Kung Fu Panda 4 Review

Kung Fu Panda is one of Dreamworks’ most successful franchises, spanning a trilogy of films, three TV series, four short films, and a Christmas special. The loveable panda and martial artist returns for a fourth film.

Po (Jack Black) is the Dragon Warrior and the popular protector of the Valley of Peace. Despite Po’s happiness with his role, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) tells Po he needs to pick a successor so the panda can become a spiritual leader. When Po hears that Tai Lung (Ian McShane) has returned from the Spirit Realm and is taking iron across China. Po decides to go on one final Dragon Warrior adventure, guided by Zhen (Awkwafina), a thief who knows who’s really responsible.

The original Kung Fu Panda trilogy was an entertaining series of films. The first film was a slapstick-heavy film that acted as a great introduction for younger audiences to martial arts films, Kung Fu Panda 2 was an emotional ride as much as an action-comedy, and Kung Fu Panda 3 acted as a solid conclusion to the series. However, Dreamworks loves to keep a series going, even if they should let things rest. There’s a risk that Kung Fu Panda 4 would ruin a strong ending as happened with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Bourne Legacy, and Toy Story 4.

It has been eight years between the releases of Kung Fu Panda 3 and Kung Fu Panda 4 and there were some notable changes. The Furious Five were absent from this adventure, and Mike Mitchell (Shrek Forever After, Trolls) took over the directing duties with Stephanie Stine, a storyboard artist on How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and Raya the Last Dragon. Kung Fu Panda 4 has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB scores out of the whole series.

The issue for the Kung Fu Panda films is that they are formulaic. They have all told the same story and with the same character journey. They all follow the Hero’s Journey structure. The first film was about Po accepting his destiny to become the Dragon Warrior, the second was about Po needing to gain inner peace so he could save kung fu, and the third film was about Po who must master Chi and answer the question ‘Who am I.’ All were films about self-discovery. In the previous film, Po was thrust into the position of teaching the Furious Five, and a similar thing happened to the panda in the fourth film. When Po and Zhen go to Juniper City they find it’s ruled under an iron fist, like Gongman City in Kung Fu Panda 2. Adding to the formulaic story structure, Kung Fu Panda 4 had story beats that could be seen coming from miles away.

Although Kung Fu Panda 4 was a formulaic film, the formula was still an effective one. The Hero’s Journey has been used in many other stories, like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and The Matrix. Po was still a loveable hero and in his fourth film he acted as a big brother figure to Zhen since he saw potential in her but had to clear up all her mess. Zhen was a thief and trickster, so she was bound to annoy the wrong people.

On its own merits, Kung Fu Panda 4 was a perfectly fine animated film. It wasn’t a flop like Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken was. The animation was still of a high standard, even with a budget reduced to $85 million. Dreamworks probably took some lessons from Illumination in how to make animated films at a reduced cost. They probably saved money by not having to pay Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan. There was strong action and comedy throughout the film, like an early fight between Po and Zhen, and when the pair needed to infiltrate The Chameleon’s tower. Some jokes didn’t land like one involving a screaming goat, but at least this film limited this to one scene and did not ramp it into the ground like it was in Thor: Love and Thunder. Better jokes were Po and Zhen’s attempt to convince the Den of Thieves for help and a joke involving a China shop.

Bryan Cranston and James Hong as Li Shan and Ping made for a great double act. They had a subplot where they tried to follow Po because they were concerned parents, despite the fact Po’s an acclaimed martial artist at this point. Bryan Cranston was able to show both his strengths as a tough guy and a goofball in a tavern of disrepute. Viola Davis became the fourth major actor to play in a Kung Fu Panda movie and well, it’s Viola Davis, she’s great in everything. Davis mixed her previous villain in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes because she was powerful and diabolical and had some of Amanda Waller’s deadpan delivery from The Suicide Squad.

The Kung Fu Panda series was going through the motions in the story department, but it was a well-executed animated film that should be able to entertain families.