by G. E. Uke, Reporter

Thinking about the Kung Fu Panda series has always made me smile.

The action is fun, the humor is good, and it lampoons the martial arts obsession pushed onto modern kids by mainstream media. The exceptional part is that it explores important themes like perseverance, body shaming, self-authenticity, and the power of positive thought. Every villain is consumed by insecurity and pride, and their defeat is always heralded by a failure to rise above these unworthy but very human feelings. 

Kung Fu Panda 4 comes off a bit ham-handed at the start, but much like Cars 3, it is all about aging gracefully and passing the torch. It starts with Poe continuing to live his best life as the Dragon Warrior after Uguay gives him that magic Yin-Yang staff at the end of the third movie, only to be informed that he must move beyond glory-seeking to begin grooming his replacement. The identity of the heir he selects, that person’s motives, and the outcome of the ensuing drama are about as hard to predict as a train headed for a cliff. But that’s not the point. The fourth installment of the series is all about character development and callbacks, not telling a unique story. So in that regard, it succeeds. 

The performance of Jack Black in his role as Po is very consistent, even though Jack is significantly older than he was when the series started. His new sidekick Zhen is played by Awkwafina (Shang-Chi’s female friend who goes out stealing cars with him), and hers was absolutely the right voice for the acrobatic fox-thief. Viola Davis is pretty good as the voice of The Chameleon, but her delivery is hampered by the villain’s limited screen time and rather simple lines. Dustin Hoffman (Shifu) and James Hong (Mr. Ping) are getting old now, but their voices bring a level of familiarity and comfort because I grew up with them. Mister Ping may be a goose, but that goose will always be Lo Pan from Big Trouble In Little China. At least to me. The interplay between him and Bryan Cranston’s character Li (Po’s biological father) is very charming, and you get to see a lot of the two dads meshing. This fulfills the “woke” quota for the movie because Po has two dads and no mom, and I love how the two of them became friends.  

Now let’s talk about Ke Huy Quan. In Kung Fu Panda 4 he did the voice of the armadillo mob boss. This is the guy who played Waymond Wang in the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, which is a crazy psychedelic movie. I’m so stoked that a bunch of Asian actors were able to quell their cultural stoicism and dignity (I’m not racist I swear) long enough to make something as bananas as that movie with a straight face. But that’s not the point. The point is that the armadillo mobster is DATA FROM THE GOONIES. That Asian kid with the slinky denture weapon that he shoots out and clamps onto the Fratelli criminal guy’s dick? That’s him. He has returned to the big screen in all of his denture-dick-chomping glory. And I want to see him in more movies. So I’m rejoicing, because I’m getting my wish. You should all rejoice too. 

Ultimately there are six of these movies planned, so while Kung Fu Panda 4 doesn’t break any shocking new ground it does accomplish all its objectives: add a new character, continued character development, more awesome action scenes, and callbacks to previous movies to reinforce continuity. 

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Kung Fu Panda 4 – 3.5/5 ninja stars. It’s worth seeing once, maybe twice, but I doubt people will spam this movie the way they spam Disney’s Robin Hood. 

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