THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When something good is going for you, it ain’t easy to let it go. Dreamworks knew that with Kung Fu Panda because when the second film repeated success from the predecessor, it was hard to not pass up making more which was totally worth it .
PLOT
Kung Fu Panda 3 follows the Dragon Warrior Po now becoming the official successor to Master Shifu as teacher to the Furious Five (Tigress, Monkey [Jackie Chan], Crane [David Cross], Viper [Lucy Liu], & Mantis [Seth Rogen]). It doesn’t work out on the first day as he would struggle teaching them all. By the end of the day, Po would express it won’t work out at all until Shifu assured him he needs to maintain being himself. Confused on how to pull that off, the panda would take time off and spend time with his adopted father Mr. Ping. This would only pave the way for him to reunite with his biological father Mr. Shen who was looking for him. Upon reuniting, he would share that his birth name was Lotus and he’s been living in a secret panda village where he was told where to find him. They would bond at the Jade Palace playing with artifacts until Po’s birth father would meet Shifu and the Five who are gladdened to meet him. The joy is halted when a warrior yak from the Spirit Realm known as Kai would emerge and attack the Valley of Peace. He wouldn’t be alone however as he would wield Jade zombies in the form of deceased warriors. Po and the Five would fight only the ‘Jombies’ and not ever heard of Kai’s name before until he reveals himself through one of his jombies who warns he’s not too far. Through research, Shifu learns that Kai was once brother in arms with the late Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) and once healed in a secret panda village after a violent ambush. Oogway would learn to give chi thanks to the pandas, but Kai would instead consider taking it from them. Due to not being on the same page, Oogway would have no choice but to banish him in the Spirit Realm. However, Kai was able to escape due to stealing chi from the other kung fu masters he’s zombified. With danger on the horizon, Li offers Po to come to the village with him and promise to teach him chi until he learns the true relaxed lifestyle of a panda where he bonds with others like him. Mr. Ping would even join his son as well but during the time away from the palace, Kai would vow destroying Oogway’s legacy starting with a newly made statue out of his honor. He would then possess Shifu and the Five, but Tigress would be the only one to escape and warn Po of what has happened. When she finds the village to do so, Po would insist Li to teach him chi sooner, but his birth father would admit he never knew the practice and he only brought him to the village to protect him. Livid on being lied to, he trains on his own for the most part until the village asks him to teach him how to fight in order to defend themselves from the jombies. When Kai arrives with his personal army, everyone does well in defending themselves and when it comes Po confronting the spirit warrior himself, he tries to send him back to the Spirit Realm with the Wuxi Finger Hold, but it doesn’t work because his status as spirit warrior makes him immortal and the move only works on mortals. Knowing this, Po would sacrifice himself by doing the move on himself in order to take Kai with him. Recognizing that unlocking chi works when finding one’s true self, all in the village pass it on to Po and in the spirit realm, he uses it to an advantage by overloading it all on Kai which destroys him. With another successful victory, he reunites with Oogway who shares he was the one who messaged Li and he chose him to be Dragon Warrior in the first place because he believed he can master both kung fu and chi. Before sending him back to the Mortal Realm, he names him as Grand Master successor and gives him a mystic staff. Upon returning to his mortal life, Po accepts the new role as he teaches everyone at valley to learn chi and kung fu.
THOUGHTS
With such love I have for the first two, I knew I was going to enjoy what I’d get to see from here and this one indeed delivered in being generally entertaining. Jennifer Yuh Nelson and co director Alessandro Carloni succeed in making another absolute blast which is all that mattered as it doesn’t need to surpass the first two to keep me onboard. The animation felt very vibrant in comparison to the past which benefitted the cinematography to make each fight scene quite exciting. The comedy is still hits the mark for the most part as I just couldn't help laughing throughout with the absurdity. Since Po enjoys being lazy, I had a kick seeing him do just that when bonding with Li's village whether it was sleeping in, eating with hands or avoiding stairs. I even chuckled with the way the female panda Mei Mei (Kate Hudson) was so good with nunchucks due to being skilled dancing with a ribbon. And don't get me started with one of the panda cubs loving Mantis like the toy he's mistaken for because that had me bawling with laughter. Now I think this film is able to stand out on its own due to how it circles back to the original theme of how you should always be the best you can be because that is enough to be happy. For Po's case, that is all it took to master chi. Jack Black remains sensational as the protagonist he's made iconic due to remaining a humble individual who wants to maintain an easygoing life, which is quite the feat when you think about it. He arguably gets that for achieving the best of both worlds, being grateful to have a loving father out of Mr. Ping who adopted him and then have a healthy relationship when reuniting with Li and embracing his heritage. He thought he was loving every part of himself because he never changed his ideals and showed compassion towards everyone he cares for, but he mastered chi overtime because he accepted all of himself rather than one. And with that mindset, he is a role model for passing on such confidence. And it's hard to deny his selflessness when willing to sacrifice himself in order to overcome the enemy. It ain't the first time seeing protagonists do that in an animated movie, yet you gotta respect it when it happens. With such qualities, there was no doubt he would evolve into a great teacher. Dustin Hoffman & Angelina Jolie still make great allies out of Shifu & Tigress respectively because they remain loyal to him and understand how he feels in his predicament, yet are still patient enough to guide him to do what he has to. They stay by his side because they know he can pull off defying the odds and for that, there is no reason to not. Going back to the situation of family, Po really does have the best of both worlds when having two parents that love him dearly and want to protect him the way he protects everyone else. The veteran James Hong brings energy unlike anyone else in his generation because we adore Mr. Ping for always wanting the best for him and never ignored his interests. Bryan Cranston has us respect Li Shan because he doesn't know his son the way he wishes. He thinks he is protecting him by hiding him in his village, when that instead benefitted the enemy. He redeems himself when asking Po to teach him basic self defense because he accepts it's wrong to not take a stand for what you care for. And in the end, he gets to save his son the way he wanted to by passing on chi. From there, we would get the coolest take on co-parenting. It's crazy to notice in this franchise how Po has tiers of villains the more he faces. Tai Lung was the prep villain where Po would have an idea for every bit of danger he would face as a warrior in the long haul, while also being a polar opposite. Shen was the straight up personal tier in comparison, but Kai was indeed the OP tier of a villain as JK Simmons makes him a figure who overdoes the lust for power. Every time he gained strength from chi, more was never enough for him and he chose to taking as long as he could. Thankfully, he learned the hard way there are limits to everything especially those that are looked at as limitless; The message kicked in for him when Po gave him exactly what he wanted. Kai may have not been the last villain for the panda, but it only prepared him for worser threats we would not expect. This movie was a blast, but I can admit that after a rewatch, there are some things that can be done better. For instance, how the hell do the ducks think Po is a loser after one bad day of teaching? The panda saved China twice and did not ever plan on teaching his idols, so he should be given some slack. It’s a funny poop joke when the male duck lays eggs when being afraid of a returning Kai, but the duck was a dude so it shouldn’t be possible. Also, how come Oogway never taught chi in his lifetime? Considering that he knew Shifu for so long, it’s insane he never went all in on the teachings. Another thing that confused me was arrows being shot at the Palace for the sake of delivering messages. Like I don’t get why don’t have they have personal messengers like Zhen from the first film which was a safer option. But if this new way is because of the sake of avoiding another Tai Lung incident, that should be mentioned. Ignore this, then you’ll still enjoy the movie as is. In short, Kung Fu Panda 3 was another entertaining film from Dreamworks Animation for letting loose with its charming heart. If you enjoyed the past two, I hope you enjoy this one as well.
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