Po, the Dragon Warrior panda in the Valley of Peace, returns to the screen once again in the movie “Kung Fu Panda 4.” The trailer promised a mix of heartwarming moments, action sequences, and life morales. But does the movie live up to these high expectations?
The world-famous franchise of “Kung Fu Panda” teaches the effect of positive role models, embracing change, good friendships, and using your imagination. Po, despite being the Dragon Warrior, faces a lot of adversaries with others and himself throughout the series. Through these challenges, directors Mark Osbourne and John Stevenson have taught children the importance of strength, courage, kindness, and the persistence to keep walking up those darn stairs. Po and the Furious Five, the quintet of skilled kung fu warriors, also bring plenty of nostalgic family memories. I still remember my maternal grandma and I laughing ‘til exhaustion during Po’s training scene in the temple.
Kung Fu Panda 4 starts immediately with an incredible new and improved DreamWorks Productions trailer. Through this intro, the fourth sequel immediately sets up the expectation of better technology and CGI. Each motion picture is portrayed in such high quality that I was often distracted by how detailed Po’s goofy actions were depicted. Overall, the character designs are quite expressive and endearing, capturing the relationship dynamics and personalities to a point of awe.
The movie introduces new characters voiced by actors and actresses that have worked in the entertainment industry for years. One of those actresses is Awkwafina, who voices Zhen, a sly fox who plays a sassy sidekick to Po. Awkwafina has experience playing the smart-aleck comedian in animated films, such as in “The Little Mermaid,” “The Bad Guys,” and “Raya and the Last Dragon.” Chameleon, played by Viola Davis, is the supervillain, a shape-shifting sorceress who wants to steal Oogway’s Staff of Wisdom to gather the kung-fu abilities of all the villains in the Spirit Realm. Although the film seems to be an interesting and wholesome way to spend time with your family, the movie lacks a sufficient backstory or character development that the previous films had.
As soon as the movie starts, Po and Zhen run after the Chameleon in the metropolis of Juniper City. Zhen paraphrases Zootopia’s dialogue when entering the city filled with narrow streets and crowded markets. “Anyone can be anything,” she says. This was the only time I noticed the pacing as normal and following a perception of rhythm. The rest of the film goes by in a blur, and before you know it Zhen is the new Dragon Warrior. Then out of the blue, the Furious Five show up to “train” Zhen. This makes no sense since the whole point of the Furious Five was to help Po on his Dragon Warrior missions. The team should be teaching the audience about teamwork and dedication. On the contrary, it is just teaching them how to kick butt.
Regardless of the advancement in animated film, the movie did not live up to the earlier set expectations or the previous masterpieces. The film lacked the spirituality and life lessons common to the franchise and instead was replaced by rushed pacing, and the thrill of Kung Fu Panda 4 was certainly short-lived.
