“Kung Fu Panda 4”: Top-notch animation mixing comedy & wuxia

“Kung Fu Panda 4” is a family-friendly film that blends comedy and wuxia seamlessly. The thematic messages can be a little heavy-handed at times, but overall the plot flows well to a satisfying ending. The animation is top-notch, especially with scenes of nature in the idyllic Valley of Peace.

The story unfolds with Po (Jack Black; all credits are voice) firmly entrenched as the Dragon Warrior in the Valley of Peace. In fact, he may be too unchallenged as life passes. His master, Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), tells Po that it is time for him to select a new Dragon Warrior to replace himself.

Po does not like this idea. He likes the action of engaging in battles and being victorious. He also cannot see himself ascending to the role of the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. His attempts at enlightened aphorisms fall flat. Nonetheless, he sees several candidates, all of whom display impressive skills. He cannot bring himself, however, to select one of them as his successor.

One day he is in the Temple when he spies a diminutive thief scurrying about. This is the fox Zhen (Awkwafina). They engage in a fight in which Zhen takes the Staff of Wisdom from Po. But the Staff only works for Po and he subdues her.

She is destined for jail as a thief. But after her incarceration, several bulls come to the Valley of Peace with dire news. The snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane) has emerged from the dead and taken all of their metal. How can this be?

It turns out that there is a new criminal afoot: the Chameleon (Viola Davis). As her name implies, she can become any other creature. She is determined to obtain the Staff of Wisdom and use it to steal powers from the heavenly realm.

She lives in Juniper City, as urban as the Valley of Peace is rural. Po cannot take his five allies with him because they are on other quests. So Po reluctantly enlists Zhen to go with him to her former haunt. After they leave, Po’s two fathers, Li (Bryan Cranston) and Mr. Ping (James Howe), decide to follow in the wake of his trail to assist him.

Arriving at a saloon precariously perched on the edge of a cliff, Po and Zhen enlist a ride to Juniper City. Zhen however has been cheating at gambling and is discovered. A melee ensues that sees the bar almost toppling over.

Once Po and Zhen arrive in the City, wanted posters for Zhen are seen all over the walls. Police catch wind of her and a slapstick chase scene ensues, including the proverbial bull-in-a-china-shop routine.

After Po and Zhen escape to the underworld of criminals, we discover that Zhen is not well-liked by her former colleagues. She deserted them and they want to kill her. Po tries to convince them not to kill Zhen, but instead makes them believe that if they wait to kill her, it will be more satisfying.

To get into the Fortress of the Chameleon, Po and Zhen will discover new aspects of themselves. They will need to enlist unlikely allies and learn to overlook past betrayals. Meanwhile, the Chameleon will be executing her attempt at world domination if she can get the Staff of Wisdom.

One of the charms of “Kung Fu Panda 4” is the beautiful animation of natural objects, such as trees, flowers, and landscapes. They are so close to being lifelike that it is astounding.

Less well-done are the cityscape and scenes of urban life. Perhaps it is because one would have to intrinsically find such depictions to be beautiful, which seems unlikely. I couldn’t help feeling that Juniper City from a distance seemed like an exercise in perspective in art class.

The animal animations are creatively done. I especially liked the three criminal bunnies who could be so sweet and then bare their teeth in a vicious manner. The Chameleon’s transformations into other creatures are wonderfully rendered.

I was impressed in the press notes that the co-director made sure that the animators knew or were taught how to play mahjongg. This is an important detail in the saloon scene.

There was a cultural consultant listed in the credits for the movie. Awkwafina noted in a press clip that she was proud to be associated with a picture that aimed for accuracy in portraying China.

Sometimes the tension between Shifu and Po over his ascension to Spiritual Leader seemed repetitive and over-long. I did enjoy the humor of the talking heads of the consciences of both Po and Shifu as they attempted to meditate.

In fact, the film did much better in portraying the difficulties of change and growth through the action than it did in the script. As the plot progressed and new challenges were faced, the inevitable light bulbs of awareness metaphorically would go off in the characters’ heads.

The pacing of the action is very good. There are several extended fight sequences, all of which should be satisfying to those into wuxia action. My favorite was indeed less of a fight but more of a chase scene in Juniper City. The slapstick antics of the pursuit were laugh-out-loud funny.

The violence displayed in the movie seemed very much the kind of cartoon violence that I grew up with in Looney Tunes. There are scenes of imprisonment, powerlessness, and futility. But with each of these comes a redemptive story line that overcomes the temporary difficulty.

So there are moments of intensity but these are leavened by the many comic bits that end up filtering into even the scariest moments. The balance achieved by the screenwriters in this regard is remarkable.

The themes are typical tropes such as resistance to change, how to deal with betrayal, forgiveness, finding one’s purpose in life, and doing good over evil. For children, these may be instructional. Perhaps even a few adults could learn from these cinematic examples.

A fun excursion for the whole family.

Four out of five stars

After three death-defying adventures defeating world-class villains with his unmatched courage and mad martial arts skills, Po, the Dragon Warrior (Golden Globe nominee Jack Black), is called upon by destiny to … give it a rest already. More specifically, he’s tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.

That poses a couple of obvious problems. First, Po knows as much about spiritual leadership as he does about the paleo diet, and second, he needs to quickly find and train a new Dragon Warrior before he can assume his new lofty position.

Even worse, there’s been a recent sighting of a wicked, powerful sorceress, Chameleon (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), a tiny lizard who can shapeshift into any creature, large or small. And Chameleon has her greedy, beady little eyes on Po’s Staff of Wisdom, which would give her the power to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.

So, Po’s going to need some help. He finds it (kinda?) in the form of crafty, quick-witted thief Zhen (Golden Globe winner Awkwafina), a corsac fox who really gets under Po’s fur but whose skills will prove invaluable. In their quest to protect the Valley of Peace from Chameleon’s reptilian claws, this comedic odd-couple duo will have to work together. In the process, Po will discover that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places.

Cast: Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane and Ke Huy Quan
Director: Mike Mitchell