#max koch

Odin riding Sleipnir, with his wolves Geri and Freki

Gastav Schalk / Walhalla / Illustration 01

Walhalla

Germanische Götter- und Heldensagen von Gustav Schalk

Illustrationen von Professor Max Koch

Neufeld & Henius Verlag (Berlin / Deutschland)

ex libris MTP

“Donar-Thor” circa 1905

If you’re a fan of Kung Fu Panda (you should be), Secrets of the Furious Five is a nice little companion piece. The film is split into five parts telling the origin of Mantis (Max Koch), Viper (Jessica DiCicco), Tigress (Tara Strong), Monkey (Jaycee Chan), and Crane (David Cross): Po's idols and the legendary Furious Five. Each story ties into lessons that are critical (as Jack Black's Po learns) to understanding and mastering kung fu.

Lasting a brief 24 minutes, Secrets of the Furious Five nonetheless manages to pack a  lot. There's plenty of action and humour. As a bonus, you get to learn about the characters introduced in Kung Fu Panda. Now, Tigress isn’t the only one that gets some personality and backstory. The animation is similar to the one found in the dream sequence at the beginning of “Kung Fu Panda” so it has a nice distinct look and while not all of the voice actors resume their roles, the ones who don't are younger versions of who we saw in the full-length film so you won't mind.

While it's enjoyable, do not mistake Secrets of the Furious Five for a real film. It's a bonus feature. On its own, it'd be hard to justify buying and then dedicating valuable retail space on your DVD shelf just for what ends up being a companion piece. As a bit of extra, however, it's exactly what you'd want.

My advice with Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five is as follows. Wait until you find this movie in a bargain bin or in a 2-pack with another Dreamworks animated short (like How to Train your Dragon: Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon), get a DVD case that can fit two discs and make a custom combo pack of this film and the original. There you go! No wasted space on your shelf and a solid bonus feature to watch once the credits are over. Under those constraints, it pleases. (on DVD, August 31, 2014)