Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) advises Po (Jack Black) that he must select a successor to be the Dragon Warrior so that he can move onto become a spiritual leader in the Valley Of Peace.
Reluctantly Po auditions warriors for the role but is glad to have a distraction of a new evil threatening the land. A master shape shifter who goes simply by the name “The Chameleon” (Viola Davis) plans to unleash all the previous villains that Po has vanquished on the kingdom.
Linking up with a fox named Zhen (Awkwafina) who knows where The Chameleon is they head out on a quest that may result in them both learning something about themselves.
Quite surprisingly I have never reviewed a Kung Fu Panda film on my site. The previous entries arrived in 2008, 2011 and 2016 all prior to the creation of my online reviews. So it is worth saying that I have always thoroughly enjoyed the Kung Fu Panda series. It has always managed to feature fun characters, great animation, come in with a running time between 90-95 minutes and feature comedy that covers the spectrum of both adults and children watching. So it is a little disappointing to have to say this is the weakest entry in the series. But that does not mean it is a lost cause as there is plenty here to like.
The new characters are lots of fun. The Chameleon continues the film series run of excellent villains and with Viola Davis voicing she is menacing and fun. Whilst Awkwafina’s new apprentice Zhen provides a likeable foil who also can help with the films life lessons. And then there is the brilliant and madcap cameos of a Kung fu fighting Manta Ray and a ship captain Pelican who has a fish living in her mouth. Genius!
Whilst everything presented on screen is done with the same beautiful animation style with various split screens and interesting ways to present the fighting fun.
But and it’s a rather large but. This feels like a parred back minor entry in the series. The Furious Five are cut completely and the side story featured is a rather disappointing double act comedy from Po’s two dads voiced by Bryan Cranston and James Hong. Whilst the likes of Ian McShane’s returning villain and Dustin Hoffman’s grumpy Shifu feel like afterthoughts.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is still absolutely successful as an entertaining kids feature. It just does not have the edge its predecessors had.
Phil the Bear's Film Reviews 