Kung Fu Panda 3 - movie review

Kung Fu Panda 3

Plot: Continuing his "legendary adventures of awesomeness", Po must face two hugely epic, but different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home.
Cast: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman
Directors: Alessandro Carloni and Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Rating: PG
Runtime: 1hr 35 mins
Release Date: Friday 11th March 2016

Successful animated franchises are hard to come by. Sure, we had Toy Story and I suppose that the Madagascar films are all decent, but apart from that, animated films seem to lose their steam after the sequel. The Ice Age series keep churning out films for the sole purpose of making money. The Shrek films just got worse and worse after the third film and with a Cars 3 coming soon, I can't imagine it saving that particular franchise. But Kung Fu Panda 3 joins Toy Story and Madagascar as an animated series with each installment being as good as the other. 

The voice cast that we all recognise from the previous films all return here which is a tremendous triumph. To truly understand this, amongst the cast are three Oscar winners and two Emmy award winners. This right here, is talent on showcase ladies and gentlemen. The fact that they all returned proves that they are all committed to this franchise. They have fun voicing their respective roles and that clearly shows on screen. Reprising his role as the lovable and portly Panda, Po, is Jack Black. Black eases right back into his performance as Po. It was almost like there wasn't even a break. He brings his energy once again and his unique style of humour transfers wonderfully into the animated world like usual. I also admired that fact at how Po himself had adapted and developed from the previous movie. One of my main complaints with Kung Fu Panda 2 was that Po felt exactly the same as he was in the first Kung Fu Panda except he was an improved warrior. Here however, Po has become more humble and disciplined whilst still maintaining his clumsiness and naivety. Angelina Jolie, David Cross, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen and Lucy Liu are all welcomed back into the franchise as the Furious Five but I did find that their roles had been significantly reduced. Jolie had a bit more screen time than the others but I presume that is because she's a little more expensive in comparison so the production team probably had no option but to utilise her more. It didn't hinder the story too much as our main focus is on Po reconnecting with his family but I did feel them lacking at certain points. This was the same issue with Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu. Whenever he's onscreen, it's fantastic and I can't be the only one to think that Shifu is Kung Fu Panda's version of Yoda. Unfortunately, Shifu is the Return Of The Jedi Yoda in this third installment. He does appear now and again but Hoffman's presence wouldn't have gone amiss during some of the scenes. That completes the returning cast but three significant additions to the universe include; J.K. Simmons as Kai (the main antagonist), Bryan Cranston as Li Shang (Po's father) and Kate Hudson as Mei Mei (a female Panda). 

The Kung Fu Panda series seems to have a knack for hiring great actors to play the villains of their features. First we had Ian McShane and then Gary Oldman. Simmons is great as Kai and he becomes a very memorable villain in the trilogy which I felt was lacking with Gary Oldman in Kung Fu Panda 2. Kai's back-story and reasons for his villainy did seem a little forced to tie into the previous films but I appreciated the angle that the directors took with his character and for me, does rival Tai Lung as the best villain in the franchise. Now, I have said many times that I believe Bryan Cranston to be one of the greatest actors to walk the face of the Earth and so far, I am yet to see him a deliver a bad performance. Thankfully, I still haven't seen a bad performance from him as I found the character of Li Shang and Cranston's performance to be one of the best parts of this film. Cranston brings a mixture of warmth and humour into the role and I did wholly believe the father and son bond that him and Black begin to develop. As for Mei Mei, I didn't think Kate Hudson was the right fit. She did fine with her performance but the character had such little screentime, I never felt connected nor emotionally involved with her. It was also very clear that the role was not written for Hudson specifically. Rebel Wilson had been originally cast as Mei Mei and her humour was very present in the script but Hudson isn't Rebel Wilson so at points, it did seem like a poor imitation.

When the original Kung Fu Panda was released in 2008, it was refreshing to see a new take on the Kung Fu genre. Then with Kung Fu Panda 2, I found myself enjoying it but the story did bear some resemblance to the first film. With  it now being the third film, my hope was that the writers could spin a tale that wouldn't rest on the laurels on the first film. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with Kung Fu Panda 3, in fact, it almost follows it beat for beat. If you were to remove the sequence of events concerning Po and his family, then the movie would almost be a direct retread of the original. We have a villain that has appeared after a period of mystery and Po must once again prove himself as the Dragon Warrior. Po has been doing this for three films now and I'm worried that if a Kung Fu Panda 4 were to be made, are we still going to have Po questioning if he really is the Dragon Warrior. We had that answer in the first film, then it was solidified in the sequel. But now it just feels like the writers can't find an original idea so they are making Po go through the same trials and tribulations over and over again. Another point about Kung Fu Panda 3 is that it is really short. I'm talking about an hour and twenty minutes. That's fine and dandy if the film is paced well but KP3 moves at such a rate of knots that we never really get any downtime. I'm not sure if it was the producers rushing the release of this film or the writers really were running out of ideas, but I would have preferred it to be at least ten minutes longer so we can become emotionally invested in more of these characters or even developing the villain further. Instead, the film flies through it's running time so incredibly fast that I don't think it is as memorable as the first installment. I found it to be a good and solid entry into the series but would have preferred it to be a little more than that.

But one undeniable trait that all of the films share is how beautiful each one looks. The animators do an amazing job with these films and Kung Fu Panda 3 is no exception. Obviously, there is no realism in these animations but the bright and awe-inspiring colours are fantastic to see. Each and every character is crafted to the minutest of detail but to the point where it can still have that cartoonish quality to it. I can't quite remember if these sequences were included in the first two movies but Kung Fu Panda 3 includes the use of classical 2D animation amongst an ancient Chinese scroll for flashbacks. I found this to be simple yet effective and brilliantly contrasted with the complex 3D animation used for the rest of the film. The fight scenes are also awesome and are animated in such a way, that you can throw reality out the window and become transfixed upon seeing our warriors throw down. The battles are inventive and new and they implement kung fu in an exciting, action-packed yet family friendly manner. We also have the sensational Hans Zimmer in charge of the score. I've always enjoyed Zimmer's take on an ancient Chinese melody and switching it up depending on what the story requires. But I found his score to become quite tired and repetitive after a while. It just seemed uncharacteristic of Hans Zimmer to provide a score that seemed half-hearted. Perhaps he was too busy composing Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice? But it was Kai's theme that really baffled me. For some confusing reason, whenever Kai appeared onscreen, Zimmer decided to use an oriental version of Imagine Dragons' 'I'm So Sorry'. I am a huge fan of the song but because I recognised it, I found myself taken aback and distracted from the story.

With this addition, Kung Fu Panda has now become a solid and enjoyable animated trilogy. This installment is arguably the funniest entry but the story loses any form of originality. Nonetheless, it was great to be transported back into this world and would be a great viewing for all ages.

My Verdict: 7.5/10

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