Monday - 30 May 2011
Day 98
I just saw Kung-Fu Panda 2 for the second time, and 2 things made this movie awesome.
First, I have to pay tribute to the amazingly delicious CGV popcorn. The half caramel-half cheese mix was a little reminiscent of Chicago style caramel corn. I felt like I was back on Michigan Ave, eating popcorn and watching tourist swarm the Bean (miss you Ken!).
Second, I really enjoyed the message about adoption in the film. If you've read my previous posts, I've talked about how Meet Joe Dirt is one of my favorite adoption-related movies; this film was similar. [Spoiler Alert] Distraught by the realization of his adoption, even though his dad is clearly a goose, Po wanders off to save the day and confront all his deep lying identity, adoption, and relinquishment issues. Just like hick-David Spade in Joe Dirt, he realizes that his true family were the people that were there in his life the whole time. There's a pretty moving scene where he has a sequence of flashbacks of all the experiences he had with his father and friends. I hope one day right before I go save the world, I get to have a flashback of all the past wonderful years with my family.
Now, I'm not sure why, but the ending did make me a little upset. After all the hilarious Jack Black mannerisms, and the kick-splosive (from my Kung-fu Panda t-shirt) action, Po finds his inner peace with all the adoption stuff and returns home. Right before the film cuts to credits, you find out his birth-father is still alive, setting up the third film. I was so happy that he had found his inner peace, that I'm really worried/agitated/sad and a whole other array of emotions, that he'll have to meet his birth-father. I suspect the film will go into loyalty issues between the fathers, and he'll have to make a decision on where he belongs, and all the other complicated stuff that really needs to be done tactfully. Perhaps it's my own adoption story subliminally affecting my judgment of this children's movie, but for whatever reason I kind of wish his birth parents were dead and out of the story.
Guess we'll just have to wait for Kung-Fu Panda 3.
Also, just wanted to site this blog from the Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2011/jun/13/kung-fu-panda-2-adoption-theme
Can't say I agree with a lot of what this guy says, although he poses his thoughts as questions, therefore not "officially" making a stance. Lame. Perhaps just another rash statement by Chris Graywolf, but I really don't like these non-adoptees writing about stuff like this. It reminds me of the profane, yet very educational episode of South Park regarding the n-word. Non-blacks shouldn't pretend like they know how it feels to be called that word.
