Unfortunately, it’s been announced that DreamWorks is pulling a “Shrek” with Kung Fu Panda. Some sources say Katzenberg wants a 6 part series! 
Anything that DreadWorks releases that’s a slight bit succesful becomes a never ending greed-fueled franchise. 
No surprises there. 
I did read about that actually. The fact the author wants it though has me thinking maybe, just maybe, he has some epic saga planned. Trying to remain positive.
DreamWorks can have good ideas once in a while, but they probably pull sequels when they’re bored.
I suppose it’s something of an about face, but I pre-ordered the DVD with the DTV Furious Five sequel, I’ll give it a chance, I suppose that’s a way to see if it can be pulled off.
I adored KFP so much! I went into the film sceptical and preparing to be dissappointed (Shrek 3 was still in my head…), and I came out completely blown away by all of it. Animation, characters, story, voices. I rate it as my top animated film of the year, even above Wallee ducks tomatoes
I had lost faith with Dreamworks, after the Shrek sequels and various other CGI films, so it was a nice surprise to love this film so much. I found the story, although predictable in parts, very engaging and I think this is because the characters were surprisingly complex.
And for once I think a sequel is justified here. The Five really didn’t get too much screentime overall (it was mostly Po’s story, after all) and it’s just too good an oppurtinity to miss not to develop all these characters more! And what about Tai Lung? If ever a character was ripe for a comeback it is him!
I’m cautiously optimistic about a sequel. If Dreamworks do it right, it could be wonderful. 
Got the KFP/Secrets of the Furious Five package.
First, reactions to the movie disc. Fantastic release. Only one disc, but so jam-packed, I wonder if that’s a real issue. Among the many special features, there’s music videos and a number of other pieces. Most interesting to me are the tech segments, covering the V/Os, sound design, and technological breakthroughs. The tech pieces really are a good watch, and notably, they’re not as full of HP product placement as similar bits on Over the Hedge (though it’s still there). There’s also a fun game (really 5 games), a rarity in SD media releases these days.
The movie transfer’s very good, as expected, with 5.1 surround sound available. One of my favorite things about DWA releases is their commentary tracks, and this one does not disappoint, with a very informative (and not at all dumbed-down) full length commentary track from directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne.
Really, this is an example of what DVD releases should (still) be. Hopefully Pixar will give us DVD Cars and Ratatouille releases of this calibre (or like the excellent collectors editions of TS and TI) at some point
10/10
Legends of the Furious Five feels more like a Direct-to-Video release than I expected, honestly. It is mostly in 2D animation interestingly, with stylistic similarities to the dream/credit sequences in the film. Some the original voices are still used (Hoffman and Black, as well as one of the Five, I think). Short, but nice enough, though not of the movie’s quality. Some neat special features here, including a step-by-step tutorial of how to draw movie characters. Since I got both at the same time, I’m happy enough with it, but as a standalone release, I’m not as sure.
7/10
Any other release talkback?
Nubetre, thanks for such a promising review! I am especially happy to hear about the commentary track, mostly the main reason I will buy a special edition. I still can’t understand why Cars neglected that in it’s release 
then again I’m still hoping for commentaries for the two Toy Story films…
Happy to hear the Famous Five extra film is in the gorgeous 2d animation style. Watching the opening of the main film, I think I would have been happy seeing the entire feature in that style.
Can’t wait to get the film, two days and counting! 
I rented it a few days ago, watched it a few times, and I have to say that 2008 is my favorite year with DreamWorks Anim. I thouroughly enjoyed KFP and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
My favorite Dreamworks picture of all time. I’ve watched every Jackie Chan movie ever made, and I love pandas. Win win combination.
Kinda weird how they made the movie mystical and intellectual with the kung fu masters. And then Po just runs in and totally kills the serious mood. Works for me!
I still haven’t seen it. x( I actually want to, though. I heard it’s good.
And I’m always up to giving Dreamworks another chance. 
I’ve seen it many times (rented the DVD and I watched it a couple times). It was really good. Much better than the Shrek films, Shark Tale and those other DreamWorks Animation films which suck. I think it had to do a lot with Jack Black voicing the main character. He was perfect for the role.
Kung Fu panda was funny, but it gets old really fast, unlike Wall-E, which never gets old.
I would rate it an 8 out of 10, 4 stars out of 5, a B+ to an A-. It is a solid film thruout. Far better than either Madagascar2 or Bolt. It deserves recognition. It’s animation in some scenes is spectacular, as in breathtaking, and you better bet that some of the Pixar artists were turning shades of green.
But I’m not a professional. Somehow tho, 17 Annie nominations sounds like a bit too many. Would need to see it a time or two more to say whether the music rated that well.
I know this is from Wikipedia so it’s not necessarily written in stone, but there is a good chance it’s true since their really cracking down.
How the heck will they continue the story once, much less five times!?! Don’t they realize people will eventually get bored and realize they are only trying to make a quick buck? God, they are slowly destroying Shrek with their sequels, do they want to kill this movie too? GET SOME NEW IDEAS, DREAMWORKS!
‘Pandamonium’? It had to happen.
Yeah, hence why I never saw the original in cinemas- because, according to Dreamworks, if a film makes money, then it’s therefore elligible for a billion and one sequels. I figured that by witholding my £7.50, it would be a sort of silent protest against Dreamworks spewing out more Panda related stuff. Apparently they didn’t listen to me.
I hate Jeffrey Katzenberg 
That’s it. He has eventually lost the last piece of respect I had for him. It was inevitable.
Here’s a fragment from the (worth reading) Difficult is worth doing article :
It’s remarkable how this appears to be true : here’s now a quote from this article.
Are you kidding me ? Pandamonium ? Six movies ? Ugh ! This makes me want to vomit.
(Sorry if I sound a little angry, but… well, I am).
When I first saw kung fu panda, I hated it. I saw it again, and I actually liked it. But a sequal is a horrible idea, let alone five more.
I just saw Kung Fu Panda, and it is good. I could see the potential for one, maybe two sequels. But six movies? I don’t know.
A sequel would obviously have to have a good storyline to work, but still, I can’t honestly say how it would turn out now, since Ian McShane as Tai Lung - the villain in this one - worked really well and gave a good reason for the story. Ian McShane and Dustin Hoffman, in my mind, are probably the front runners for Best Voice Acting at the Annie Awards.
But then again, from what I have seen of Dreamworks, a lot of people found that both Shrek 2, and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa surpassed the originals. So maybe a second one would actually work for KFP. This is more of a question for me of the idea to go all the way up to six.
The first time I saw this, I actually liked it. But yeah, now I’ve thought about it throughly, I think the movie is just so-so, nothing above ordinary…
Nice articles, Archibald. Completely true.
That’s a good point, they do seem to have a knack for the second one. That said, I think Shrek 3 just divebombed the franchise, so here’s to hoping it stays at 2. I mean, he did say up to six.