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.

Box Office Analysis: The Problem With DreamWorks

Poor little Toothless probably won't be so happy
when Shareholders start getting mad at DreamWorks this week

This weekend, the excellent feature How To Train Your Dragon 2 was released to glowing reviews, eleven months of promotion and a cinema landscape that hadn't seen a CGI animated movie in two months (I'll forget Legends of Oz even existed due to that one being unable to hit $8 million) And yet, it only made $50 million at the box office, way below my $72 million predictions and far beneath most other animated releases that debuted in the month of June. At least it managed to beat its predecessors opening weekend, unlike fellow quality DreamWorks sequel Kung Fu Panda 2, although that's slight comfort for the company that I'm sure will be badgered by jittery stockholders this week by this performance.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 Review

A Dark And Fascinating Flight

OK, just look at that kid in the back, the bigger one
 right behind Toothless. Isn't he terrifying????

Four years ago, DreamWorks Animation made a movie that was very, very different from their usual offerings. Amidst a sea of cheap comedies filled with dated references and toiler humor came a gem, a beautiful story of a viking and his dragon. None could imagine the movie being as good as it was, nor it becoming as popular as it did with audiences.I myself found, and still do find, it to be one of the best movies of 2010, and perhaps the best thing DreamWorks Animation has ever made.

The List!!!: Five Great Animated Sequels

In The List!!!, I do a list that just reeks of being click-bait, analyzing a particular topic or subject that pertains to something major occurring in pop-culture. This week, in honor of How To Train Your Dragon 2, I take a look at five great animated sequels.