Part 2 opens using shadow puppets to tell the story of the new villain, Lord Shen (voice by Gary Oldman), an evil peacock who wants to conquer China with an army of wolves and destructive cannons. He’ll be Po’s new adversary. It’ll later be revealed that he had something to do with how Po got separated from his panda parents and raised in a noodle shop by Mr. Ping (voice of James Hong), who tells Po how he got to Ping’s shop hidden inside a radish basket.
Before facing Shen, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) tells Po he must first find his inner peace. The valley is then attacked by Shen’s wolf henchmen, stealing all metal objects to be made into cannons that are meant to end kung fu. It’s a sun symbol on Shen’s men that triggers Po’s fragmented childhood memories and his inner peace will rely on the discovery of where he really originated.
Once again told with much humor (but less slapstick), the sequel has a new director, Jennifer Yuh, who succeeds in giving a more touching story about the adopted Po. The sequel’s visuals also look better than the original, with the CGI amazingly conceived, rich in detail, and impressively executed on the big screen (available in IMAX 3D). Po’s five friends are back: Angelina Jolie as Tigress, Jackie Chan as Monkey, Seth Rogen as Mantis, Lucy Liu as Viper and David Cross as Crane. But only Tigress is given much importance. The others have minimal participation. Among the new cast members, only Michelle Yeoh registers well as the Soothsayer who predicted the downfall of Shen and helps save Po. There’s an epilogue of sorts showing Po’s real parents that suggests there will be a Part 3.
