In 2008, DreamWorks Animation released two films. One of these was a sequel to the studio’s 2005 hit Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. As for the other, it would be the studio’s original project for that year; a martial arts comedy titled Kung Fu Panda. Starring Jack Black as the titular panda, Po, the film followed this avid kung-fu fanatic who, despite zero training, is chosen to be the ‘Dragon Warrior’, a kung-fu master who’s destined to save his home, the Valley of Peace, from evildoers. The original Kung Fu Panda is very much one of the prime examples of the classic adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. In the months leading up to its release, it’s safe to assume that most people probably saw it as nothing more than a joke, especially with a title as admittedly goofy as Kung Fu Panda. It also didn’t help that, around this time, DreamWorks Animation had garnered something of a reputation for their reliance on pop cultural references, which dominated a lot of their work and arguably had an impact on their overall reception when compared to some of their industry rivals such as Pixar. As such, it’s safe to say that a film and premise like Kung Fu Panda didn’t seem like it was going to change anyone’s mind when it came to what a DreamWorks film could be. But, when the film finally came out, both critics and audiences were genuinely taken by surprise as Kung Fu Panda proved to be an incredibly well-crafted animated film with spectacularly choreographed action sequences, mature storytelling, and above all, an undeniable sense of respect for the Chinese culture that inspired it.
This, as a result, gave DreamWorks its latest hit franchise
as the film would go on to spawn several spin-offs. On the big screen, the
adventures of Po the Dragon Warrior would continue in 2011’s Kung Fu Panda 2
and 2016’s Kung Fu Panda 3. Both films managed to match the original
in terms of both critical and commercial success while also achieving some
historical significance for their director, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who was the
original film’s head of story and became the first solo female director of a
mainstream animated film with Kung Fu Panda 2. That film would go on to
become the highest-grossing animated film solely directed by a woman, and while
she did have a co-director in fellow DreamWorks mainstay Alessandro Carloni for
Kung Fu Panda 3, it was clear that Jennifer Yuh Nelson was the strongest
driving force behind what was quickly becoming another one of DreamWorks’ flagship
franchises. After Kung Fu Panda 3, though, that would largely be it for
the Dragon Warrior on the big screen as DreamWorks began to focus more on the
franchise’s TV spin-offs. But then, in 2022, it was announced that the cinematic
adventures of Po and company would continue with Kung Fu Panda 4. This
time, directorial duties went to Mike Mitchell, a longtime veteran of
DreamWorks who had worked with them as far back as their first film, 1998’s Antz,
while also directing the likes of 2016’s Trolls and, ironically, another
DreamWorks fourthquel in 2010’s Shrek Forever After. And just like that
latter film in many ways, what we ultimately have here is a solidly enjoyable
addition to the Kung Fu Panda franchise that may not necessarily reach
the exact same wondrous heights as its predecessors but still manages to exude
much of the franchise’s charm and appeal.
For Po the Dragon Warrior (voiced by Jack Black), things
couldn’t be better for him as the Valley of Peace’s greatest protector,
especially after the events of Kung Fu Panda 3 in which the late Master
Oogway gave him a powerful staff that can link the mortal world with the Spirit
Realm. However, Po is taken by surprise when his mentor, Master Shifu (voiced
by Dustin Hoffman), informs him that the time has come for him to find his
successor as the Dragon Warrior since he’s now destined to take on the role of
the Valley of Peace’s spiritual leader. And if that wasn’t enough, all sorts of
disturbances start to occur across the Valley caused by, of all people, Tai
Lung (voiced by Ian McShane), Po’s nemesis from his early days as the Dragon
Warrior who was seemingly vanquished and sent to the Spirit Realm. Upon further
investigation, Po discovers that this is the work of a sinister shape-shifting
sorceress known as the Chameleon (voiced by Viola Davis), who seeks to acquire
Po’s Staff of Wisdom and use it to collect the kung-fu abilities of all the
greatest warriors from the Spirit Realm. Thus, with the aid of a wily bandit
named Zhen (voiced by Awkwafina), Po travels to the Chameleon’s headquarters in
Juniper City to take on his latest arch-nemesis before she can become the most
unstoppable kung-fu master the world has ever seen.
As has always been the case with this series, Kung Fu
Panda 4 more than delivers on its spectacularly choreographed and
beautifully animated action sequences. While I’m well aware that some were
disappointed at this film’s more traditional style of animation compared to
some of the more stylized and experimental bits of animation seen in some of
DreamWorks’ recent films such as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Kung
Fu Panda 4 is still just as vibrant and colorful as the films that came
before it. Much of this helps to alleviate the fact that, admittedly, this film
doesn’t have the same kind of strong emotional hooks that dominated the
original trilogy. All three of the previous Kung Fu Panda films benefitted
immensely from some strong bits of emotional poignancy that helped them
narratively stand out compared to a lot of other DreamWorks films at the time,
whether it was the first film’s reveal that the main antagonist Tai Lung was once
the beloved adopted son of Master Shifu or how the second film revolved around
Po learning about his past and the tragic events that led to him being
separated from his birth parents. This film, on the other hand, is unfortunately
lacking in that regard and it doesn’t help that there are some clearly missed
opportunities for it to have those sorts of moments, such as a possible reunion
between Tai Lung and Shifu given the former’s prominent role in this story. Instead,
the film opts to be more of a straightforward adventure plot for Po and
company that ultimately relies more on the franchise’s trademark sense of humor
revolving around Po’s unconventional means of being a kung-fu warrior. To be
fair, though, this series has never truly faltered with its sense of humor, and
because this film thoroughly maintains that streak, it’s not necessarily a bad
thing that it’s primarily just a light-hearted comedic romp.
Much of this is thanks to, as always, its entertaining cast
of characters, headlined, of course, by everyone’s favorite comedic rockstar
Jack Black in what has easily become one of the definitive roles of his career,
Po the Dragon Warrior. As he’s always done in this role, Black doesn’t skip a
beat maintaining Po’s hilariously bumbling yet wholly endearing persona. Now,
as for the franchise’s other recurring characters… well, Kung Fu Panda fans
will most likely be disappointed to know that Po’s fellow kung fu masters, the
Furious 5, are almost entirely absent from this and, as has been the case with
every Kung Fu Panda sequel, Master Shifu is largely uninvolved with the
main plot even though this one sees the return of his first protégé Tai Lung.
Still, Dustin Hoffman continues to provide plenty of great humorous beats as
Po’s perpetually grumpy master while James Hong and Bryan Cranston, returning
as Po’s adoptive father Mr. Ping and biological father Li Shan, respectively,
also prove to be a major source of the film’s best comedic moments as Po’s two
dads are turned into a delightfully wacky odd couple who head out on their own
accord to help their son. As for the new additions to the cast (specifically, Po’s
new morally grey ally Zhen and the film’s main antagonist, the Chameleon), they
are, admittedly, the biggest victims of this film’s more basic narrative
approach, with the Chameleon being a far more standard villain than any of her
franchise counterparts. But for what it’s worth, Awkwafina has excellent
comedic rapport with Jack Black as Zhen (complete with a few moments where she
gets to flex her dramatic chops) while Viola Davis’ trademark fierceness shines
through as Chameleon, thus resulting in the character still managing to be an
effectively sinister villain.
At the end of the day, Kung Fu Panda 4 surprisingly
ends up having quite a lot in common with director Mike Mitchell’s other
DreamWorks fourthquel, Shrek Forever After. In both instances, we have
films that, while far from being their respective franchise’s best installments,
are still solidly enjoyable additions to them that don’t do anything that would’ve
drastically harmed their legacy in any way. In Kung Fu Panda 4’s case, the
only thing that truly keeps it from being just as great as its predecessors is the
fact that it lacks the emotional throughline that, back when this franchise was
first starting out, proved that DreamWorks films could be more than just pop-cultural
dependent kiddie flicks. Without that, this film is more of a straightforward martial
arts adventure that doesn’t do much to set up the new additions to its cast even
though it simultaneously doesn’t rely as much on the franchise’s
well-established ensemble as its predecessors did. But like I said
earlier, I don’t necessarily feel that this is all a bad thing. Despite its narrative
shortcomings, Kung Fu Panda 4 dutifully maintains a lot of the franchise’s
hallmarks, such as its well-crafted action sequences or by consistently preserving
Po’s status as one of the most endearing protagonists in all of animation. As
such, if you’re just looking to go on another fun adventure with Po, which we
haven’t gotten on the big screen in nearly a decade, then this film will give
you exactly what you’re looking for. Skadoosh!!
Rating: 4/5
