In “Kung Fu Panda 4,” our trusty, round-faced hero Po finds himself at a crossroads in his career and is nervous. “Change isn't necessarily a bad thing,” he is told. “Kung Fu Panda 4” also marks a turning point for the series, but there’s no need to be nervous. DreamWorks knows what they're doing.
The series' first new installment in eight years is a reliably funny, tender, and brilliantly realized passing of the torch, a foot in the past, another foot in the future, a graceful farewell and hello. Many other filmmakers, well, Marvel and DC might learn something too.
When we meet him, Poe (voiced by the ever-feisty Jack Black) is being asked to relinquish his dream role as a dragon warrior and choose a successor. He was kicked upstairs to become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. (This is basically the Peter Principle explained in animation.)
However, Poe does not want to become a manager. He loves smashing skulls and still has that lovable impostor syndrome he's had since the series started. He tries to cut off all his succession plans because change is too scary.
A new, existential enemy offers a reprieve: Chameleon, an evil and powerful sorcerer voiced by Viola Davis, is a lizard from a GEICO commercial who spends too much time at Graceland. It's similar to.
Po teams up with a new character named Jen, a Korsak fox voiced by Awkwafina, who teaches the orphan-turned-thief and overly trusting panda not to trust anyone. The movie becomes a buddy road movie where the two hunt a chameleon and get a chance to get home and car insurance.
wait a minute. You may be wondering where the Wild Five (Tigress, Viper, Monkey, Crane, and Mantis) have appeared in each Kung Fu Panda series so far. They don't actually appear in “Kung Fu Panda 4,” but the movie goes all the way back to the first film and brings back Tai Lung, the snow leopard voiced by the chirpy Ian McShane.
Bryan Cranston also returns to voice Poe's zany biological father, James Hong returns as Goose's feisty adoptive father, and Dustin Hoffman reprises his role as the show-stopping Master Shifu.
There's a good balance between old and new characters, but a masterpiece emerges. The Chameleon accesses the spirit world and finds a way to resurrect every villain Poe has ever faced. The result is fight scenes like His Greatest Hits, which may be hard to top in Kung Fu Panda 5.
The third installment's screenwriters, Jonathan Abel and Glenn Berger, are also back this time around, joined by Darren Lemke. The film is directed by Mike Mitchell, director of The Lego Movie 2, and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stein, who directed Raya and the Last Dragon.
The previous three movies have mostly stuck to the rural Peace Valley, so this time we switch things up and take Po and Jen to an urban setting, Juniper City. Juniper City is filled with animals, rickshaws, and bulls as police officers. Jade store bull's hilarious joke).
As always, the real heroes here are the animators. From the panda's thick fur, the clay tiles crunching on the roof, the rain splattering on the stones, the brawl in the bar, and the petals dancing from the cherry tree, this is a visual treat.
Creating a chameleon and its terrifying Komodo dragon bodyguard gave the animators the opportunity to show how a small lizard transforms into an elephant in seconds, and they have fun doing it. They may also incorporate different animation styles to give viewers a visual break.
There are also some missteps, such as a pelican character with a fish in his mouth and three cute rabbits who look adorable but are psychotic. (Some people say that “violence makes me sick to my stomach.”) And while Poe's fathers teaming up again is welcome, it's also kind of pointless here.
But, as Poe would say, “Skadouche!” This filmmaker had a very tricky task. Paving the way for a new series direction, finding new ways to entertain us, reminding us of the lesson “It's never too late to do the right thing,” and ending it all with Black people. is. Tenacious D's cover of Britney Spears' “Baby One More Time.” Embrace change.
DreamWorks Animation's “Kung Fu Panda 4,” which opens in theaters Friday, is rated PG “for mild violence, martial arts action, gruesome visuals and mild vulgar humor.” Running time: 94 minutes. He is 3 out of 4 stars.
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MPAA PG Definition: Parental guidance recommended.
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Online: https://www.dreamworks.com/movies/kung-fu-panda-4
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