Kung Fu Panda Continues To Defy Expectations With Its Christmas Special

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Kung Fu Panda shouldn't work. On any level. But the entire endeavor made one crucial decision that changed everything; they got Jack Black to play the titular kung fu warrior. Black plays Po with undying eagerness that's always fun to watch, especially when his exuberance has to be used against tremendous antagonists. Even after two movies (the second of which hadn't come out when the subject of this review came out) that were excellent, a Christmas special should have simply a cash grab, not a reaffirmation of the franchises quality.
The Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special continues to expand Po's journey by having him be chosen to host The Winter Feast, a prestigious event for kung fu masters. Po is excited to host this event, but, ah, there's a problem; it'll directly conflict with his holiday celebrations with Ping (James Hong), his father. Despite centering around animals doing martial arts, the situation is immediately understandable; who among us haven't had schedule conflicts over the extremely busy holiday season?

Being torn between family and kung fu, Po manages to be a successful lead in the special, as they smartly make sure he's never mean or rude in trying to find a compromise for his holiday woes. The approach extends to the likes of Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), whose never malicious in wanting Po to host The Winter Feast, as well as Ping, who wants his son to stay and cook with him over the holidays.

There isn't as much action on display as there are in Kung Fu Panda films, though a suicidal rabbit (Jack Macbrayer) plays a major part in the story. However, the special does retain the emotional heart of the movies, with the last few minutes successfully pulling at one's heartstrings, especially during a final conversation between Shifu and Po. Maybe Kung Fu Panda shouldn't work as a story, but with great holiday specials like this one, I'm ever so glad it does.