Grin and panda bear it
| Published date | 29 March 2024 |
| Publication title | Huddersfield Daily Examiner |
"Destiny calls for you to take the next step on your journey," Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) counsels his panda protege, who must ascend to Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace just as Grand Master Oogway intended.
Po (Black) is resistant to change and the current Dragon Warrior focuses on the re-emergent threat of snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane), who has seemingly escaped from the Spirit Realm.
Fox thief Zhen (Awkwafina) warns Po that appearances are deceptive and the bullying big cat is a disguise of powerful shape-shifting sorceress The Chameleon (Viola Davis).
Bidding farewell to his protective fathers Mr Ping (James Hong) and Li (Bryan Cranston), Po ventures to The Chameleon's fortress in Juniper City via the Happy Bunny Tavern run with an iron trotter by Granny Boar (Lori Tan Chinn).
En route, the benevolent bear mentors Zhen in the art of self-sacrifice and makes merry in a den of thieves controlled by pangolin Han (Ke Huy Quan).
Kung Fu Panda exhausts affection for Po and his anthropomorphic chums despite solid vocal work from Black and Awkwafina, who polish lacklustre one-liners as they rif foffeach other.
Davis deserves sharper writing to swathe her megalomaniacal magician in menace and a running visual gag with a cliffside drinking den is overextended.
Colourful animated visuals are richly detailed, packing a punch that is otherwise lacking in Mike Mitchell's picture, co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine.
Black's seemingly inexhaustible exuberance from previous instalments is dialled down from 11 to a sensible 7, offering less distraction from a simplistic quest-driven plot that preaches the positivity of change.
"If things stay the same forever, sooner or later they will lose their flavour," counsels a wise master of noodle broth.
Sadly, Kung Fu Panda 4 proves its own point.
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