"Get ready to feel the thunder"

EARLY EDITION: Martial arts mastery is back in (Jack) Black with Kung Fu Panda 2

FRESHNESS RATING: Mild SPOILERS for Kung Fu Panda 2

Once upon a time, legend told of a legendary panda. And the first time that he rattled the cage of animation cinema, Po really did have to write his own press releases. Much as I cherish the first Shrek film, I expressed surprise in my long-forgotten review of Kung Fu Panda that DreamWorks could even make an animated movie that didn't depend heavily on up-to-the-second knowledge of pop culture. Yet that was, and still is, a big part of the magic of Kung Fu Panda. Despite the Snakes on a Plane resonance of its title, it's far more a movie about kung fu than a movie about the comic contrast between our expectations of kung fu and our expectations of panda bears.

The biggest challenge for DreamWorks with this Friday's Kung Fu Panda 2 is that now people have a different kind of expectations: high ones. Viewers actually have seen "bear style" now, and they have a pretty good idea what to do about the crazy feet. I saw the new film Saturday morning and my Daily Herald review will be in this week's Ticket, our weekend entertainment section. Since I'm embargo-bound to not reveal what that review will say, I can't really give you a complete picture of my professional opinion. On the other hand, here's an example of something I will not be writing about Kung Fu Panda 2: "The new Kung Fu Panda movie is an artistic U-turn that, having no new story to tell, merely rehashes the thrills and humor of its predecessor." Here's another line that won't be in the review: "Anyone who goes to see Kung Fu Panda 2 will likely wish they'd saved their money and waited for Netflix."

The new film, as some of you may have read elsewhere, finds Po, now the Dragon Warrior, and the Furious Five facing off against a vain, ambitious ... peacock (fitting touch). Lord Shen is determined to replace the sway of kung fu in China with something decidedly nastier. He's not merely Po's new foe, however — the latest James-Bond-style villain to answer the franchise roll call. Like the first film's Tai Lung, Shen is directly involved in the personal history of one of the film's characters, making the quest to defeat him more compelling, and more urgent.

Most of the major characters from the first film are back, though some have stepped to the rear of the stage, while others come in for a bigger share of the spotlight. The new film is in 3D, but otherwise sticks to the same look as its predecessor and employs another rousing period score, this time without even a hint of the Carl Douglas song that played over the first film's closing credits (and was its biggest concession to DreamWorks's trademark urge to scratch the pop culture itch). It's also got nice timing: Father's Day is coming up, and Kung Fu Panda 2 delivers a sweet and movie tribute to dads and fatherhood. (Although it does sorta have that whole Disney thing about single-parent families going on: How come there's not a Mrs. Ping at the noodle shop?)