Featured photo via IMDb
Story by Larry Rincon
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March hits the jackpot of theatrical film releases by kicking off with the fourth installment of “Kung Fu Panda.” Fans of the film enter the end of Po’s Dragon Warrior journey as he looks for a successor so that he can take Master Oogway’s place as the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.
With brownie points for nostalgia, the film was mostly faithful to its previous films, but overall, it did not present anything new to tell Po’s story. The plot was predictable, and the overall humor fell flat.
The best part of “Kung Fu Panda 4” is, of course, the villain. The animated film maintains the franchise’s tradition by introducing one of the coolest villains, The Chameleon, voiced by Viola Davis. The Chameleon is a shape-shifting sorceress who wants to expand her rule from Juniper City all the way to the Valley of Peace.
However, unlike the previous villains, who had strong backstories and a reason to be enemies with Po, The Chameleon was an enemy of all who practiced kung fu. She was rejected from learning the martial arts and set out to steal everyone’s kung fu. Her story was a little weak, as cool as her powers may be, but her actual nature and personality more than made up for it.
Aside from the villain, not much else about the movie felt like the franchise I grew up with.
The movie was very predictable. You’ll know from the start who the enemies are and who will succeed Po. Even with the foreshadowing, the story is very obvious in its direction. The journey to get to those revelations was also, unfortunately, just okay.
Unlike the prior films, I did not feel like I was seeing Po grow much as a character. Sure, he goes from hating the idea of letting go of his title to eventually finding someone to replace him, but the story barely addresses his growth, making it almost meaningless.
A reason for this is probably due to the pacing. The film is quite fast-paced, suiting the attention span of a child, but the beginning especially felt like you had no time to process anything. The movie would go from point A to point B to point C in less than 10 minutes, and it was hard for an audience member to digest everything.
However, as mediocre as the story may be, the other characters in the movie make up for it. Zhen brought the grounding reality that The Furious Five would usually provide for Po. Her backstory is almost like Po’s, but small factors have made her his polar opposite.
Po’s dads, Ping and Lee, were the comedic relief of the film. They were characterized as overprotective and overly worrisome parents who trail after their son because they both love and worry for his well-being.
In classic Dreamworks fashion, the film constantly highlighted gay rights by emphasizing Po’s two dads, but it never tried to enforce them as adoptive or biological dads. The two had a funny married couple dynamic that really made the movie for me.
The animation style was a slight miss for me. In recent years, 3D animation has started to go for a softer, almost lazier appearance. The details in the scales and fur were there but lacked the feel from the earlier movies.
Overall, “Kung Fu Panda 4” is not a needed film to tell Po’s story, but it did feel nice to know that this is Po’s end as The Dragon Warrior.
Adults who grew up with this movie franchise will find things they’ll appreciate due to nostalgia, and younger generations will probably have a new The Dragon Warrior to grow up with if Dreamworks decides to explore Zhen’s story.
Letting go is something Po had to learn in this movie, and I think it is time we let go and move away from “Kung Fu Panda.” We watched Po’s journey, and now we should all find peace instead of forcing a story that is unnecessary.
Larry Rincon is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell and Assistant Lifestyles Editor Shamani Salahuddin, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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