A sequel to a good, but not great, film, ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ expands upon the previous film instead of giving us more of the same. With well-choreographed fight sequences, a more interesting plot, and gorgeous animation, ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ is a rare second-film that’s better than the first!

‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ is once again centered around Po the panda (voiced by Jack Black), who has honed his martial arts skills remarkably since the original film and has grown into a great warrior. With Po is Master Shifu ( Dustin Hoffman), as well as the Furious Five: Tigress the tiger (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross). The antagonist is Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), a dastardly peacock who plans to rule the world by harnessing the power of fireworks.

Though this is a sequel, ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ is just as very well an origin story for Po. The very first scenes of the film explain Lord Shen’s past, revealing how the Pandas became exterminated, and as a result, revealing how Po became an orphan and fathered by a goose. The numerous flashbacks featuring Po’s past are very emotional and, at times, even heartbreaking.

What makes this sequel so much better than the original ‘Kung Fu Panda’ is the fact that practically every single aspect has been improved. The antagonist is more interesting. The action and fight sequences are a lot more entertaining and better-choreographed. The supporting characters, particularly the Furious Five, have much more to do here than in the first film, where the A-list voice actors were wasted (though Jackie Chan as Monkey is still relatively useless because he barely has any lines). The jokes and humor of ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ are a lot funnier than the original, with less fat-gags targeted towards Po (though there is still some of that). Last but not least, the animation is even more dazzling and breath-taking than ever.

The film takes advantage of its use of fireworks to benefit its beautiful animation. The scenery and Chinese landscape featured in the film are gorgeous and lush. The fight sequences are extremely thrilling and mesmerizing. Just everything about the animation in ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ is eye-candy and amazing. Interestingly enough, the film features three different forms of animation throughout its duration, and each and every one of it is beauty to the eyes.

‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ benefits from its talented director, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, the primary storyboard artist for the original film, making her directing-debut with this sequel. The film’s script, written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, could only have improved by the help received by Charlie Kaufman (writer and director of critically-acclaimed films such as ‘Being John Malkovich’, ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ & ‘Synecdoche, New York’). The voice-acting by A-list stars, though sometimes under-utilized, is top-notch, especially by Jack Black.

This isn’t a cheaply-made, quick-cash-grab sequel like many others (The ‘Shrek’ sequels, ‘Madagascar 2’). ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ is a well-crafted animated film with, most importantly, heart. Dreamworks Animation rarely impresses me with its animated features, but sometimes there are nice surprises, such as the unexpectedly impressive ‘How to Train Your Dragon‘. ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ is the best animated film so far this year, and it’s probably one of the best Dreamworks animated features since the original ‘Shrek’.