Kung Fu Panda Review

Yesterday we had a fun evening. A friend invited us at the last minute to a free "friends and family" showing of Kung Fu Panda. Our friend's friend is the general manager of the theatre in town. Apparently they invite a bunch of family's to come see movies sometimes in a totally kid-friendly environment. I don't think I've ever been to a movie before where the "under 4" crowd far out-numbered the adult crowd. It was wonderful. Isaiah and I could stand up and he could whine a little and nobody cared. We brought the stroller in and blocked an aisle and nobody cared. Asher ran around the seats, sat on the floor, stood up and switched seats 5 times and nobody cared. Naomi asked plot-related questions and nobody cared. Because their kids were doing the same things too!

As and added bonus, that movie is hysterical! Really, really a good one. Lots of great, quotable one-liners. Any movie that starts out talking about how people were literally blinded by someones "awesomeness" has got to be funny, right? The one line that I tried hardest to remember was "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That's why they call it the present." That was, of course, said by the Kung Fu master as he waxes poetic. Since I saw the movie before it even came out technically I feel that I need to review it for you. There was a lot of fighting, of course. But it was pretty funny fighting. The kind where you punch a tiger and they go flying and leave a tiger-shaped hole in the wall. Lots of funny, slow-motion reactions to punches and kicks (think Crouching Tiger...) Some of those parts were a little much for my sensitive, 4 year old, Naomi, but she did make it through and wasn't scared at the end - she just didn't really enjoy those parts. Asher, my just barely two year old, was as riveted as he is during any movie. He loved the tiger and called the tiny little animal Kung Fu master guy (whatever the heck that thing is) "baby". "Baby" was his favorite. Isaiah didn't mind sleeping through most of it. And Richard and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Overall, a very fun family movie. Two thumbs way up.