The Kung Fu Panda series is stealthily one of DreamWorks Animation’s best franchises. Even though only one of these films is truly excellent (Kung Fu Panda 2), they all feature solid character animation, well-staged action sequences, and a reverence for the cultures they crib from. They’re great “baby’s first martial arts movie” kind of movies, and Kung Fu Panda 4 is no exception. However, it’s easy to see where it’s not on par with the very best of the series.
I felt deflated early on when it was clear the Furious Five — Po’s (voice of Jack Black) long-admired kung fu team, all of which he leap-frogged early in the series to attain the legendary and heroic position of Dragon Warrior — wouldn’t be involved. Still, the film starts agreeably enough, with more of the series’ gentle humor and fun action. Po has been tasked with choosing the next Dragon Warrior by his frequently-annoyed mentor, red panda Master Shifu (voice of Dustin Hoffman). Shifu later informs him of the rise of a new threat to their home, The Valley of Peace. The Chameleon (voice of Viola Davis) is a master of shapeshifting who has made it her mission to incorporate the abilities of all of Po’s past villains into her skill set in order to defeat him. Shifu initially tells Po to let the Furious Five handle it, but Po takes matters into his own hands, making a deal with Zhen, a thieving Corsac fox (voice of Awkwafina) to lessen her sentence in exchange for her help in tracking down The Chameleon.
You can probably see where some of this is going. That predictability is the film’s fatal flaw. Some might say that this is par for the course with certain kinds of animated movies, but I would point out that this series has already striven for and achieved far more. The ways in which Po has grown in his abilities and leadership have always been the series’ best qualities, and the second installment excels at that in a variety of ways. Here, it definitely feels like we’re seeing a send-off story for this character, but the adventure overall doesn’t feel climactic enough to warrant the high emotion this series has shown itself capable of reaching.
There’s no doubt, however, that kids will enjoy this film. It’s often quite funny, with the addition of a few new secondary characters — most notably Ronny Chieng voicing a unique boat captain (what king of animal he voices is inherently one of the best visual gags in the movie, so I won’t spoil it). There’s also the continuing presence of Po’s “two dads” — his biological father, a panda named Li Shan (voice of Bryan Cranston), and his adoptive father, a goose named Mr. Ping (voice of James Hong). They try to save Po in a variety of entertaining ways, and they make quite a team.
Another positive is The Chameleon, both in terms of Davis’ voice work and the character’s design. There are a few forgettable foes throughout this series, but she is definitely not one of them. Though her motivation feels a tad weak, Davis brings a gravitas to the character (as she does to everything) which makes her genuinely as frightening as her later abilities.
Kung Fu Panda 4 won’t blow anyone away, and I didn’t go in necessarily expecting that, but I still wish it did. Po is too interesting a character — and the series is too good overall — to see it possibly conclude in such workmanlike fashion. | George Napper
