Originally published January 30, 2016 on FrontRowCentral.com
Not long after the release of Kung Fu Panda 2, Dreamworks boldly announced their plan to make four more films in the series. This seemed like a ludicrous idea, not only because they were blatantly announcing a plan to milk this cash cow for all it’s worth, but because that second film seemed intent on setting up some kind of Kung Fu Panda universe. The last thing this series needed was to piggyback on the Marvel model, but it turns out all that worry was for nothing. Kung Fu Panda 3 is a welcome return for the series, bringing Po the Panda’s story full circle in a movie whose sheer enthusiasm is downright infectious.
After capturing the spirit of the ancient Master Oogway, a bull warrior named Kai (J.K. Simmons) escapes from the spirit realm and sets his sights on destroying Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and the Jade Temple. There, Po (Jack Black) meets a strange panda who turns out to be his biological father, Li (Bryan Cranston). After learning of Kai’s return, Li takes Po back to the secret panda village to learn the power of Chi, which is the only thing that can defeat Kai. Finally among his own kind, Po begins to learn more about himself, and in order to stop Kai, must teach the pandas to become the best versions of themselves.
It’s a pretty slight story, but a welcome one after the last film’s dip into panda genocide. It does seem strange that Po, anointed as The Dragon Warrior in the first film, is still struggling to live up to his full potential, but that’s the nature of sequels, I suppose. If he gained and kept all of his super kung fu powers, grew as a person and learned all his valuable lessons in the first film, where would you take a sequel?
As it turns out, Po still doesn’t exactly know himself. Growing up the adopted son of a goose (James Hong, always a delight) in a village with no other pandas will do that to you. Shifu tells Po that mastering Chi means being at peace with yourself, so Po’s quest in this film is one of personal discovery. Again, this is well-trod material at this point, but the film makes up for it by introducing us to a whole village of pandas, which is its own wellspring of cute, bouncy comic relief.
At first glance, the pandas seem destined to ruin the comic relief that Po already provides. How many fat, awkward, easily impressed buffoons can one film reasonably stand? Surprisingly, the panda village becomes the heart and soul of the entire film. Li and his people live a carefree existence, rolling about, snacking all day and simply, well… being pandas. There’s a stronger sense of family and kinship than we’ve seen in the series before. Po also meets a panda ribbon dancer named Mei Mei (Kate Hudson), who clearly has eyes on him, but he awkwardly and repeatedly sidesteps her advances. (I’m pretty sure that’s a gag based on pandas’ unwillingness to mate, but this being a kids movie and all, they play it pretty soft.)
Po is overjoyed to discover how his kind truly live, and he gleefully throws himself into it the same way he does with kung fu. That’s what makes these films truly sing. Like the first two before it, this film perfectly captures how it feels to enjoy something with every fiber of your being. Not only are Po’s knowledge and elation over all things kung fu an excellent illustration of a person geeking out, but it’s that enthusiasm that drives him to pass that knowledge on to others. When Po leads the Furious Five into battle, he does so with tears in his eyes, because this is what he lives for. And when he finally harnesses the full power of the Dragon Warrior, he takes a moment (or two, or ten) to savor it before the final battle. The whole film is soaked in Po’s unflagging sense of joy, and every frame bursts with bright colors, Hans Zimmer’s galloping score, and a game cast eagerly throwing themselves into the material. It’s hard not to get swept up in it all.
At this point, you’ve probably decided whether or not a third Kung Fu Panda is for you. The real charm of these films (and the How to Train Your Dragon series) is that they don’t rely on cheap music cues or jarring pop culture references the way most Dreamworks films tend to. These films represent Dreamworks Animation firing on all cylinders, and the care taken shines through in the finished product. If you’ve been a fan of these films from the start, Kung Fu Panda 3 will scratch that itch and then some. If you have kids in tow who need a cartoon fix, you could certainly do a whole lot worse.
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