Customer Reviews

The Prodigy

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Wow, where to begin with this one. I suppose the best place to start would be by confessing that this film wasn't near as bad as I initially expected. Chalk this reality up to the simple fact that this piece manages to avoid, what I consider anyway, the ultimate kiss of death for a computer animated feature: It isn't a domestic studio's attempt to capitalize on the popularity of CG motion pictures by simply importing a foreign film and slapping an English dubbed vocal track atop.

No, if nothing else and despite themes that will surely draw comparisons to DreamWorks' much more successful Kung-Fu Panda franchise, The Prodigy is an original project that just so happens to have been born of many individuals affiliated with DreamWorks projects in the past (Shrek, Shark Tale and so on).

At its most basic, The Prodigy is a tale of budding love cut short by a kidnapping and a perilous quest to rescue said prisoner. We follow a young female kung-fu student by the name of KG, training under the tutelage of Master Panda who, by a chance encounter, ends up meeting and becoming quite fond with the noble Prince Po.

I should mention that our dear prince just so happens to be the object of affection of a buxom blonde sorceress who decides that if the prince isn't going to fall in love with her on his own, a little bit of being held captive coupled to some love potion ingestion might change his mind.

KG and Master Panda set forth to rescue the hapless Po; a journey that leads them skateboarding down mountainsides, swimming through river currents and entering another dimension ruled by the ruthless Dragon King.

As expected, kung fu heavy brawls, a good deal of magic and some slapstick ensue and in the end, the viewer will likely themselves wondering just how the finished project went so awry.

The first, and probably most common area of complaint centers on the visuals themselves. For a film released in 2009, even the most neophyte animation aficionados will likely find themselves rubbing their temples in disbelief (don't mistake this for meditation).

The textures, stiff character models and jerky camera movements are all eerily reminiscent to a video game cut scene. So much so that I'm still not convinced the entire project wasn't animated using a technique called machinima (whereby the animation tools are based on an existing video game engine).

If you are able to overlook the limitations of the graphics, the pacing is another source of inconsistency. The beginning quarter of the film seems to meander around aimlessly, clumsily introducing characters and their relationships. I am pleased to report, however, that about halfway through the piece the prose seems to gain its footing and progresses with conviction. The ending is a bit abrupt and anticlimactic but for a little while anyway, some of the original intentions with this work start to show through.

The voice acting is a bit of a mixed bag with the most obvious drawback coming from the fact that big-name actors are completely absent here. However, the lack of star power doesn't slow down the Rhiann Woodyard for giving an earnest effort as KG. Unfortunately Master Panda's voice over actor isn't quite so smooth, having chosen an accent that sounds more Italian than it does Asian. However the vocal pitch and timing/delivery are much more appropriate, accent notwithstanding.

The most remarkable aspect to report is that despite some very clear limitations on the production end, budget, cast and so on, The Prodigy manages to deliver several genuinely funny moments. The Master Panda character actually works pretty well in offering a counterpoint to KG with scripting almost impressive enough to overcome the visual restrictions... Almost.

Interestingly this is one of few films I know of, in fact perhaps the only one in existence that actually manages to feel less impressive thanks to the included special features. This may sound contradictive but let me put it another way: When you shut this one off, you are left feeling like there were a few cute moments scattered about what was basically a run of the mill experience. It isn't until you soak up the sheer talent involved in making this picture a reality, the impeccable 2D storyboarding, the spectacular character model design work, and the passion of the actors therein that you find yourself asking "how in the world did the end result manage to feel so flat?"

Well again I suspect those undeniably video-game feeling visuals coupled to conversation timing (especially early on) that struggles frequently and it starts to become clear that beautifully crafted story boarding and near Disney-quality 2D models do not a finished film make.

In all it's pretty easy to come down hard on The Prodigy and in fact, just browsing various Internet sites, critics seem to have no trouble doing so. The thing of it is in an odd sort of way you can't help but find yourself in the film's corner by the end; hoping and in some cases wishing it was able to succeed on all of the aspirations that surely resulted in the film being made in the first place. Here is an honest-to-goodness labor of love by a small group of passionate writers, animators, actors and artists who have tried their darndest to take on some of the most colossal industry juggernauts in the world.

The special features set alone is almost worth the affordable price of admission but the film is a pretty cringe-worthy experience. The visuals are simply far too substandard to allow the occasional moment of comedic effort to shine through. Based on the looks of the 2D sketches and storyboarding, perhaps Prevalent Films would have been better off doing this one as a 2D traditional animation because the beauty of this one was clearly lost somewhere in the translation to 3D.

This animation kept my kids glued and laughing. Fun little flick. The Bonus features taught my one boy about how to animate.

Do you remember playing a video game, and then the action stops and they go to animation with bad acting and stuff you don't care about? This movie is like that, except the animation and acting are worse, and it lasts for 78 minutes.

I have sat through some bad movies in my life, but this one makes "Happily Never After" look like "Gone With The Wind", and "Gigli" look like "Citizen Kane".

Please--I implore you--if you're thinking about buying or renting this movie, take the money you would spend and wipe yourself with it. You will derive far more pleasure from that experience than from sitting through this this 78 minutes of living death.

Giving it 1 star, because I can't rate it lower.

Anyone giving this movie 5 stars based on the "story" or "panda" must be high. This was the worst movie I have ever seen. Even my 7 year old hated it. The Panda in the movie was a huge stereotype and hit every cliche in the book. The story was all over the place and really had no direction. Yes, the CG was very cheesy however if the story had merit then I would have gave it a better review. Also, lets not forget the 30 minutes of excess filler put into this movie. People dancing and playing drums for 5 mins straight is one example.

The Good:

Could make a good coaster

Can turn this movie into a drinking game based on the Panda alone

The Bad:

If it is not used for the 2 reasons above, then it is worthless.

What was I thinking? I purchased this movie because it said on the case "from the artists and animators of Shrek and Shark Tale".WHAT?? I am left wondering if this was a very early attempt at their animation. This movie was one big let down even for my four year old son. The graphics looked like something I could create on my personal computer. The story line was lame and the panda has an Italian accent! What ever you do, do not purchase this movie you will be disappointed. I see NO resemblance to either of the two movies advertised on the DVD case.

This is a funny little animated film. My kids cracked up and I liked the Kung Fu fighting. Yeah, it's not a $120 Million dollar film; it's good for an indie.

I really enjoyed watching "The Prodigy." The animation is very creative and there is so much energy all throughout the movie. The story line is great! I definitely recommend watching this movie!!!

Sure the graphics were not Matrix type, but the writing was great! The storyline was very well thought out as well. I personally loved th sarcastic and sometimes rude panda. A very clean love story with the prince and laughter for all. Not many movies out there that can entertain everyone. My two and 4 year old laughed, my 17 year old love he storyline and my 9 year old loved the humor in it. As for me? I didnt expect the graphics to be top notch, but I thought it was very well done and worth owning.

Yes the animation in this movie is not all that great, considering it was made buy one of the guys who did shrek and other titles. but forget the animation and look to the passion of the film and the lovable characters like master panda. this is a good movie for kids and kids at heart.

Terrible graphics! Looked more like a video game then a movie. I watched this with my 7 year old cousin and she hated it. Horrible storyline and character development.