Kung Fu Panda 2 [Soundtrack]

Hans Zimmer (Composer), John Powell (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 23, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B004VF65P4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,529 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! Better than the first!, May 30, 2011

By 

C.P. Frey (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kung Fu Panda 2 (Audio CD)

After seeing the movie I can surely say that this soundtrack is a must-have for all fans. This album sends listeners spiraling across a plethora of different emotions and mind imagery. From the calm and mystical sounds of Ancient China/ Story of Shen or Inner Peace to the very fast and exciting Musicians Village, Rickshaw Chase, and More Cannons! Above all else it was indeed the musical score of Kung Fu Panda 2 that left the biggest impression! Fans of the movie and the Asian style of music will love this soundtrack!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zimmer & Powell Follow Up Their First Score With This Intense & Emotional Ride. One Of The Best Of The Year, September 19, 2011

By 

Kaya R. Savas (North Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kung Fu Panda 2 (Audio CD)

In 2008 something great happened. Hans Zimmer teamed up with John Powell for the first time in 8 years and gave us an amazing score filled with amazing themes, full of colorful instrumentation and most of all it packed an incredible emotional punch. The first Kung Fu Panda was a huge hit and I'm sure this one was greenlit the day after opening weekend results came in. When I heard of this one being in the works of course I was excited for one major reason, and that was that it would allow for Hans and John to team up again. Powell definitely had the greater influence on the thematic material while Hans fleshed out some deeper emotional points and overall flow. What I loved about the first score was how "un-childish" it was. The score was intense, heartwarming and in the end commanded such great emotional depth. Sequel scores are always interesting because I like to see how composers try to use established themes over again in new ways.

This time around the first half of the score is where you will find the lighter stuff. Our characters are back and of course they are fun characters. So the music for the first half is fun and light. We get some comical homages to 70's Lalo Schifrin scores and our themes are all reintroduced. The score really gets going with the track "Po And Shen/Face To Face". From this point onward we are treated to some amazing arrangements that use our favorite themes. Things get a bit more serious too as the score shifts tone from the light family comedy to the action filled kung fu epic. The music becomes a grand sweeping roller coaster that only Hans Zimmer and John Powell could bring. Their styles blend so well that the score gains a life of its own. I never once felt like I was hearing a rehash of the first score either. This journey is a continuation of the first one and a great continuation at that. Po's character is felt throughout the entire score as well. Po's theme echoes the strength and confidence that he as a character now has versus back in the first movie where he was unsure of who he was and what his purpose was. The track "Zen Ball Master" is pure gold as the score dives head first into the climax and resolution. The score is then beautifully wrapped up.

The score is simply stunning to say the least. Musically it's much more developed than the first one and there are so many more textures this time around. The final act is hair raising greatness and is an example of how a score should function as a storyteller and emotional backbone. Hans Zimmer and John Powell are two of the best working today. Hans helped usher John Powell into his own career and now that they can collaborate and make stuff like this is pure living poetry. This is definitely not a rushed attempt at a sequel score and will go down as one of the best of the year. With a CD running time of around 64 minutes and with lengthy tracks this is how a score should be presented as well. Kung Fu Panda 2 is a beautiful lush experience that incorporates the setting and characters flawlessly into the motions of the story it's telling, and that makes it an exceptional score.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Nutshell Review: Kung Fu Panda 2, October 30, 2011

By 

Mr.Kuhn "Veritas lux mea" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kung Fu Panda 2 (Audio CD)

Who would have expected Kung Fu Panda to become a surprising, heartwarming summer hit back in 2008, where I thought it had captured the very essence of a typical martial arts film, and distilled it into an animated piece appealing both to kids and adults alike. The big risk involved is of course coming up with the inevitable follow up film given the profits that it had raked in, that won't be an insult to its fans, and yet maintaining that same level of appeal the original had. Kung Fu Panda 2 succeeded.

Although it certainly did seem that passing the reins over to rookie director Jennifer Yuh was bewildering, but Yuh turned out to be perfect in guiding the sequel and the beloved characters in yet another adventure, with bigger set action pieces, touching dramatic moments, and retaining plenty of humour from the get go. Credit of course must go to writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger in coming up with a natural progression of the story of Po (Jack Black), and filling it with a lot more elements from classic martial arts film formulas such as a jail break involving skilled pugilists in captivity, a pagoda, getting beat down, recovery and recuperation, and the learning of a new, ultimate skill. To think that the worries came from the scribes being responsible for the snooze-fest Monsters Vs Aliens, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

Kung Fu Panda 2 brings back the A-list voices of Black as Po the Panda, now very much comfortable in his celebrity role of the prophesied Dragon Warrior, and the Furious Five consisting of Angelina Jolie as the no-nonsense, hard hitting Tigress, Seth Rogen as the wisecracking Mantis, David Cross as Crane, Lucy Liu as Viper and the underused Jackie Chan as Monkey, recognizable animals used in distinctive martial arts boxing styles. Also returning are Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu and James Hong as Mr Ping, while joining the fray are Gary Oldman as the chief villain Lord Shen the vain peacock, Michelle Yeoh as The Soothsayer, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Master Croc, Dennis Haysbert as Master Oxen and Victor garber as Master Thundering Rhino, the latter three forming some formidable masters of kung fu whose city they're protecting falls under siege.

The story continues to loosely adopt from historical developments in China, with the premise being set during the time when gunpowder was discovered and fireworks created, but with the more sinister use of the material also for the creation of weapons such as the cannon, threatening the extinction of martial arts with its formidable firepower. Lord Shen becomes fanatical in plundering metal from the land with the ambition to rule all of China, but for his Soothsayer to predict his downfall to come from something black and white, hence his dogged massacre of pandas with his wolf pack goons, before setting his sights on and signaling his diabolical intent on some legendary martial arts masters.

It's pretty amazing how this under 90 minute film also managed to squeeze in plenty of pathos in the form of Po having to unlock his repressed memory of being necessarily abandoned by his parents following a pattern ala Moses with the pandas being threatened with forced extinction, which provides tons of baby panda to milk some scheming, crafty moments to tug at your heartstrings, and you can hear that audible gasps of "oh so cute"s from female members of the audiences. Well done, if the studio decides to make money from merchandising. Narratively it's pretty predictable following the generic essence of typical kung fu film classics, what with the learning of inner peace and new skills involved that resembled very much like Taichi-quan, but what mattered of course is the delivery that hit expectations, and not buckle under that same weight brought over from a successful first film.

Then of course there's the spectacular fight sequences, especially when Po and the Fearsome Five combine to protect the innocent masses against hordes of enemies that come with the requisite comedy, from slapstick to lyrical, like poetry in motion when they showcase their respective, distinctive moves. Big action set pieces are well designed, and I give my thumbs up to how the villain is modelled after the peacock, which in itself brings about the theme of vanity that almost all villains possess, but in the context of kung fu, it's extremely smart to design Lord Shen to move and utilize his own innate weaponry, that of sneaky darts and fans - a weapon that in Chinese martial arts film, is the weapon of choice of the "wei jun zi" - the "fake gentleman" (sorry if my interpretation sucks, but you get my drift).

No qualms about this installment, I would put it in my highly recommended list as a sequel that didn't forget about the spirit of the original, and if the filmmakers can continue to capture exactly what makes martial arts movies tick and distill it like it did for the first two films, I dare say we're in for a mighty strong franchise that will appeal to kids, and every kung fu film fan out there who will probably go nuts at how well this animated series managed to get the formula right.

by DICK STEEL (Singapore)