“The staff of wisdom given to me by Master Oogway himself. It is said that whoever possesses this staff has the power to travel between the realms. The power to unlock the door to the spirit realm. And now the power to open the all new Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu, where the broth has kick and the bean curd’s a knock-out.”
It’s hard to maintain the attention of the 21st-century child. Animated movies have to combine enough elements of charm and action to keep their attention for a little under two hours. If you want to keep a franchise going, you have to rip out your sequels on reasonably tight schedules. It was over four years between Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3, and we waited nearly that long between the first and second entry. That’s a long time in a culture where we move from fad to fad almost by the hour. But if the films are good enough and leave enough of an impact, you might be able to bridge those years successfully. In three to four years you’re almost targeting a new generation of your target audience. This time we didn’t wait four years. This time it was eight before we finally got to see Jack Black’s Kung Fu Panda 4. Did they make us wait too long? Was the connection still there? If you look at the box office numbers, each film has declined except for this one. But adjusted for inflation, it comes in last in the franchise. You can’t put eight years into a franchise gap, particularly one intended for children. They outgrew you, my friend, and you have to work four times as hard to bring them back.
It all starts with coming out with a compelling enough story that retains the things people loved without the feeling that we’ve been there before. You have to keep up the star cast, which isn’t always easy at all. Too many franchise animated projects lose important voice talent, and the disappointment is undeniable. At the same time you must provide new characters and voices and hope the audience falls in love with them as well. Lastly, you have to take advantage of technology improvements while still keeping the general atmosphere consistent.
Po (Black) is still protecting the Valley of Peace. Not much has changed since he gained that role in the last film. But now he must name the protector who will come after him. Of course, Po is having too much fun to turn the job over to someone else. The last thing he wants to do is get promoted to spiritual guide. He wants to kick some butt and take some names, and he’s not really very sure about the taking names part. He rejects the candidates lined up by Shifu, still voiced by the great Dustin Hoffman. When he sees a sly fox trying to steal from the Hall of Heroes, he springs into action, and that’s where he encounters Zhen (Awkwafina). He’s about to send her off to prison when word reaches him that the long-dead Tai Lung, voiced once again by Ian McShane, is causing trouble. But Zhen tells him an alternative story. She tells him about a supervillain named The Chameleon, voiced by Viola Davis. This super bad can shapeshift and wants to control the world. But it all might be a trap. The Chameleon wants the Staff of Wisdom so that she can bring back all of the powerful dead villains and steal their Kung Fu. Sides change and antics abound as his two fathers Li (Cranston) and Ping (Hong) follow to keep Po out of trouble. Too late.
The film maintains the charming blend of character with the Kung Fu culture that seems to hit the audiences just right. The animation is another step in technology, rivaled perhaps only by the magicians at Pixar. There is a wonderful and distinctive style to this franchise that works to create a real atmosphere for these characters and this story to unwind for us. There’s the expected use of the 3D and the standard and very simple animation aspects that continue since the first film. The animation of the spiritual world is where you get to see some of the new advances in the franchise’s animation technology. There’s some wondrous work here, for sure.
Jack Black returns as the voice of Po, and that’s always going to be the big get. Black doesn’t do a lot of stuff these days, and he really hasn’t lost any of the character’s charm. Newcomer Awkwafina joins as Zhen, and there is not a more irritating voice in the business. I’ve seen her in several films, and her voice is her least appealing characteristic, and that’s all she has to work with here. That’s a problem. I’m told you either love it or you don’t. Some say it’s OK in small portions. The truth is I find it irritating, and the character is too predictable, and the two really don’t have any chemistry going. The real chemistry here is James Hong and Brian Cranston as the two dads. I shouldn’t find that story more compelling than the leads. The problem is that I do, and that’s not one of those good problems to have. I’m not sure if this is the end of the franchise or we’ll just wait another 4-8 years to see it return. Jack Black is obviously still having a blast with the character, and that does carry through. As long as that’s true and we get some violent bunnies again, I just might be in. “Violence makes my tummy tingle.”
