Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024), directed by Mike Mitchell and Stephanie Ma Stine, stars Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane, Ronny Chieng, and Ke Huy Quan. This is the most recent entry in the Kung Fu Panda franchise and follows Po on a journey to find a worthy successor who will eventually adopt the title of “Dragon Warrior.” When the villainous Chameleon (Davis) emerges to take over all of China, Po must team up with a morally ambiguous Fox named Zhen (Awkwafina) in order to save the day. Po soon learns that the Chameleon has stolen the powers of all his previous adversaries, making her his most formidable and terrifying challenge yet. Along the way, Po learns that change is necessary for growth. A true master never ceases to be a student. 

Besides some noticeable changes in certain actor’s voices during the eight years since the previous film, the performances are mostly consistent with the other films in the franchise. This means that the performances here are effective in terms of the heightened emotions/voices that are required for voiceovers. What I appreciated about this fourth entry was the inclusion of Awkwafina’s Zhen and Viola Davis’ The Chameleon. Zhen is the franchise’s first much-needed gray character and acts as a satisfying foil to Po. This is also the first film where Po acts as the teacher instead of the student. This dynamic between the two adds a new hook to the action sequences that helps to differentiate it from its predecessors. Viola Davis is just a no-brainer casting as the villain. Her voice naturally conveys so much strength and intimidation that it would feel like a missed opportunity to cast her as anyone but the villain.

It’s a dangerous choice to bring back all of the villains from previous films. This is usually just a signal that the writers have run out of ideas on how to up the ante from previous installments. Here, the writers found a way that doesn’t feel creatively bankrupt, it actually raises the stakes in a way that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. The film also takes this opportunity to reframe some of these villains in ways that I was not expecting. It’s a choice that’s handled with a decent amount of nuance and therefore succeeds against the odds.

Mr. Ping (Hong) and Li (Cranston) are heavily featured once again. This is nice to see considering that these two provide some of the more effective comedy throughout the franchise. My only issue is that their arc/purpose feels flat. It’s almost as if they’re just featured because the audience enjoys them as opposed to them actually being important to the story.

Unfortunately, one of my biggest gripes with the first three films reaches a point of no return. The Furious Five, some of the most important characters of the franchise, are completely written out of the film. I craved more character development for three films straight and instead of receiving it in the fourth, they just doubled down on making them insignificant. It feels simply like a business choice to save money as opposed to a creative one in order to improve the story. Once a franchise reaches its fourth film, it should begin more deeply expanding on its characters, especially the ones that didn’t receive enough focus in previous installments. If it starts cutting elements, it feels like a lazy, almost insulting choice. It’s a clear step back if one is paying close attention.

The quality of the animation and action is once again a step up but the comedy and general formula are starting to become a bit stale. The film features a lot of callbacks and recurring jokes from the previous films, and although they mostly work, it does result in this feeling like the most derivative of the Kung Fu Panda films. It’s almost like they’re finally running low on new ideas. 

Where this film and the rest of the franchise succeed is being able to consistently challenge Po in new ways that truly feel like they are worth exploring. He constantly matures without sacrificing what’s so appealing about the character to begin with. After finally becoming the dragon warrior, this film is about Po discovering that when one journey ends, another begins. That’s a convenient theme for DreamWorks if they decide to greenlight an eventual Kung Fu Panda 5. 

Overall, this is a worthy entry in the Kung Fu Panda franchise that unfortunately still provides its first real feelings of “been there, done that.” That being said, it doesn’t result in the film feeling like anywhere near a waste of time. Especially for the children in the audience. It features one of the more exciting and streamlined third acts in the franchise and provides enough of the likable characters that we come to this franchise to see. It’s the weakest film in the franchise, but not by much. If you didn’t enjoy the first three films, this won’t change your mind about the franchise. If you did enjoy the first three films, this also won’t change your mind about the franchise. B-