Kung Fu Panda 4 is the new part of the Kung Fu Panda series and the fourth entry, which has not been released since 2016. During this period, Po has now set his eyes on replacing the current Spiritual Leader of the valley, thus marking the end of his period as the Dragon Warrior and the one who has to choose the next Dragon Warrior. At the same time here, there is an innate shape-shifting villain called the Chameleon who has an evil plan to take away the kung fu powers of all the foes of Po, making Chameleon a super powerful kung fu master who Po now has to figh.
The first three films deserve to be called a trilogy just by the virtue of being able to fit together. Handing over the reins of such purposefully silly animation to such a ‘one-trick-pony’ audience now seems unbelievable, but somehow those three movies actually came together to form a proper trilogy that has beautiful stories, meaningful messages, interesting characters and a great appreciation of kung fu as a cultural activity, not just stylish fighting techniques. I personally like all three previous films and thought they were good as a single narrative. But with the way Hollywood works, the franchise had to be milked a little bit and we get a sequel that feels obligatory and unneeded. Even with that said, being unnecessary does not imply a negative connotation. Toy Story 4 is a classic example of an unnecessary film that still is fun to watch. Now, we ask whether Kung Fu Panda 4 will be able to achieve this.
What certainly worked in this film first of all is, the voice talent. Po fanatics can rejoice as Jack Black has returned to voice him in his original character and to be honest he hasn’t changed a single bit. He’s having great fun in the role and he’s one of the primary reasons why Po is so cheerful and lovable albeit being a mess and an awkward person. Other cast members include Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Viola Davis, and James Hong, everyone performing in accordance with the tasks assigned to them. There’s really only one weak link when it comes to the voice acting, and I know you already know what it is, but we’ll come back to this later. I do wish however, to remain on the upside.
There is another positive theme in the film and that is about change. It emphasizes that amazing opportunities can come into one’s life when he/she is not afraid to step out of their comfort zone and take the plunge to make a meaningful change. Pretty nice and in practice, this movie has one scene that makes the slogan as clear as it can be – and it works very well for the film. A of the story, it cannot be completely said that the storyline or plot fully supports the assertions, but still a key point for a younger generation so thank you for the ideas that the movie offers.
In general, the animation is not too bad. Of course, it has to be said that the budget of this movie is significantly lower in comparison to the previous ones. The animation shines whenever there is a panorama of landscapes or when Chameleon shows off some of the coolest transformation of his. But, on the other hand, there are also some things that stand out in a negative way. Sometimes the skin/shading/textures on the characters feels too clean and not entirely finished. This is slightly significant whenever Po’s face is focused on, but even some of the background actors look unpolished, so to say. I would not go as far as to suggest that this is streaming-direct level bad, however, it was annoying for me, particularly after seeing the first three films a day before.
The film’s challenges begin to emerge once we actually start to get things moving in the plot and the one major issue is in regards to Awkwafina and her role as Zhen, Po’s new journey which, for the moment, I’m quite anxious because it feels like there is no escaping Awkwafina and her playing the same role of a witty friend. Well, the fact of the matter is that she is not that bad in this film, quite the opposite, but it is really nothing new compared to other characters. And from the perspective of the actor, there is just not enough exposure to her character that allows you to have any kind of appreciation for the dull emotional garnish the film has with her. The Furious Five are most “family members” in this movie and Master Shifu is only around during the opening and third act, both features of which I also did not like about Kung Fu Panda 2. There can be no argument, the first film is also devoted to Shifu as much as to Po, and Zhen does not provide enough of the surroundings to conceal the absence of the series regulars.
There is another sub-story in which Po’s two fathers, voiced by Cranston and Hong, go on an adventure of their own in Po’s absence. This entire side plot feels like something that was just written to waste time because the actors are back and had nothing to do. There is an unjustified attempt in the form of an arc where Po’s real father Li Shan learns how to be courageous, however it goes absolutely nowhere and simply feels like unnecessary filler.
I will never shy away from saying that Chameleon is almost without a doubt the weakest of villains for the franchise. Certainly, Viola Davis’ voice is very effective and she is indeed quite good, but her character is so poorly developed that her voice alone cannot save it. It is as if she was included in the end just for the heck of it. In fact, I find her name, ‘The Chameleon’ pathetic. Po’s other adversaries from the previous installments are not the most memorable villains, wonders of film making they are not, but they at least served the purpose of the stories being told, and they had their personalities. In fact, even Tai Lung is present in this film just for the sake of bringing back fond memories. I don’t quite see why people had to endure ‘The Chameleon’ when Tai Lung was available.
Nothing new comes on the screen in this film. It looks old and is supple following the same pigs in a blanket approach. There is nothing surprising or even thrilling about Po’s excursion with Zhen to search for the Chameleon. It was a dull sight to watch an animated film that was only bearable in it’s minimalistic approach to some scenes. The speed is not nearly as fast as any of the remaining three films and on one occasion I reached out for my phone to check the time thinking that we were almost done with the advertised 90 minutes but to my dismay the movie was only past 30 minutes mark. For a film that has a runtime of an hour and thirty four minutes, such things are nearly inexcusable.
In summation, Kung Fu Panda 4 has been the first and I hope the last low in this film series. It is a fairly mediocre animated film, because it can be best described as generic kids adventure with weak plot and unfunny gags. The first three movies are kids cartoons in the best sense of the word, but this one does not appeal in the same way. This is a contorted sequel which has no reasons to the why it is there and now I have to imagine a world where this story was finished in three movies.
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