Life Teaching in Kung Fu Panda

The philosophy behind Kung Fu Panda. This is not just an animated picture that Dreamwork presents to us but it is in fact teachings presented in an animated way to those who want to lend an attentive ear to it.

Panda, Tortoise, Monkey, Leopard, Viper, Duck, Tiger... well, it's the animal kingdom in action one more time and that's a usual thing with Pixar and dream work... again to teach humans. We meet Po the rounded loving Panda in that traditional Chinese decor among Chinese pots and plates. Po works in the family Chinese shop selling noodles.

The Panda is not quite happy about his actual situation, he has a strong taste for martial art and dreams of being a dragon warrior. When he is alone he seizes the opportunity to dream; visualizing himself as the dragon warrior in his world far away from pots and noodles. His unusual father, the duck, has something different in mind though. Father duck wants Po to work in the family noodle shop and probably take over the business one day.

But Po has chosen a different field-Dragon Warrior. May be that's what has been bestowed on him after all that's why he has developed a passion for it. Now his heart is inclined to that particular passion and he has a mission to fulfill. However he does not deceive his father. He continues to sell noodles, and carries on dreaming and awaits for the favorable moment.

The favorable moment does come though. Inside a courtyard, not far from the noodle shop, a fight tournament is taking place among the furious five, and Po of course does not want to miss that. He therefore sets off to the courtyard and makes it on time to get inside and the gate closes up seconds before he gets in. Against all odds, he is determined to assist the fight matches taking place there. After a series of acrobat trials, Po finally reveals some of his personal skills. He builds on the spot a sort of rocket chair which sends him up in the air and throw him in the courtyard. It worked and Po finds himself face to face with Master Oogway the tortoise. He is immediately spotted by the latter as the future Dragon Warrior to the dismay of the other warriors present. Po himself is bewildered by the announcement as he was not expecting that. He is however applauded by a cheerful audience expressing their approval.

Begins for him a series of hard training and discipline. Right from the beginning Master Shifu, Po's trainer makes it clear that he will learn their ways if he wants to be the future Dragon Warrior. Po is then introduced to some deadly training field. The training will be conducted by actions and words of encouragement. Trust will have to be built here for Po to succeed.

Gossip goes around about his fat body and incompetence to demoralize him but Master Oogway points it to him that to succeed, he will have to seize the present opportunity and keep focus. Oogway sees that Po is "too concerned about "what was and what will be". He reminds him that "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but to day is a gift" therefore he has to make the most of it...
In front of adversary, in the middle of trouble, and enemies coming his way, Po will have to keep going and fight to the end. His belief and good heard will bring his success.

The characters in Kung Fu Panda reflect a lot our own character as human beings. Like Po, we have dreams and passion but quite often our parents are our own obstruction thinking that their ideas or decision should speak louder than our passion. Although parents, goodhearted as they are, want the best for their children, they should allow them to choose a career they prefer.  If an opportunity is offered to us, we are reluctant or lazy to face the challenge, we doubt our own abilities and retract. Master Oogway saw the ability in Po but Po was not too sure of that and even thought of going back to his usual noodle business. Introduced to the deadly training field, he is puzzled, he thought his dream would come true on garden of roses, and not the hard way. It takes courage and a good pinch of faith to achieve our goals in life.


We look like Po's father the duck; selfish in our nature to please ourselves, we have no regards to our kids feeling. We want to be happy, we want them to please us and exert pressure on them to go our way. We can't see that we make their lives hard. Our kids have the right to choose their field and live their passion.

Sometimes we are like the other warriors "furious five" who are judge mental. We based our judgement on what we see and doubt others' abilities.The other warriors gossip about Po's physical size. It's a fact that Po's physical appearance has something to do with being a future warrior. He is fat and struggle to move easily but his determination to succeed is strong.

We are like the enemy figures who are not happy to see others succeed. We get jealous and stand on the way of others. We do and say all sorts of things to destroy the dream of others. We are those who are miserable to see others happy and happy to see others miserable. Tai Lung is the enemy standing in the way of Po to prevent him going forward in life and if possible destroys him completely.

In Kung Fu Panda,we've been presented by different characters of our own present society. Gossipers who always critisize others, enemies who are not happy to see others succeed or the good Master Oogway with a good heart to help.

Who do we want to be?

How many among us reflect Master Oogway who encourages Po to go forward, who builds trust and self confidence in others; who tends a helping hand and utter words of encouragement in hopeless moment. Who bring others to see the ability in them and to use it...?

My 5 Favourite Cartoons

Cartoons were created to entertain kids. They are good fun and are also very instructive. Like all kids I was and am still fascinated by cartoons. I used to think that the sceneries and people were real, that they might exist somewhere. Cartoon movie is the only place where animals could talk and I like it because I love animals. Unfortunately nowadays cartoon is taking a different turn with much violence and bad things involved not worthy watching. Examples are: Sexy Magic Girl, Family Guy and South Park which I qualify as adult movies produced in a cartoon animated version. They are of violent nature (Sexy Magic Girl) and have much of the F words in them - Some are aimed to target teenager teaching them violence, sex and going on the street to kill.
However there are still very good cartoon movies available up there which I watch again and again from time to time and would recommend as well.

They are: Scooby Doo, The lion king, Madagascar 1& 2, Toy Story, kung fu Panda,

Scooby doo:
Recommended cartoon movies for kids. In this Investigative/Adventure cartoon movie, Scooby Doo and Shaggy Rogers are the perfect pair. They love each other and share the same strong taste for food and meat particularly. Scooby Doo is an adorable dog who captures the attention of everyone. He is funny and always “smiles” while acting stupidly when he is afraid. In each episode, he always runs from every situation which seems weird and frightening but he shows sincerity and unveil his talent when he has to save his owner Shaggy Rogers. Another trait of this “out of the ordinary” dog is that he shows some human characteristics; he is bipedal.

The Lion King: This is Disney’s captivating heart-warming story of a lion Simba who lives on the Land of Serengeti in Africa. There friendliness is common thing among all talking animals. Simba the cute Lion cub is learning the “Circle of life” taught by daddy. The attention is focussed on him as he would be the next king of the jungle after dad. Life’s lessons are hard but he has no choice.
Simba is a happy playful lion who likes adventure and plays the brave to look like daddy exposing himself to dangers and villains in the land of Serengeti. He and his friend are left under the care of a funny bird Zazu…

Madagascar 1&2, Action/Adventure story of Madagascar 1&2 have similarities to “The Lion King” where once more the king of the jungle is the protagonist among other talking animals. Friendliness is also well present among all animals. Contrary to other lions, Alex shows a preference to dance rather than learning to be a hunter like dad. One day driven by a bizarre moving object, he decided to investigate (beginning of Escape Madagascar 2) and his curiosity led to his capture by bad man. Contrary to Simba, Alex experienced a different environment far from the family boundary but the cute fellow is brave. He grew up in a zoo together with other animals whom he befriends. Marty the zebra, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe along with other animals namely the zoo’s penguins. They are trying an escape but fail as they are sedated by tranquilizer darts. But thanks to animals activists they will be shipped back to Africa but shipwrecked on Madagascar shore.

In Madagascar 2 Alex and his friends plan to return home which is New York but their plane crashed coincidentally on the land of Africa where Alex will be reunited with his parents.

Toy StoryToy story is the fantastic world of animated toys. Andy the boy has a collection of toys and his most featured one is woody an old-fashion cowboy doll, but Andy will receive another toy who is a Space Ranger to the dismay of Woody who thinks that now he would not get the same attention from Andy. Buzz thinks that he is a real Space Ranger. Both toys in each other an interference in each other’s way and a series of events take place.

Kung fu Panda.3D animation set in China. Here the plot revolves around Po the giant panda who works in his goose father restaurant preparing noodle. Po has an attraction for Kung Fu but is forced to work in the restaurant. He somehow feels trapped in doing something he hates but has a good heart and obeys to his goose mum orders.
This is very important as it is this trait of character which will appoint him as the chosen dragon warrior.
Po is desperate to see the tournament but he arrives late at jade temple and the door is closed. He nevertheless manages to get in by strapping himself to a set of fireworks which rockets into the sky and crashes right in the middle of the fighting platform. Oogway the wise tortoise immediately feels that there is something special about the giant panda and identifies him as the Dragon warrior to the surprise of everybody. Begins a series of daily hard and tuff training for Po.
Kung Fu panda is not only fun but the lesson it teaches is great for kids as well as adults. The words said by the characters are set to create confidence and faith in people. It shows that everything is possible when we believe. Po’s fat body does not qualify him as the Dragon Warrior but he will become one because he is taught to believe and he finally succeeds.

PLANET 51

Life is simple, pleasant and colourful on Planet 51. The green reptilian looking people are happy and do their daily stuff in a bright atmosphere of the 1950s pop-culture.

This happiness is however just an outward appearance, because in reality the inhabitants of planet 51,live in fear. They are afraid of alien invaders. This paranoia is well reflected among General Grawl and his army of military and secret government agent. The fear is confirmed when captain Charles T. Baker lands on Planet51. Baker thinks he has done an exploit and does not realise that the planet is inhabited by green people. Fear gains the whole area. Despite the fear,Captain Baker is soon befriended by the lovely boy Lem. Lem is passionate about science and aliens and although his apprehension he would nevertheless draw closer to the "enemy". A friendly relationship is quickly developed between the two and Lem tries his best to save his friend when the later is captured for scientific test by military army.

The movie has nothing special about it. It appears to be good fun for kids as it contains lots of colours but if we go beyond just the colourful scene we can see that the people are judgemental and fear for no reason.

This reflect a reality of the society we live in. People are judgemental and fear for no reason. In the case of the inhabitants of Planet 51, the fear is about Alien invaders. Military Leader Grawl an his army are ridiculously on the defensive line. But their attitude change when they learn about Captain Charles T. Baker. Their attitiude change and they acknowlede their mistake.

Same happens in real life. We are many times too judgemental and fearful. Our attitude changes when we learn more about the person. That's a good example that we should pinpoin fingers and be judgemental before knowing others.

CORALINE

When "Coraline" came out on DVD, it was so popular among many kids that I decided to watch it. The movie has really nothing to entertain kids but it has a good pinch of reality regarding modern life - parents vs kids.

Coraline Jones, an 11 year old girl just moved with her parents from Michigan to Oregon in a boring location. There, life is dull and Coraline is left alone, her parents having no time for her - they are workaholic. Her only neighbours are eccentric British actresses Miss Spink and Forcible and a quite bizarre looking russian guy Mr Bobinsky, who exercises from morning till afternoon like mad.

The only friend Coraline has is Wybie Lovat a lovely boy around her age. Still bored, Coraline finds nothing interesting in her new house to entertain her but yet there is a secret door leading to a different world which she is about to discover.

When she explores it, she discovers that on the otherside there is a parallel world similar to her's but there, life is colourful and animated. The garden with its colourful flowers and trees, reveals all the beauty nature can offer.
In this other world, her "other mother" and her "other father" are loving parents always ready to give her all the attention she longs for.

A new adventure starts for her. Contrary to her real mum who does not cook lovely dinner for her, in the other world, the "other mum" prepares delicious food and the "other father" unveils his talent as a professional pianist which is not the case with her real father. Coraline is overwhelmed and loves the treatment she deserves as a child. How long though does the scenario last.

Soon the other parents reveal their true nature. They are too demanding of their daughter. Trapped, Coraline is now faced with a big challenge - to free herself and her real parents from the grip of her evil "other parents".

It seems to me that in fact she is desperate for love and attention but she is not getting it from her parents. Coraline is not different from any other 11 year old kids who need much attention.

As a matter of fact she starts dreaming. Her dream becomes her new world in which she delights herself. In that new world her parents are loving and caring. Her father is a pianist and her mum is a good cook who prepares lovely dishes for her. In her dream even the garden is colourful and animated because dad takes care. That's the world that Coraline desires. That's the kind of life she wants.
Unfortunately it's just a dream. At some stage, she realises that and does not want to be trapped by her own dream and live an illusion. That's where the "other parents" unveil their true evil nature. She probably gives a negative ending to that dream to get out of it and live life normally accepting things the way they aremaybe expecting it to change one day.

Dragon Evolution

Director: James Wong
Cast: Justin Chatwin,
Emmy Rossum,
James Marsters,
Chow Yun-Fat,
Jamie Chung, Joon Park,
Eriko Tamura
Release Date: 10th April 2009

When I saw the title “Dragonball Evolution” on DVD, my thought immediately went to the manga animated series projected on TV a few years ago but the live action movie has nothing to do with it. Regardless of what some critics said about wasting money on making such a crap movie, I personally watched and enjoyed it. Of course the story is fictitious and unlikely to happen in the real world. On the flip side it does offer enough action and adventure to amuse teenagers as well as adults.

The Plot

World’s fate hangs in the balance. Demonic alien Picolo has come back to earth to destroy it. To fulfil his wish he has to find the seven mystical dragon balls, gather them and pronounce his wish.
The scene starts with the young, charming and good looking Goku (Jusitin Chatwin) fighting hand to hand on an elevated rope with his grand-pa Gohan. He has all features of a young energetic boy to please girls but mission awaits ahead-He has find the seven dragon balls and stop Picolo’s evil plan to destroy earth.
Goku spent his entire life with his grandpa and is very attached to him. On his eighteenth birthday Gohan gives him a dragon ball and tells him that he has to find another six like that and pronounce a wish. A bit later Gohan dies and Goku is left alone to face his destiny. Does he take matters in hand or will he retract face to the challenge. As mentioned earlier the story does not stand out “from the crowd” compared to other action/adventure movie but what I like is the philosophy in it.
Life is a battle ground. What do we do when we have a mission to fulfil and that every step is loaded with adversities? When suddenly we don’t know where to begin with, what to do and that the only close parent we have suddenly disappears leaving us to confront ourselves and our destiny. We have a choice in life either to be strong and carry on or we quit. Goku suddenly loses his grand pa and has no one to guide him. He nevertheless has to move on with his life and fulfil his mission. In the middle of the crisis he takes a step of faith and decides to carry on, something he learned from Gohan. His determination leads the way. He must the find the remaining dragon balls. Our parents are our guide and teacher who give us all the love, support, training and advice we need to go through the storm of life. From a very young age they teach us about the pros and cons of life and help us to make as much as possible the right choice for our life. They transmit knowledge and spice it up with words of encouragement. Goku had grandpa Gohan to guide him. He’s been trained and prompted each time with word of encouragement. “You must have faith”. Does he apply the teachings in his life or does he follow his own way. In fact he listens to grandpa and acts accordingly in front of each obstacle.
Achievements in life are not given on a golden plate but on the battlefield. Every task we undertake is a challenge and very often we lack patience and motivation especially when things stir up and turn bitter. Instead of persistence we become impatient, lose faith and get off track- mission unfulfilled.
Heaven favours the brave. In the middle of the fight it seems that Goku loses ground and goes towards his own destruction but he keeps his faith and does not get off track, he fights, stumbles and fails not once but a few time. Adversity hits hard but he does not quit. At this stage we see the fighter who regardless of difficulties, decides to fight with all his energy. To encourage himself he memorises grand pa words and fights back. He ends up a conqueror.
Dear reader nothing is easy in life. The bible says something like that: “let’s fight the good battle of faith”. That’s just a movie for kids but what you learn from it is the bravery, patience and determination of a young kid.
Are we going to take his example and apply it in your life? I learned from that movie.

Buy a DVD here:Dragonball: Evolution

Skykids or Flyboys

Director: Rocco Devilliers
Stars: Reiley McClendon, Jesse James Stephen Baldwin, Tom Sizemore.

Sky kids or flyingboys: The title does not appeal much to you but yet the story is one of friendship, passion and bravery.
Looking at the cover and title in the rental shop the other day, I was wandering whether I did the right choice to spend Sunday evening watching Sky kids. At first I thought that would be too childish and boring a movie. I nevertheless took it to watch. I can tell you that I was not at all deceived and strongly enjoyed that movie.

"Sky Kids" or "Fly Boys" is just a sweet and cool story of common issues and adventures which happen with kids in their daily life. It has a touch of exaggeration but the scenes and actions prove that you don’t need a den full of electronic gadget and sophisticated computers to create fun and adventure to captivate the audience.
Kyle lives with his single mother in a motel, he has a father "somewhere" and does not bother much he loves his mum and he is happy. He is new in Town and also his first day at school. He does not talk much and looks shy but when one of his classmate Jason (jesse james) is bullied by one of the resident bully and his trash brother, he comes to his rescue. Surprisingly and fearlessly beats them up and saves Jason. The latter is amazed to see such bravery and a fresh relationship starts between the two. Again when chased all over town by both the “bully” brothers, Kyle with his new pal Jason, made an impossible bike jump over a creek.Jason has a strong passion for planes. After his first plane ride with his uncle Ed, he and Kyle decide to go back to the airfield run by Jason’s uncle the next morning and sneak into a jet. Unexpectedly the plane takes off to go “somewhere”. On their return the kids discover a bomb in a bag left in the plane and no pilot on board. One more time they demonstrate bravery. Jason has some knowledge of flying and this time takes the command and instructs Kyle to follow. They manage to land the plane safely and surely. Suddenly they become the centre of attention on newspaper and TV.



The resulting media frenzy leaves Mafia boss Angelo (Tom Sizemore) surprised to see why two kids are flying his plane. He sends his men to capture and bring them to his place. It turns out that Sylvio, Angelo’s brother and his lowlife accomplice Lenny, plot together to rip off Angelo. The plot fails and everyone wants to know whether the kids have any information on who started the plane which headed off to “nowhere” with no pilot on board.

A walkie-talkie is the key element which unveil the secret about the culprit. One more time Kyle and Jason run for their lives...

Great camera and special effect at work to leave you breathless when the kids are alone in the plane but forget about booming soundtracks. This movie is about two lovable kids, friendly and good hearted who enjoy life and do their own things, get involved in difficult situation, face challenge and are happy no matter the difference in social background.

Wall-E

I watched Wall-E for the first time yesterday. The first 20minutes I was presented with a picture of boredom, simplicity and complexity mixed together. It’s a silent movie including a robot with a pair of binoculars perched on a metal box wheeling around cleaning up an inhabited town that‘s all. But little by little I discovered and appreciated the marvellous work of imagination of Pixar. In fact it has a great message.

The gentle, smiling little robot is Wall-E. His daily routine consists of sweeping garbage, compacting them and stacking them in heaps. He is followed by a lonely cockroach whom he befriends. For how long he does that and where he started we don’t know; but looking at the stacked garbage which has reached skyscrapers level give us an idea that this has been going on for quite a while. Wall-E has a taste for particular objects which strike his fancy. While cleaning he picks up items which seems interesting here and there . For instance he picks up a round “attractive lid” which he decides to keep and a blue box containing a diamond ring. He throws the ring and keeps the box leaving us smiling. Robot thing isn’t! We love diamond rings and Wall-E loves the blue box. His pass time is spent in his ramshackle headquarters watching replays of Hello Dolly, suspecting that there is a lot to learn from humans.


He is later joined by Eve another robot dropped on earth by a spaceship. Eve is an investigator, her mission is probably to analyse earth condition to see if humans can live in it again. In the meantime Eve and Wall-E become best friend and wall-e falls for her. Mission accomplished eve has to leave as the spaceship has come back to take her. Madly in love now, wall-E will cling to the spaceship to follow Eve.
Back in space the world of Eve, Wall-E discover a different life. There millions of people live in an luxurious orbiting space, piloted by an obese commander who spends his life in idleness among the passengers. Humans are served by sophisticated auto programmed robots purposely for that task. People’s lives are so wealth off that they can hardly move on their own and they are all obese.

This is ironic. The movie is in fact a prevailing fear to show that we are so damned consumed by latest technology that our planet could be at risk. Our rampant consumption, capitalism and competition, our futile selfish greediness to live in a luxurious world will bring our planet to its knees. So to speak.
Besides when humans are so absorbed by futility and turn crazy to the point of putting an end to civilisation, will robots be more intelligent and take over. Can wall-E restores life on planet earth and teaches us that they are now better than us because they can think wisely and find new solutions to tackle problems?Wall-E (Two-Disc and BD Live) [Blu-ray]