Kung Fu Panda discussion

jstrewth · Snowy Owl Joined: Jan 23, 2006 Posts: 148

So, I watched Secrets of the Furious Five yesterday, and while I enjoyed it as much as Kung Fu Panda, it's led me to a very interesting conclusion: the only major flaw this franchise has had is in characterization. Mainly, Po's characterization.

Let's face it: Po has all the makings of a great unlikely hero, but probably because of today's kiddie appeal, and the fact that Jack Black is doing his voice (don't get me wrong, he is a funny guy and was pretty good as teh panda himself), they mostly made him out as a complete buffoon. I'm referring to the whole, "That was AWESOME!"/using a fireworks chair to break into the palace/fat jokes/hyperactive fanboyism that he's portrayed as. By comparison, Crane, as depicted in Po's story about him in SOTFF, is as big a sympathetic wimp/daydreamer as Po, but he's no dummy. Crane is more in the Marty McFly camp of that type of character, if you know what I mean.

My question for those of you who saw Kung Fu Panda is: do you think Po would've been a more sympathetic, less hyper character had the DreamWorks people made him that way, or if Jack Black voiced him that way?