and Po's best friend (eventually love interest). Angelina Jolie reprises her role.
• Viper, a green tree viper. She is a member of the Furious Five. Lucy Liu reprises her role.
• Monkey, a golden langur. He is a member of the Furious Five. Jackie Chan reprises his role.
• Mantis, a northern praying mantis. He is a member of the Furious Five. Seth Rogen reprises his role.
• Crane, a red crowned crane. He is a member of the Furious Five. David Cross reprises his role.
• Mr. Ping, a swan goose. He is Po's adoptive father. James Hong reprises his role.

New characters

• Shen, a villainous albino peacock. He is voiced by Gary Oldman.
• Soothsayer, a goat. She predicts Shen will be defeated. Michelle Yeoh voices this character.
• Storming Ox, an ox. He tries to protect Gongmen City from Lord Shen. Dennis Haysbert voices this character.
• Croc, a Oriental alligator. He tries to protect Gongmen City from Lord Shen. Jean-Claude Van Damme voices this character.
• Thundering Rhino, a javan rhinoceros. He tries to protect Gongmen City from Lord Shen. Victor Garber voices this character.
• Panda Dad, a panda. He is Master Po's biological father and the headman of his village. Fred Tatasciore voices this character.

Reception

Critical Response

Kung Fu Panda 2 was acclaimed by critics. It holds a rating of 85% in Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 7 out of 10. The consensus is "the story arc may seen a tad familiar to fans of the original, but Kung Fu Panda 2 offers enough action, comedy and visual sparkle to compensate". Just like in the original film, the animation, voice acting and character development were praised.

Box Office

The film became a box office success. It grossed $667,692,281 on a $150 million budget. It is the highest grossing animated film of 2011, the 9th highest grossing animated film ever released, the 53rd highest-grossing film of all time and the 6th highest-grossing film of 2011. It is also the highest grossing animated film directed by a woman (Jennifer Yuh Nelson).

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Winner/Nominee	Result
84th Academy Awards	Best Animated Feature	Jennifer Yuh Nelson	Nominated
Alliance of Women Film Journalists	Best Animated Feature
	Best Animated Female	Angelina Jolie
	Best Woman Director	Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Annie Awards	Best Animated Feature
	Animated Effects in an Animated Production	Dave Tidgwell Jason Mayer
	Character Animation in a Feature Production	Dan Wagner Pierre Perifel
	Directing in a Feature Production	Jennifer Yuh Nelson	Won
	Production Design in a Feature Production	Raymond Zilbac
	Storyboarding in a Feature Production	Gary Graham Philip Craven
	Voice Acting in a Feature Production	Gary Oldman
	Voice Acting in a Feature Production	James Hong	Nominated
	Editing in a Feature Production	Clare Knight
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Animated Feature
Online Film Critics Society	Best Animated Feature
Producers Guild of America Awards	Best Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures	Melissa Cobb
2011 Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Animated Voice	Jack Black
Virgin Movie Media Awards	Best Family Movie Of The Year
Women Film Critics Circle	Best Animated Females
2012 People's Choice Awards	Favorite Movie Animated Voice	Jack Black
Denver Film Critics Society	Best Animated Film
Satellite Awards	Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
Houston Film Critics Society	Best Animated Film
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards	Best Animated Film
Visual Effects Society Awards	Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	Best Animated Film
Evening Standard British Film Awards	Blockbuster of the Year
Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Animated Movie
	Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie	Jack Black
World Soundtrack Awards	Film Composer of the Year	Hans Zimmer
World Soundtrack Awards	Film Composer of the Year	John Powell
Saturn Awards	Best Animated Movie
As Seen By Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Voice-Over Role	Angelina Jolie	Won
Motion Picture Sound Editors	Best Sound Editing - Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR in an Animation Feature Film	John Marquis	Won

Soundtrack

Kung Fu Panda 2: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by Hans Zimmer & John Powell
Released	May 24, 2011
Recorded	2011
Genre	Score
Length	64:26
Label	Varèse Sarabande
Producer	Hans Zimmer John Powell
Hans Zimmer film scores chronology
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) Kung Fu Panda 2: Music from the Motion Picture (2011) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
John Powell film scores chronology
Rio (2011) Happy Feet Two (2011)

Kung Fu Panda 2 is the soundtrack of the film of the same, scored by Hans Zimmer and John Powell and released on May 24, 2011. Just like the movie, the soundtrack received positive reviews from music critics.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Ancient China / Story of Shen"	2:43
2.	"Dumpling Warrior"	1:20
3.	"Inner Peace"	2:25
4.	"Musicians Village"	1:20
5.	"Save Kung Fu"	3:41
6.	"Daddy Issues"	4:22
7.	"Stealth Mode"	4:04
8.	"Gongmen Jail"	2:40
9.	"Rickshaw Chase"	2:36
10.	"Po and Shen / Face to Face"	5:58
11.	"More Cannons!"	3:00
12.	"Fireworks Factory"	6:48
13.	"Po Finds the Truth"	5:03
14.	"Invasion Begins"	2:37
15.	"Zen Ball Master"	7:21
16.	"My Fist Hungers for Justice"	4:55
17.	"Dumpling Warrior Remix"	3:30

Songs

• Pump It - The Black Eyed Peas
• Kung Fu Fighting - Cee Lo Green ft Jack Black
• Forgiven - Skillet
• I'll be Missing You - P. Diddy Feat. Faith Evans & 112

Sequel

After the success of Kung Fu Panda 2, DreamWorks Animation confirmed that there will be 6 movies in the franchise. Kung Fu Panda 3 was released in 2016, with Jennifer Yuh Nelson returning to direct and Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger returning to write the script. The original cast returned in the movie, and Kung Fu Panda 3 was the first American animated movie to ever be co-produced by a Chinese firm.