We’ve heard all the complaints before; unless it’s made by Pixar, most kid friendly films are nothing but a commercial cash grab. They’re trying to stretch a single idea (a fairytale from the ogre’s point of view) into a nonstop series of international box office blockbusters. Such films churn out prepackaged plots where the same old ideas cast in current pop culture terms replace actual storytelling and clear character development.
That’s why the people responsible for Toy Story et. al. receive so much praise (and awards nominations, and Oscar glory). They’re about making movies, not money (well, it can be both, actually).
In the argument between Pixar and the rest of the industry, however, there are casualties of poor consideration. Take the Kung Fu Panda films. Steeped in the traditions of the Shaw Brothers and built around the martial arts’ genre’s truisms of self-awareness and personal growth, they’ve been better than expected. In fact, the first two films were excellent examples of creative repurposing.
Now returning to the big screen (after a stop off on television) Kung Fu Panda 3 sees Po (Jack Black) and his posse returning, and if things feel a tad over-familiar, that’s because the filmmakers are still banking on this loveable bear’s inner journey being engaging to fans of the franchise. This time around, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) turns over training duties to our rotund hero. This does not sit well with the Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Viper (Lucy Liu), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), and Crane (David Cross). They still find their friend a bit undisciplined and unworthy.
Now add in a couple more obstacles to the character’s happily ever after. One is the return of Po’s biological father (Bryan Cranston) and the deadbeat dad’s desire to have his boy visit a secret sanctuary for pandas. Naturally, this makes his adoptive father (James Hong) unhappy. In the meantime, a spectral evil named Kai (J.K. Simmons) is out to steal the energy from all the noted kung fu masters. Before you know it, Po must protect his pals, and that ragtag bunch of bears he’s been introduced to just might be the answer.
Wildly inventive — at least, visually — and guaranteed to give both parents and their offspring their mid-winter’s money’s worth, Kung Fu Panda 3 is not a masterpiece, but when compared to the likes of the Ice Ages and the Madagascars out there, the quality shows. Directors Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni have been with this series since its inception, and such consistency works to this chapter’s advantage. Now given a chance to guide an installment together, they provide the kind of eye candy that the kiddies love while maneuvering through a narrative that offers just enough changes to warrant another film.
Of course, some things are calculated to raise merchandising awareness. The baby pandas that Po runs into are like marshmallow versions of Despicable Me’s Minions — each one guaranteed to compel a Junior and his Sis running to the nearest retail outlet to buy a stuffed version for their bedroom. There’s also an attempt to tug at the heartstrings, if only a little, by placing Cranston’s Li against Hong’s Ping, and when Po ends up at the sanctuary, he reconnects with Mei Mei (Kate Hudson), a young girl panda who he is arranged to be married to.
The real “meat” of Kung Fu Panda 3 is found in the battles and action scenes. This is one of the few movies that mandate the accompanying 3D experience, the visual gimmick used to perfection in both the fights between the kung fu masters and the vista that gives the film it’s epic feel. Borrowing effortlessly from the Asian staples that dictate the approach, this movie just plain looks amazing. The colors pop, and Nelson and Carloni understand how to stage complicated action.
If there’s a weakness in Kung Fu Panda 3, it’s the villain (or villains, depending on what you think of Cranston’s Li). J.K. Simmons proved his meanness mantle in TV shows like Oz and his recent Oscar winning turn in Whiplash. Here, he’s not given much more to do except turn on that sinister smarm and run with it. While Kai’s motives appear steeped in Eastern mythology, his realization is borderline Central Casting. Even for all its inventive character design and approach, Kung Fu Panda 3 can’t completely escape the clichés of kid vid.
Still, by this time in most movie franchises, you are either dealing with The Matrix Revolutions, not Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. It takes true skill to continue on providing what is in essence the same old thing while making it feel fresh and new to the audience who may have since outgrown it. If Star Wars: The Force Awakens proved anything, it’s that vision and focus can turn a revamp of a favorite property into a billion dollar behemoth.
Kung Fu Panda 3 contains a lot of those necessary beats to keep fans happy. It also does so in a way to keep things from feeling stale.