Academic

Last Friday, the two older kids and I went to see Kung Fu Panda.  All day long I was making fun of the reviews:  "It's Better than Shrek!"  But, it actually may be better than the original Shrek, although that's a tough call.  The movie does have Jack Black, who is really funny, even when you can't see his face.

The premise has all the things that makes kids' movies hits (like Shrek) -- an unlikely hero who finds out that the "secret ingredient" was inside himself all along, cool catch phrases (my kids' favorite -- "There is no charge for awesomeness!"), a prickly "frenemy" who is won over in the end, a training sequence, and great action sequences.  I particularly liked that the frenemy (think Iceman in Top Gun) is a woman (or female tiger, I guess).  On the whole, my attention did not waver throughout the movie, and the kids have talked about it nonstop all afternoon.  I say that makes it a great movie.

Oh, and did I mention that there is no jokes that involve burping (or worse)?  And as far as I noticed, no double-entendre asides, either.  Better than Shrek.