Movie review: Animated 'Kung Fu Panda 3' is a splendid looking chapter
January 29, 2016 12:00 AM-
Po (voiced by Jack Black) and his long-lost panda father Li (voiced by Bryan Cranston) in "Kung Fu Panda 3." -
Mei Mei (voiced by Rebel Wilson) performing a ribbon dance in DreamWorks Animation's KUNG FU PANDA 3. -
Po (voiced by Jack Black) frolicking in the panda village's hot spring in DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda 3."
"Kung Fu Panda 3" is occasionally too smart for the room, when the room is filled with preschoolers and young elementary school children.
Sure, the kids at a preview laughed with appreciation when roly-poly panda Po (voice of Jack Black) realizes, "I knew I wasn't eating up to my potential" or excitedly says, "I think I just peed a little." But the movie traffics in the spirit realm, chi or the life force and energy that can be channeled for good and evil, plus lines that seem lifted from an Oprah Winfrey Weight Watchers commercial, "Your real strength comes from being the best you can be."
Starring: Voices of Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, J.K. Simmons
Rating: PG for martial arts action and some mild rude humor.
The animation, once again, is splendid and the voice talent expands to include Bryan Cranston, J.K. Simmons and Kate Hudson in addition to the returning cast led by Mr. Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie Pitt, James Hong, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan and others.
In the third animated adventure, Po faces all sorts of changes and challenges. His wise, wizened teacher, Shifu (Mr. Hoffman), informs Po that he must move from student to instructor and Po's biological father, Li (Mr. Cranston), happily turns up and wants to take Po to a secret panda village in the mountains.
Po's adoptive dad, a goose named Mr. Ping (Mr. Hong), is stung by the appearance of another father. Po, however, is thrilled to find a tribe where everyone looks like him and to learn how to be a panda. He also will hold the key to trying to defeat a supernatural villain, Kai (Mr. Simmons), who looks like a bull with glowing green eyes and steals the chi from kung-fu warriors and turns them into jade-colored zombies or jombies.
"Kung Fu Panda 3" has some lovely lessons, especially about a panda who finds himself with two doting fathers, one who looks just like him and one who looks nothing like him. They both love him and want the best in the PG-rated release, as opposed to the war that erupts between bio-dad and stepdad in "Daddy's Home," which is PG-13 and much less family friendly.
The movie, directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni, also promotes the ideas of cooperation and stepping outside your comfort zone. Shifu, for instance, tells Po, "If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now."
Whether you're watching in 2-D or 3-D, the animation is beautifully rendered, from the pink flower petals to the icy or mossy cliffs leading to panda paradise. The only thing more adorable than one panda or a father-son pair of pandas is an entire village of the two-toned creatures.
"Kung Fu Panda 3" leaves the door open for a fourth installment (perhaps where Po becomes a papa himself, or simply stumbles into new adventures) that would serve its audience well if it were a little more down to earth. No jombies, more jollies.
References
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