Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Alessandro Carloni
Voice Cast: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston, JK Simmons, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Randall Duk-Kim, Kate Hudson
Rating: ***1/2
What's it about
A Chinese panda named Po (Black) who becomes a Dragon Warrior. Who has a red panda for a guru. And the Awesome Five - Masters Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane - for friends. In this, the third installment to the hugely popular animation franchise, Po finally runs into his biological father Li Shan (Cranston). He also has to learn to be a teacher and take over from Master Shifu (Hoffman). That's easier said than done. But before he can settle into that position, he has to take on Kai, a yak who once was like a brother to Shifu's master, Oogway. But before that, he has to return home - to a village of pandas who have forgotten to be warriors and have settled into a contented life. Too much to handle?
What's hot:
Probably the only animation franchise, apart from Pixar's Toy Story, to have near-instant brand recall, this installment of KFP doesn't disappoint. There's a new, powerful warrior. There are gags we've come to love. And what's better than one fun-loving, noodle-lovin' panda? Several of them. Cranston fits in easily into the story and it seems he was born to play the role. The film is satisfying on the whole and reminds you why we fell in love with the awesomeness of Po in the first place.
What's not:
This one is now in the territory of the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' mould. There's this intermittently nagging feeling that they're playing it too safe. It also doesn't help that the Legends Of Awesomeness episodes have made us all too familiar with the various tropes of this specific genre. Not trying to complain here, but while it builds on the previous outings, it doesn't really go the extra mile.
What to do:
This feels like yet another Kung Fu Panda movie. It's entertaining, great fun to watch and laugh along to. But we're greedy. We'd like to see something beyond the obvious.
