Kung Fu Panda 4 Movie Review

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) Movie Review

Over the years, audiences have been spoiled for choice receiving a number of great animated franchises from DreamWorks Animation studios. ‘Shrek’ being the pioneer, but others such as ‘Madagascar’, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, ‘The Croods’, ‘Puss in Boots’ and of course ‘Kung Fu Panda’ have also left their mark on the animation genre and cinema as a whole. The recently released Kung Fu panda 4, now marks the fourth entry in the almost 20-year-old franchise. After an 8-year hiatus from the silver screen, everyone’s favourite kung-fu master, Po, played once again by the ever-charismatic Jack Black, has returned! The film grossed an impressive $593 million worldwide, showing audiences want more of the dragon warrior.

Kung Fu Panda 4 follows Po once again, as he has been tapped to become the spiritual leader of the valley of peace, he must however train a new Dragon Warrior, as his successor. Po must manage this, whilst stopping his latest advisory, an evil sorceress ‘The Chameleon’ (voiced by Viola Davis). Po must team up with a former student of The Chameleon, Zhen (voiced by Awakwafina) to defeat this new evil. Has po found his successor and will he prevail? Well, you will have to watch to find out, but in the meantime, here are my spoiler-free thoughts.

Kung Fu Panda 4 was an absolute delight from start to finish. The film has the tone of all the previous instalments, but mixes in a new animation style, that feels like a cross between recent DreamWorks studios films, ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ and ‘The Bad Guys’.  Its frantic, energetic, and stylised animation really does elevate the material here. Not that the previous films in the Kung Fu Panda franchise have ever felt stale, however, this new blast of energy into this film was welcomed, as it really does allow the movie to stand out amongst other entries. The colours, the environments, the fighting choreography and the character design are all inspired here and memorable. Some of the sequences with the Chameleon taking on the form of previous foes of Po is jaw-dropping. It really does look stunning and makes the purchase of this one on 4K Ultra High Definition a necessity for film fans.

Another strength of the film is the character dynamics here. Po has always been one of the most genuine, and likeable protagonists in a DreamWorks film. His innocence and desire to do the right thing make him thoroughly enjoyable to follow throughout these films. This is largely due to Jack Black’s portrayal of the character. You can tell Black really loves po and relates to him. He’s discussed in many interviews with the press the importance of the character to him personally, but it is also evident in the sincerity of his performance. He hasn’t lost a step when it comes to playing Po, and once again he is the standout of Kung Fu Panda 4. The other highlights here are Zhen, voiced by Awkwafina. She does a great job at bringing this character to life. Awkwafina has become one of the most reliable voice actors in Hollywood, voicing animated characters in ‘Angry Birds 2’, ‘The Simpsons’, ‘The Dark crystal: Age of Resistance’, ‘The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on The Run’, ‘Raya and the last Dragon’, ‘The Bad Guys’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Migration’ and now ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’. He resume speaks for itself, but she is really good here. The supporting vocal performances from Bryan Cranston, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Ronny Chieng, Ian McShane and Ke Huy Quan were all welcomed additions to the cast of Kung fu Panda 4. 

Overall, Kung Fu Panda 4 proved to be a solid sequel, expanding upon the goodwill established by its three previous instalments. The film has something for the whole family to enjoy, with dazzling visuals and funny gags for the kids, and tense action and strong messages for the adults.  The films gorgeous visuals, poignant messages and great characters is what sets it apart from other animated films out there. If you’re a fan of the series, this is a must-watch. Pick-up your copy of the film on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K Ultra HD today, you won’t want to miss it and for everything else entertainment, make sure you make Sanity your one-stop shop!

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here