Kung Fu Panda 3, mo Po and flow for families to go

In a way the Kung Fu Panda franchise is the movie series that should not exist. Kung Fu Panda 3 comes out five years after the first sequel which was forgettable and felt perilously close to some of its peers in the direct-to-DVD crowd. I always found that strange because, as a character, Po, the panda who knows kung fu, is great. He has a diverse group of friends that work together; he exceeds expectations and is a character that children genuinely enjoy.

It’s with a sense of relief that Kung Fu Panda 3 finds its franchise footing. The film is certainly geared for the family audience, specifically the kids; but it has enough entertainment in the tank to lock down the adults who might tire of fart jokes or baby pandas eating dumplings. This is the fun, goofy, emotion-free animated movie that kids will laugh themselves silly and parents can watch without worrying that a Pixar-esque ‘lost toy’ character will make them cry.

Not much has changed for Po. He’s the Dragon Warrior and learning at kung Fu at the Temple under Shifu.  Yeah, he’s a little rough around the edges and doesn’t fit the mold that warriors do, but that is one of the things that makes him a character that anyone can relate to. As things do, in sleepy Chinese mountain towns with anthropomorphic warriors, a stranger, Li (played by Bryan Cranston) comes to town bemoaning his inability to find his son who looks just like him.

Li is a very large and playful panda. Our 6 year old got that joke immediately, whereas it took his younger brother a minute to realize the only difference between Po and Li was the size of their belly.

From here we learn that Kai, a warrior from Shifu’s past has escaped the spirit world and is intent on capturing the chi of every warrior. In doing so he turns them into jade statue warriors who do his bidding until he conquers every area, including Po’s new home, a secret panda village.

The more discerning adult fans will like the varied animation styles in Kung Fu Panda 3. We expect it to look top notch in major release films like this, but they add some nice twists by adding a splash of kung fu noir or 60’s style animation. It also helps that the spirit world aspects of the film are on a big canvas. The spaces are huge and the battle sequences there really have room to move, run and be creative.

All of the vocal talent was good, even though some of it was superfluous, because this was Jack Black and James Hong’s film. Hong is the veteran character actor whose voice is instantly recognizable and work as Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China is one of our favorite performances ever.

Our 6 year old was a little scared during some of the fight sequences with Kai, but his younger brother loved the character. At a running time of 95 minutes Kung Fu Panda 3 is just the right length for that age also.  It’s rated PG for mild cartoonish violence and mild peril, but has far more positive themes that make it A-OK for kids 4 and up.