This is such a good sequel! The villain Shen is certainly a more interesting one due to the part he played in Po's personal history, and Gongmen City is such an exquisite scenario! Regarding animation, this might be my favourite one of Kung Fu Panda's universe. It is entertaining, endearing, and a treat for the eyes.

DARKER... The tonality of this film is different from the previous one. It's much darker than anything in this franchise. It delves deeper into Po's journey & his identity, it completes him and brings peace. The pacing is slightly slower and less fun than the first film. But the deep dive into the existential crisis, self discovery & traumatising past in both protagonist & antagonist characters makes it a brilliantly crafted animated film. While being the darker one, it still manages to be suitable for any age demographic. The charm of the characters and the camaraderie between them shows much development. The inventive action scenes with brilliant choreography are riveting. The music is an integral part of its tonality, it's culturally rich and has emotional impact throughout the film. The animation and its art style is a work of artistry. The artistic aesthetics with a darker tone are visually stunning.PS: I decided to re-watch the ‘Kung Fu Panda Trilogy’ since I watched ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’.

One of those sequels that was just a lot better than the first one, and the first one was great! There is much more depth and hearty story telling in this second movie where we come to learn that inner peace is not easily attained especially if there are still questions of personal identity. There is much more higher stakes here for the characters with the threat of technology neutralizing a beautiful art form that is Kung Fu. Plus we see Po waterbending, ironbending, which is a really fun part of this film.

I hold this film close to my heart, and even though it may not surpass the original in terms of quality of story and execution, I still think it’s a worthy piece of animated cinema. Lord Shen is one of my favorite villains. The voice work by Gary Oldman is crazy good, and he has probably the coolest design in the series. The fact that his backstory is just genocide is a detail that I never really understood the full extent of as a kid, but now… yeah what a way to establish a villainous peacock for your kids movie. It kinda has some weaker pacing looking back at it and is a bit rushed in parts. But I don’t really care because some of the peaks of this thing are just so good. The fight at the factory and Shen’s talk with the Soothsayer just hit so hard. The fight with the masters council is some of the coolest 2 minutes you’ll ever watch, and the music in so much of this movie (the whole series really) is absolute fire. Certified classic.