Proving to be a disappointment

StrongRex

I started out liking the show, but the more episodes come out the worse it gets. This show has not lived up to its potential and it is very saddening. The humor has started to drag and the story lines are proving to be repetitive and lame. Po makes a mistake or does something stupid, everyone gets mad at him, and he learns a lesson until the next episode. Those types of story lines are fine, but after a while it gets old. There is too much comedy in the show and not enough drama and seriousness. What I loved about the King Fu Panda movies was that they had enough of a balance of both that made them not only funny, but capable of having a story that draws you in. Legends of Awesomeness has mediocre storytelling at best.

Everyone is in character except for Po, who is proving to be dumber and more childish than he was in the movies. I liked that you can't tell the difference between the movie actors for the main characters and their voice actors in this series. Mick Wingert sounds exactly like Jack Black, which would be awesome if they kept Po more in character. In the first movie, Po was a silly fanboy but he began to grow out of that stage. In the Kung Fu Panda holiday special, he is loyal and has a much better grip on his responsibility as the Dragon Warrior, and in Kung Fu Panda 2 he is much more loyal and mature and a very determined warrior.

In Legends of Awesomeness he is not like this. He always behaves like a spoiled, stupid little boy, and at times even acts mean. Some episodes do get his gentleness and compassion down very well, but not very many. He even gets jealous of the attention a new kung fu student gets in one episode and resorts to lying about Shifu's intentions for him, ending up hurting and traumatizing the poor kid! That is not Po in the slightest, and it infuriated me to watch that scene.

I had hoped the writers would realize the potential a franchise like Kung Fu Panda has in many areas, but so far it doesn't look like they do. One of the things they are doing is using the same villains over and over. That wouldn't be so bad if the villains were actual threats, but they're so lame! Fung is stupid and annoying, and he is the most overused villain in the show. He was fine in the first two episodes he was in, but now he is just irritating. Taotie was fine in his first episode too, but now I find him more annoying than Fung. Everything he does makes me cringe, and I find it a relief that he's in a lot fewer episodes than Fung. As far as Hundun is concerned, all I have to say is: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? He's absolutely pathetic!

The only villain I actually found to be a menacing threat so far is the owl in Good Po vs. Bad Po. So far, she is the only effective villain on the show. There have also been some major contradictions, particularly about Chorh-Gom and Tai Lung. Chorh-Gom prison had only been used for Tai Lung, and after he destroyed the prison it would have disgraced and condemned. It would not have been repaired and reused for other prisoners.

I know we are still in the first season, but if these writers don't step up to the plate and deliver stronger effort on this show, Kung Fu Panda as a whole will lose its opportunity to truly be the best it can be. I find it really sad that I have found fanfics of Kung Fu Panda that were much better written, had much better stories, and even better villains than the stuff these writers come up with. Perhaps they should take a lesson from these fanfiction writers.

score 3/10

StrongRex 13 November 2011

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2518075/