Directors: Mike Mitchell, Stephanie Stine
Writer: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berge, Darren Lemke
Stars: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis
Synopsis: After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.
After watching Kung Fu Panda 4, I have come to one inevitable conclusion—it’s time to put this panda to sleep. The original Kung Fu Panda was fun, but overrated. I’ll admit, the delightful sight of a chubby panda becoming a ninja warrior gave everyone that warm and fuzzy feeling of doing endless panda rolls down a hill full of delightful glee. This phenomenon then spawned three needless sequels like DreamWorks’ goofy cousin, whom you see once every couple of years during the holidays.
The fourth installment goes through the motions, repackaging ideas, themes, and jokes. Besides a few examples of genuine, delightful panda-paw banter between star Jack Black and Hollywood icon Dustin Hoffman, Kung Fu Panda 4 is a pale comparison, even for this franchise’s standards. To make matters worse, the series is still looking for that emotional connection between the filmmakers and the audience to reward fans for their investment.
The story starts when Po (Jack Black), a lovable big-boned panda, is told he must select a trainee for a new “Dragon Warrior” by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), a wise red panda who gives you those Yoda vibes. In some of the movie’s best scenes, Po continues to choose himself to continue to be the legendary protector of Shifu’s amusing frustration. Black and Hoffman have some delightful chemistry with that panda-paw-banter we mentioned above.
Po then arrests a “quillarious” Corsac Fox, Zhen (Awkwafina), who is in their kingdom’s jail for mischievously trying to steal the Valley’s ancient weaponry. While talking to Zhen, he discovers that Tai Lung (Viola Davis) has returned as a Chameleon who is shape-shifting into an animal of her choosing. In order to put off the major change in Po’s life, he tells Shifu he is going to take Zhen on a mission to stop the impending ominous force that threatens everyone’s way of life.
Kung Fu Panda 4 has Mike Mitchell at the helm for the latest installment. If that name sounds familiar, you are one of the few proud fans of Rob Schneider comedies. Mitchell’s first film was the infamous 1999 comedy Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. He has remade himself in animation, directing Shrek Forever After, Trolls, and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, all of which have been well-received.
The issue is that, while the film is marginally better than the first two sequels, the script has too many hands-on retooling the script. Five writers have been credited with the final product, with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger returning to write the latest entry with the help of Darren Lemke. While the script does pay homage to the original, the effort to have a stand-alone story ultimately falls flat because it’s recycled material from the former villain and adds nothing new to popular films. That includes Po’s worried fathers, disappointing physical humor, and visual gags.
Since this is a visual medium, animation can be beautiful and, in certain moments, breathtaking. The movie’s beginning has a wondrous color palette with stunning texture, especially in scenes involving Black’s Po and Hoffman’s Shifu walking through The Valley of Peace. Yet, these visual pleasures become inconsistent when the script moves the characters to Juniper City, and the cinematography choices become humdrum.
And that’s a shame because the Kung Fu Panda franchise has become the Pixar version of Cars. This low-quality animated family film experience serves only as a cash cow for the studio. At the very least, the original deserves a better effort to right the ship of this ever-sinking series before they develop too much ill will with their fanbase. Of course, with streaming potential, it’s no longer about quality but keeping up with new content.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is not worth watching because it borrows too many elements from previous films (and others in the DreamWorks filmography) that stunt any potential creativity to be a proper standalone entry in the franchise.
