How long can high-kicking and dumpling-loving Po (Black) remain the Dragon Warrior? That’s the question that starts the fourth theatrical feature in the Kung Fu Panda animated series, and it’s answered quickly by his mentor, the irascible Master Shifu (Hoffman). The constantly exasperated teacher explains that his protege’s time as a butt-kicker is nearly over as he must become more of a spiritual leader for the anthropomorphic creatures that inhabit the Valley of Peace.
Fortunately for Po, he doesn’t have to choose a successor from among his close friends, as the Furious Five are all … away doing other good deeds off-screen. This makes it blindingly obvious that the story is setting up the conveniently newly arrived pickpocket fox Zhen (Awkwafina) as the next Dragon Warrior, because she’s basically the only other character with lines. Of course she has to overcome her roguish ways, which means dealing with new villain the Chameleon (Davis), a shape-shifting lizard crime lord with predictable plans for world domination.
Maybe the Furious Five aren’t the only thing that’s missing. In the 16 years, two sequels, and three episodic spin-offs (the excellent Legends of Awesomeness and the perfectly fine Paws of Destiny and The Dragon Knight) since the 2008 original, the world of Po has become surprisingly deep and rich. So while it may seem nitpicky to complain about the absence of Lady Tiger, a sequel without her seems somehow lesser. The films have always been warmly touching, and so depriving Po of his de facto family deflates that sensation. The fuzzy fighter became a beloved character not because of Jack Black’s funny delivery, but because he imbued the furry fanboy with a heartfelt charm. That’s only here in flashes, and those moments are incredibly welcome.
Yes, there are some chortles to be had from some of the sight gags (Po falling off, into, or over something will never not elicit a chuckle). Yet the film feels most Kung Fu Panda-ish when he’s not there, and instead the story focuses on his two dads, biological father Li Shan (a charmingly goofy Cranston) and adoptive goose noodle slinger Mr. Ping (the inimitable Hong). The easy path would be to have them overcome their differences to rescue their boy. Instead, the script by series creators Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, and franchise newcomer Darren Lemke (who put words into Black’s mouth for Goosebumps) makes them good friends and doting fathers, at points literally lifting each other up.
But that main story feels both laden down with the series’ history and bereft of it. Sure, the kids will giggle, and the animation is well-executed (even if there does seem to be something a little off around the eyes in this version of Po) but it just doesn’t land with that same ebullient skadoosh. If this truly is the end of Po’s journey as the Dragon Warrior, and he can finally embrace change, then maybe the story should have felt more like the end of an era. Dreamworks closed the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy with exactly such bittersweet resonance in The Hidden World: by comparison, this parting of the ways feels more like a wandering off.
This article appears in March 8 • 2024.