So I saw Kung Fu Panda on Saturday.

HOMG.

I don't think I've ever typed that in my life, but seriously. Wow. Dreamworks has hit one out of the park this time.

There were literally tears in my eyes not 20 seconds into the movie. 2D animation. Cool 2D animation. (THANK YOU JAMES BAXTER. SERIOUSLY.) I was jibbering nonsense quietly to myself and almost squealing with glee. And those of you who know me IRL know that I'm really not the squealing type. From the second the Dreamworks logo came up in all its awesomeness, I was transfixed. I even had a small pop and was worried because I'd drunk at least half of it during the previews alone... shouldn't have worried, because as soon as the movie started, I forgot about that drink until well into the credits. Most fun I've had at a movie in ages.

And I'm really glad, too. I've enjoyed most of Dreamworks' movies to some degree, but never completely because they've always seemed too distant before. Like they're afraid of being saccharine at the least, so every time there's a Moment, they throw in a gag or something to break up the mood. And they only seem to develop their characters far enough to drive the story or get good gags out of them. Drives me crazy.

But Kung Fu Panda? Not as much. It still has a bit of that, but it's not up to its usual irritating levels. There's no character whose sole purpose is to be annoyi- *cough* I mean, "hilarious." *coughDonkeyHammyThatobnoxiousbabylemurfromMadagascarcough* And the story seems a little more timeless... less like half the jokes are going to be obsolete in 5 years like most of the other Dreamworks films. I liked the overall message and for once the movie's role as a "comedy" seemed to take an actual backseat to the story itself! Good job, Dreamworks! I knew you had it in you.

I also really loved the character designs. Just as the rats in Ratatouille were appropriately ratty, I liked how Po was actually shaped like a panda - he has a hunched posture that's more panda than man-in-a-panda-suit. Tigress was awesome and usually landed in very catlike poses. I really loved Monkey too, again because he had some great shapes that were monkey shapes rather than standard cartoon/human shapes. The rhinos smacked a little of Disney's Robin Hood in silhouette, but I still thought they were stinkin' cool. And mad props to the riggers, because those models were so flexible, especially Po. Probably the best animation I've see out of Dreamworks yet, and I bet those rigs really helped that along - it was kung fu so that part was crucial.

Oh, and Tai Lung was AWESOME. Loved the way he was built, and loved his character. I thought he was a successful villain because as a viewer I could fear and respect him, and yet I totally understood why he was the way he was, and was really rooting for him to see the light. He was so cool.

So, I decided upon exiting the theater that I need to see this movie again, as soon as humanly possible. I want the DVD and maybe even the score (will pay better attention on my next viewing ). Of course I was already hoping for Kung Fu Panda to be good (cautiously, because I've been burned by Dreamworks before, with Madagascar) but it actually delivered. Story, design, and animation. Plus the voice work seemed to play to the actors' strengths instead of being like HAY IT'S ME JACK BLACK INSIDE THIS PANDA all the time.

AND 2D ANIMATION 8D

I need to get my grubby paws on the art book, like now.