Kung Fu Panda Review!

Kung Fu Panda 3 is the third movie in the Kung Fu Panda series (duh), and being the third movie in an animated series is usually bad news.  Just look at Shrek 3, that movie is almost universally panned, and I personally thought it ruined a fantastic franchise.  Hell, even Pixar, who has a much better record of hits than Dreamworks) sequels to hit movies aren’t immune from lazy sequel syndrome.  Look at obvious cash in Cars 2, or the mediocre Monsters University.  The only notable exception is Toy Story 3, even though they seemed determined to cash in or nostalgia with the upcoming Toy Story 4.  So does Kung Fu Panda manage to make a compelling sequel, or is this just another lazy cash grab from an established franchise?

In short, yeah it does.

In long, If Pixar is Coca-Cola then DreamWorks has got to be Pepsi.  While their track record isn’t nearly as good as Pixar’s, the have had some great movies.  Shrek, Shrek 2, and the first Kung Fu Panda movie come to mind.  I have not seen the second Kung Fu Panda movie, and I saw the first Kung Fu Panda movie years ago, so I pretty much came into the movie not knowing what to expect. 

Kung Fu Panda has the blessing of a versatile cast.  Jack Black returns as Poe, and even though I am not a Jack Black fan, he kills it.  He gives the character the right amount of goofiness, mixed with real self-doubt, guilt, and ambition.  There are certain scenes where I can almost forget that it’s Jack Black…almost.  There’s still enough of Black’s own personality to where I was getting a bit irritated with him.  However, if you don’t mind Jack Black, or even like him, then you will be pleased with his performance.  If the movie was Black alone, I might not be so kind to it, but luckily he has a great supporting case.  Bryan Cranston appears in a large role that I will not spoil.  He was fantastic.  No doubt about it.  Angelina Jolie appears as Tigress, but it seems as though she wasn’t interested in the role.  Her flat line delivery, as well as her overall lack of lines and importance in the plot indicate that she might be done with the series.  Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, and David Cross as well as Dustin Hoffman and Jackie Chan appeared, and all of them seem to be having fun in the movie.  By far and away the best part of the movie is J.K. Simmons, playing the big bad of the movie, Kai.  He plays the character with such emotion and wit that you kind of end up rooting for him.  Simmons plays Kai with a likable air of sarcasm, and arrogance.  It’s a lovable performance, but I would expect nothing less from J.K. Simmons.

The animation in the movie is among the best in the industry.  DreamWorks knows what they are doing.  From the fluidity of the animal’s fur, to the snow prints that are made when characters walk through a massive snow drifts, to the expressions on the character’s faces, everything is brilliantly animated.  The fighting choreography is fantastic.  The moves are fast and fluid.  You could replace these CGI animals with people and I wouldn’t know the difference.   The scenes that stick out to me are the fights that happen in the spirit realm.  They are beautiful.  Breathtaking.  DreamWorks hit it out of the park.

Now, the crux with any animated movie for kids is whether or not it will be fun for adults or now.  Kung Fu panda manages to this effortlessly.  There are silly jokes for kids, more complex jokes for adults, and actual deeply emotional scenes in the movie.  There’s a scene where Poe’s dad, the bird character, and Bryan Cranston’s character have a heart to heart and it put an actual lump in my throat.  This is movie that adults can truly enjoy, as long as their kids remain calm when all the more silly stuff starts to happen.  

There are some slow parts where the pacing suffers.  I can think of two scenes that I would cut shorten by at least 5 minutes, but overall Kung Fu Panda 3 is a very enjoyable movies for all ages. If you’re not sure, then I can definitely say it’s worth a rental.