The student becomes the master in Po’s latest adventure.
Animated sequels don’t exactly have the best track record, but 2011’s Kung Fu Panda 2 was an exception to that rule, in my opinion. Not only did it capture the action and humor of the first movie, but it built on the mythos and told a new and exciting story. Thankfully, Kung Fu Panda 3 follows in the sequel’s footsteps and proves that the series still has plenty “skadoosh” left to offer.
We want to hear it.
If Kung Fu Panda 1 was Po learning how to become a hero and 2 was him learning to hone his skills, then 3 is Po’s journey to becoming a teacher. In this latest installment (directed by Kung Fu Panda veterans Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni), Po’s long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, and the reunited duo travel to the hidden panda village where Po was born. But when a supernatural villain named Kai shows up with the chi of every kung fu master in the Spirit Realm, Po must train his fellow pandas to defeat this new enemy.
Right off the bat, it’s hard not to mention Kung Fu Panda 3’s stunning animation, which has never looked better. The character designs and environments are breathtaking, and the set pieces rival most live-action films in terms of cinematography and scale. That’s not to mention the physical comedy, which is spot-on.
This is also probably the most stylized Kung Fu Panda we’ve seen. While the films have always incorporated hand-drawn elements, Kung Fu Panda 3 pushes them even further, including and especially during the action scenes. It helps that Hans Zimmer returned to do the score, which at this point has become a staple of the series.
Meanwhile, the reliably game Jack Black is back as the voice of Po, and he is, as always, the heart and soul of this movie. Not surprisingly, some of the biggest laughs come from him, along with his character’s emotive expressions. Granted, Po faces many of the same challenges he supposedly overcame in Kung Fu Pandas 1 and 2, and some scenes feel redundant as a result — like when Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) explains to Po that he “still has much to learn,” even after all he’s been through. The only difference is that “inner peace” has been replaced with chi mastery.
That said, there’s a lot of new stuff in this movie too. While Po attempts to teach his panda relatives the art of kung fu, the Furious Five are given their own missions (although, their celebrity voices are again underutilized), and there’s a slew of new character as well. Master Chicken and the flirtatious Mei Mei (Kate Hudson) are immediate standouts, but the most notable cast addition is Bryan Cranston as the voice of Po’s biological father, Li Shang, who plays really well off of Po and Po’s adoptive father Mr. Ping (James Hong). Like in the last two movies, the family dynamic is one of the highlights in this.
There’s also J.K. Simmons as the voice of Kai, who joins the series’ already impressive roster of villains. What’s cool about his character is that he’s an old rival of Master Oogway’s (Randall Duk Kim), which sort of brings the story full circle. At the start, Kai has stolen the chi from thousands of kung fu masters, including Oogway, and collects them as jade amulets which he then unleashes as jade zombies, or “jombies.” The thing is, nobody actually knows who Kai is until he mentions his past with Oogway, which adds a humorous element to him. Naturally, Simmons does a great job playing both the scary and comical sides of Kai.
Unlike Kung Fu Panda 2, which hinted at the next chapter in the series, Kung Fu Panda 3 definitely feels like the end of a trilogy, and wraps up the Dragon Warrior’s story in a complete and satisfying way. Despite some of the retread with Po, the series’ core message is a valuable one: “Be the best you you can be” — and for kids especially, that’s not a bad lesson to learn more than once, or even twice. Suffice to say, if you dug the first Kung Fu Panda, this third installment is a must-watch. And if this truly is the end of the series, it’s going out on a high note.
Kung Fu Panda fans will undoubtedly love Po’s third animated adventure, which features the same heart, humor and action of the first two films. The animation is gorgeous, the voice work top-notch, and the new story takes the characters to fun and exciting places. Plus, newcomers Bryan Cranston, J.K. Simmons and Kate Hudson add even more fun to the proceedings. While Po’s character development does get repetitive at times, it all culminates in a gratifying, touching and climactic finale.
