Riot’s Reviews: Kung Fu Panda 4
SKADOOSH!!! When the original Kung Fu Panda came out in 2008, I was graduating college, starting my career at my company (can’t believe it’s been 16 years already), and simultaneously watching the world burn down during the Great Recession. Two out of three isn’t that bad when you think about it, but we were also being introduced to (and subsequently falling in love with) a rotund, almost obnoxiously optimistic panda who had aspirations to be a Kung Fu warrior. The story was absolutely magic and, coupled with an all-star cast, set up a series of sequels and extra content that was sure to dazzle audiences for years to come. Over the years, whilst watching the decline of Disney and Pixar’s quality and their grasp on the world of animated movies, I’ve come to believe that other studios like Dreamworks and Illumination have really started to dominate in a significant way. The How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek series certainly both helped to cement their name in history, but adding incredible spinoff films like Puss and Boots: The Last Wish and standalones like Rise of the Guardians and The Prince of Egypt certainly didn’t hurt their legacy. But there is such a thing as pushing past the limits of an IP (something Disney/Pixar should have learned with Toy Story 4) and when a character arc seems to have been completed/actualized, is it worth another installment that could potentially taint the whole run?
Much like the way I felt leaving Toy Story 4, I’d argue that I’m stuck firmly on the fence. Kung Fu Panda 4 was not a bad film per se, but I would be lying if I said it was necessary. TS4 felt a little more egregious (as I’m sure the upcoming 5thfilm will also feel like) where the emotional impact and gut punch of the 3rd movie became tainted by the subsequent storyline. The adventure of Andy’s toys had a completely satisfying and definitive end and I would argue the same happened for Po and his friends in the Kung Fu Panda universe. The conflict in KFP4 felt forced and ended up being a spinoff of the emotional/internal conflicts that Po had already pretty much worked through in the first three movies. The action sequences (while innovative) also didn’t seem like anything audiences hadn’t already seen before. Absences in the vocal cast made more of an impact than I thought it would (none of the Furious Five (Lucy Liu, David Cross, Seth Rogan, Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie) returned for active roles) and some of the remaining cast members’ performances suffered from the simple advancement of time (i.e. Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Ian McShane and sadly Jack Black in some of his scenes). Expanding on that thought, think about how off it felt watching Incredibles 2, where the voices just didn’t seem to match the characters anymore. I’ve struggled with this before when watching Season Six of Archer when Jessica Walter was having health issues and just didn’t sound like her usual self (RIP Mallory/Lucille).
But, the movie was not without its plus sides. Some of the new voice additions were really great including Awkwafina (Zhen), Viola Davis (The Chameleon), Ke Huy Quan (Han), and Ronny Chieng (credited as “Fish” lol). The humor, while again feeling a tad bit recycled, was still very funny/entertaining. Dreamworks typically does a pretty fantastic job creating villains and The Chameleon was no exception. The animation surrounding her transformations and her overall menacing look was a great new addition, even if her motivations were a little underdeveloped. Simply put, the Kung Fu Panda films have all created very compelling and interesting villains that help move the exposition forward and keep the audience invested in the story. The fight scenes were still innovative/interesting and when coupled with intentionally good animation, it helped keep the excitement running. There was a lot of time to explore the dynamic between pairs of characters: Bryan Cranston (Li) and James Hong (Ping), Jack Black (Po) and Awkwafina (Zhen) and the comedy that ensued was more than decent. All in all, I found myself thinking my typical mantra: it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either.
While the film seems to be holding up pretty well with its Rotten Tomatoes score, online sentiment elsewhere seems to be reaching a similar conclusion: it is the weakest link and it is a cash grab. I can refute neither of these statements. It certainly did feel like a cash grab and I honestly left thinking, “please don’t make How to Train your Dragon 4, pleeeeeeease!!” In terms of it being the weakest link, again I agree. The pacing of the story isn’t the best and the fact that everything feels too familiar/repetitive is probably its Achilles heel. Po worked through conflicts that were so much more meaningful to the character’s development and exemplified legitimate growth at the end that was simply absent in this film. Still, it would prove false to say it was a bad movie. But when set on the backdrop of a fully realized trilogy that didn’t need to be touched, you can’t help but ask yourself, “why?”
Riot’s Rating: 7/10: Parents, there’s no real reason to miss this one, especially if you’ve seen the others. There were plenty of children busting a gut in the theater when I went. They’ll love it.
P.S. I deducted points because they had Po say multiple times “I’m the Kung Fu Panda” which…..yuck. But then I had to add some back because Jack Black sings “Hit Me Baby One More Time” during the credits and he was excellent.
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