Kung Fu Panda 3

Knowing that Kung Fu Panda would become such a popular franchise for DreamWorks was something that probably nobody saw coming. From the initial trailers to the concept in general making it look like one of the dumbest things the animation company could ever make, it turned out not just one, but two pretty fantastically funny as well as legitimately touching and heart-warming movies that balanced its great high-spirits comedic energy with some nice softer moments that even included some genuine martial arts and Chinese philosophy. It’s better than it has any right to be and is arguably one of DreamWorks’ best products throughout its entire life. However, at the end of the day, sometimes the curtains fall, and you can be reminded of how ridiculous this scenario is when the franchise isn’t at its peak, Kung Fu Panda 3 is that realization period. After continually saving the valley over and over again, the dragon warrior, Po (voiced by Jack Black) is tasked with his next step to becoming a true master by becoming a teacher. However, after failing his first lesson, he starts to lose his sense of self and can’t quite pin down who he actually is. A chance encounter changes this though when his real father, Li (voiced by Bryan Cranston) shows up and tells him of the secret village of pandas where he resides. After leaving to learn the basics of Chi along with his adoptive duck father (voiced by James Hong), he discovers he is needed when General Kai (voiced by J.K. Simmons) an old friend of their deceased master, returns from the spirit world and plans of stealing the chi of all the strongest warriors, turning them into jade zombies. With Kai advancing on the valley and with Po still no closer to mastering Chi, he may have to do something unexpected in order to defeat the spirit warrior. Being (at this point) the last film in the trilogy, Kung Fu Panda 3 is easily the worst out of the three films, but that still doesn’t result in a bad movie. If anything, if this is the movies at its lowest point, its not too bad a spot all things considered.

On the surface, it doesn’t look like the film does anything drastically different from the other films to warrant any drop in quality, if anything, the set-up for the film is actually pretty solid. While its hard to continually make-up storylines and developments for a franchise as it keeps going, considering this franchise was originally supposed to have six films made, it sounds like they had potential to work with and that potential is still shown here. The aspects about learning about Chi, Po discovering his father and that pandas haven’t gone extinct like expected, Po taking the next step in his training by being a teacher, even the villain tying back to a character from the first movie who provides a full-circle revelation at the end; this isn’t only nice continuity from the earlier films, but it also feels like its progressing from one film to the next, like a sequel should do. Overall, it feels like it has all the right pieces, but its failure is in the execution of these ideas. The film feels strangely fast-paced and weirdly shallow in its nature, not really stopping to breath in anything that’s really happening and instead decides to quickly rush past it to the next plot-point. This makes sense somewhat as the film is still comedy oriented and this quicker style does allow the comedy to be pretty spontaneous and effective most of the time, but this leaves the movie lacking in meaty material and everything that should feel important, impactful, and epic instead is tossed aside for a throwaway joke that kills the mood.  Although the previous film’s director Jennifer Yuh Nelson does return to lead the film, it is also co-directed by Alessandro Carloni, whom mainly worked as an artist for DreamWorks and other animated properties, so this might explain some of the imbalance. It still has good scenes, it still has good progression, it still has some emotional elements that fit, but they’re just not given the proper time and treatment to stand on their own, as opposed to the other films which balanced out the serious and light-heartened moments much better. The writing from returning screenwriters, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, on its own from a comedic standpoint is still pretty solid and contains some nice jokes that feel in line with the franchise, but the frequency in which they are thrown at you can be a little overwhelming at times.

Much like how the story is handled, the characters are treated in a very similar manner; in that, the pieces for how they work in the film are there and are actually pretty good, but the fast-paced nature of the film and more of an emphasis on comedy than drama, results in things going to quick and not feeling like these changes feel that important. Po feels like he reaches a good point by the end of this movie, but how he achieves that goal doesn’t really feel earned because of how he got to that point. It’s a lesson and development that feels good for this film, and even tying it back to his family is a nice touch, but it doesn’t really result in much by the end. Most of the side characters for the film are usually in the same boat for all the film; where they do exist to progress the story and are likeable enough in their own merits, but sometimes feel underused and don’t contribute much in the grand scheme of things. Outside of a few, that still remains true to in both the new and old faces introduced. The duck voiced by James Hong somehow feels the most relevant of the bunch and this movie particular gives him some great stuff to work with, but even Po’s original father doesn’t have that much to work with, even though the film kind of centers around him. The villain is unfortunately a massive downgrade for the franchise and he isn’t even that bad; J.K Simmons does good as the voice and his backstory is decent, but he’s stuck with a bland design, shallow motivation and zero intimidation factor, while the other two films had villains that effectively managed to be both funny and intimidating (they’re never going to top that peacock).

Much like the other movies, the film still looks and sounds amazing, if anything, it looks and sounds better than it ever has in the franchise. While the first two film are visually stunning; being able to incorporate wonderfully colorful and culturally interesting locations, this film dials its color saturation up a few pegs because this film shines with its colors even moreso than its previous. It still has the atmospheric lighting, the expressive yet simple designs and its clear love for both 3D and 2D styles of animation with some of their techniques, but some of the action’s scene are dripping in wonderful smooth lighting and coloration that its almost engrossing in moments (particularly gold and green which seem especially popping this time around). The music by Hans Zimmer is still appropriately somber yet energized when it needs to be, and the instrumentation still add that great sense of Chinese and East Asian atmosphere that really helps bring uniqueness to the overall feel. Since the movie still feels majorly American in nature from its comedy, style and pace, these extra elements of philosophy and culture really bring a lot to the franchise as a whole.

The third installment in the Kung Fu Panda franchise is a good solid movie with the same kind of elements you would expect at this point, but when you’re a movie franchise that essentially acts as the DreamWorks equivalent to the Toy Story movies, being perfectly solid is a massive downgrade from the regular (just look at Toy Story 4 for comparison). This movie doesn’t destroy any good will the original two films had and it doesn’t even result in a bad time; it’s a well made movie with the same people and the same talent behind it, it has good set-ups, it has great visuals and music, the voice acting is still great, and it feels like its not trying to be the same thing, it’s a good movie that kids and even adults can enjoy. But after the first two left such amazing impressions on its audience (the second film even bringing some people to tears), its some big shoes to fill and this movie didn’t really do that. It reminds you of how silly the concept is, but it still leaves you with a good feeling by the end, so what’s the harm in that. Decide for yourself how you rate this film and whether or not this Kung Fu Fighting franchise should have stopped where it did.