《功夫熊猫》一展“中国拳脚”功夫

AS summer movies get bigger and bigger, they often make the audiencefeel smaller and smaller. DreamWorks’ latest cartoon movie Kung Fu Panda is a simple and lighthearted exception. But in the movie, this panda isn't just cuddly; it's an overweight dreamer.

Kung Fu Panda begins with a stylish, brilliantly colored dream. In the dream, panda Po imagines he's part of the Furious Five, a group of elite kungfu fighters: a tiger, a mantis, a bird, a snake and a monkey.

When Po wakes up, though, he's far from their ranks and can't even conquera flight of stairs. He's the son of a noodle shop owner, a goose. But nobody knows how a bird fathered a panda.

"I don't dream about noodles, Dad,” Po says. "I love kungfu."

The Furious Five are led by the Master Shifu whose own guru, the turtle, Oogway, fears their nemesis Tai Lung will return and destroy their valley. All Oogway wants is peace in the valley.

Their Chinese town is populated by pigs and geese and no humans.

To defendthem, Oogway must find the Dragon Warrior to fulfill an ancient prediction. As you might guess, Po is unexpectedly thrust into this role despite any evidence of talent, and the movie is essentially about whether he can live up to this destiny.

The plot is standard martialarts stuff, but at every turn, the serious gravity of the kungfu archetype is contrasted by the extreme awkwardness of Po. Take, for example, this lesson bestowed on Po by Shifu: "Panda, we do not wash our pits in the Sea of Forgotten Tears."

He's brave, but it's not Po's grit that's endearing; it's his casual good-naturedness. The Furious Five resent his undeserved opportunity, but when they crush him in training, Po, ever the fan, collects the rubble as a souvenir.

Though most around him have no sense of humor, Po disarms them with his lack of intensity. The fool in over his head is far from a new story, but Kung Fu Panda finds life in the old jokes.

The elaboratefight sequences (a memorable one is with chopsticks) are as inventive as anything in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But the comedy of Kung Fu Panda lies in the deadpan looks and perfect pauses.

Animal heroes
KUNG Fu Panda is apparently not your typical Shrek or Toy Story copy but a real martial arts film.

"Our way meant having animal characters as living embodiments of the original animal fighting styles of kungfu," said co-director John Stevenson. "We didn't want the kungfu in our film just to look like human beings wearing animal suits doing fighting."

Here are the moves of these animal kungfu masters and stars who gave them voices:

Po
Traditional styles of kungfu aren't a good fit for this giant panda. So, Po must embrace his true panda nature and use his physical attributes, including his large belly and rear end.

Tigress
Tigress strikes directly, using speed, agility and power to shatter opponents' defenses. Tigress stays close to the ground; she is elegant, fighting honorably and never using her claws.

Monkey
Monkey is the only one of the five to fight with a tool, usually a staff. Monkey confuses his enemy, striking at will from any position with speed, deception, skill and passion. There are blowers on his hands, feet and tail that seem to come from everywhere all at once.

Viper
Viper's ability to change into any shape makes her nearly impossible to hit. She uses her lightning-fast reflexes to avoid blowers before she hits back – then, by wrapping her body around her opponent's limbs, she uses their energy to strike back with deadly efficiency.

Shifu
Shifu moves faster than any challenger. He uses the most force with the least effort. His signature move is the Wuxi finger hold, with which he can overpower an opponent with the touch of a finger.

生词：
belly腹部
embodiment体现, 化身
mantis螳螂
pouty撅嘴的
give sth a spin 为某事带来新变化，这里指重新演绎
staff棍，棒
Bonus
Expressions
gravity严肃，庄重
When my father talked to me about smoking there was great gravity in his words.
父亲和我谈论抽烟问题的时候，话语十分严肃。

grit 刚毅，勇气
Even though he was in last place, the Olympian showed his grit by finishing his race.
虽然落在最后一位，这位奥运选手还是坚持到比赛结 束，展现出他的毅力。

live up to 实践(诺言，原则等)，不辜负
The young man lived up to this promise to help the orphan.诺言。

in over one’s head处于困境，极其困难
When Andy started his new job he realized he was in over his head.
当安迪开始新的工作的时候，他发现那是个艰巨的活儿