DVD Review: Secrets of the Furious Five
DreamWorks Animation Kung Fu Panda Cartoon Stars Jack Black
Apr 15, 2009
Last year's Kung Fu Panda stands as DreamWorks Animation's biggest non-Shrek related hit in recent memory, earning $631 million worldwide. In true DreamWorks fashion, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Company are already prepping a Kung Fu Panda 2, due in 2011 with further installments to follow (should the next flick made enough money).
To tide all those Kung Fu Panda fans over, DreamWorks Animation has released Secrets of the Furious Five, a 25-minute short that reveals more about the 5 kung fu masters who guard the Valley of Peace. It's an entertaining little film with some genuinely funny moments.
Secrets of the Furious Five Stars Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman
Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) hands Po the Panda (Jack Black) his toughest challenge yet: teaching a class of hyperactive bunnies about kung fu. In order to calm down the rabbits, who only want to boot some head, Po starts telling them stories about how Masters Crane, Mantis, Monkey, Tigress and Viper truly became martial arts masters by learning patience, confidence, courage, caring and compassion.
It's a credit to DWA that they didn't cheap out on the animation: the narrative elements closely resemble the main style of Kung Fu Panda while the back-story sequences use the much-praised "dream sequence" animation from the movie ("I see you like to chew. Then perhaps you should chew . . . on my fist! ").
However, only Hoffman, David Cross (the voice of Crane) and Black return as their respective characters: Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan all passed on appearing in this DVD although Jackie's son Jaycee Chan voices Young Monkey.
The pacing is also well handled: the jokes come thick and fast, but the majority of them work. DWA's writing staff also resisted the temptation to extend the lame sequences in the vain hope that it would somehow magically make them funny.
DVD Extras
In order to compensate for the short running time of the main event, DWA has packed in the extras. There's a "learn to draw" sequence, which shows the viewer how to sketch their own versions of Po and his pals. The "Po" featurette is by far the strongest since it actually delves into the rationale behind the character design. For aspiring artists, that section alone might just be worth the price of admission.
The kiddies can "Learn the Panda Dance" (attempting to jump-start a trend, perhaps?), learn some basics of kung fu (long on techniques, short on philosophy; Scooby-Doo did a better job of that) and find out more about the how wild animals inspire martial arts styles.
The Final Analysis
While DreamWorks Animation's "franchise first" philosophy can be a double-edged sword (see Shrek the Third for proof of how it can go horribly wrong), it's tolerable as long as the storytelling quality remains high. Secrets of the Furious Five is an entertaining addition to the Kung Fu Panda saga; let's hope the 2011 sequel doesn't take this franchise over the shark.
Secrets of the Furious Five gets a 7/10.
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