Boyung.com

While I was driving home tonight, the radio station I was listening to was playing "Tribute" by Tenacious D.  Afterwords, the DJ said something along the lines of "why, Jack Black, would you make a movie about a panda that does kung-fu?"  My only response to her is "how in the world could you ever turn down a movie about a panda that does kung-fu?"  Seriously, no matter how good or bad the movie might turn out to be, I'm there. 

Come on, how could you not want to see this?

Not only is there a panda, but there's a baboon.  About the only thing better than a panda doing kung-fu is a baboon doing kung-fu.  Okay, a ninja baboon would still be better, but one step at a time.  No matter what, this movie is bound to be better than just about anything else out there, just because of the premise.  Then you add in Dreamworks making it, with the voice talents of some excellent comedic actors, especially Jack Black, Jackie Chan, and the massively underrated David Cross, and you end up with the potential for something great.  Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu and Michael Clarke Duncan are just icing on the cake.  I can honestly say that I haven't been this excited about an animated feature in a long time, with the exception of Dragonlance: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight.  And that's a special case, because I've been waiting for that movie for since long before it was even announced.

Now, as to why this DJ felt the need to disparage Kung-Fu Panda.  I can only assume that it's because it's an animated movie, which are supposed to be for kids, and she wants Jack Black to be doing nothing but "adult" humor.  I would argue, however, that most "adult" humor is much more childish and immature than anything made for kids.  Let's just look at the most recent prominent comedies that Jack Black has starred in:

• Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny
• Nacho Libre
• School of Rock
• Ice Age
• Orange County
• Shallow Hal

All passable movies to be sure (well, except Shallow Hal, which is atrocious), but the only truly great comedy in there is School of Rock, with Ice Age the only other one of them that I would consider "very good."  What do these two have in common, they're both more for kids than adults.  And neither of them really have any crude humor whatsoever.  Going back another couple of years, you get Saving Silverman, which is one of those "so stupid it's funny" movies, and High Fidelity.  High Fidelity is definitely not a movie for kids and is definitely excellent, but it is also a much more intelligent comedy, which is probably why it was not nearly as successful in the box office as any of these other, inferior movies.  But that's a topic for another time.  The point here is - the less you try to be "adult" with comedies, the more likely you are to get an actual good movie.  So I just want to applaud Jack Black (and every other major or semi-major star involved) for lending his talents to a movie that everyone out there can enjoy, and I personally can't wait to see.