The DreamWorks Kung Fu Panda franchise of CGI-animated movies and direct-to-video spin-offs eventually spawned a Nickelodeon TV series, and this compilation features seven episodes from the 2011-12 debut season. For those who are Kung Fu Panda-illiterate, title character Po is a portly, fun-loving young panda bear who, despite his lack of discipline and penchant for trouble, has cultivated his "dragon warrior" martial-arts skills enough to join the Furious Five, an all-animal team of avengers in old China. Jack Black voiced Po in the Kung Fu Panda big-screen outings; here it is sound-alike Mick Wingert (who sings as well), with other guest cast members including original stars Lucy Liu and James Hong. Plotlines involve Po befriending a friendly-enemy crocodile bandit (who is just as much a screw-up among his posse as is Po with the Furious Five), getting fooled (Po is fooled a lot) by the con-man father of his kung-fu master, and escorting a spoiled pig (literally, a pig). Po is an appealing doofus ("Why are things so hard?!") and the cartoon violence here is mild, making it a solid and entertaining children's title. Recommended. Aud: P. (C. Cassady)
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness—Good Croc, Bad Croc
(2012) 154 min. DVD: $14.98. Fox Home Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 28, Issue 5
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness—Good Croc, Bad Croc
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