Kung Fu Panda is a Dreamworks movie that captured the hearts of many back when it was released in 2008. The story followed a young panda named Po, who, by unexpected means, was selected to be the Dragon Warrior, protector of the valley, and we followed his struggle to live up to that title.
Its sequel followed Po and his friends as they traveled to a new location to defeat an evil lord with ties to Po’s past, where he would later achieve inner peace. The third installment had Po becoming a master of chi as he took on a new threat and reconnected with his panda roots.
Now, the fourth installment has Po struggling to find a new successor to the Dragon Warrior title, as his new role is to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. Along the way, though, he must also take on his new foe, The Chameleonnnnnnnnn (insert dramatic music). Now, as much as I’d love to gush about the movie, there’s something I feel is more worth tackling, so this review will be quite short.
First, the new character, Zhen, was a lot of fun to watch; I really liked the dynamic she shared with Po. I think it’s funny to see how different each of them is in the way they handle things. One is more mature and passive, while the other is cunning, slippery, and aggressive.
Then there’s the animation, which, my god, is great. Especially when it comes to the action. I might be exaggerating just a bit here, but I think this movie might have the best fighting choreography in the franchise.
The opening fight in the bay, the tavern fight, and the battles that occur at The Chameleon’s lair are amazing. I also really like the visuals for when The Chameleon shape shifts; there’s just something about the way it happens that makes me unable to look away.
Unfortunately, it does suffer from pacing issues that I think could have really been worked out, had some scenes been cut or tweaked to fit the narrative better. I don’t think it’s a bad movie overall; in fact, I think it stands on par with Kung Fu Panda 3, but there is a lot of it that screams “lost potential,” and that hurts me. Still, I’ll continue to like this movie because I really like this franchise a lot.
“But why did it turn out this way?” That’s something I asked myself the more I saw the online discourse, until I finally got an answer on March 10th. Before going forward, though, I am legally obligated (not really) to say that I cannot confirm nor deny the following information, so it’s important to take it with a grain of salt and do your own research. Now, onto my discoveries.
On March 10, I came across posts about a Behind-the-Scenes interview with the co-director Stephanie Stine that detailed what went on during the production of Kung Fu Panda 4. These interview responses were recorded and placed into a document, and… I think it’s safe to say we dodged a nuke because the movie could’ve turned out so badly if what’s on these documents is true.
The documents state: “Early on, KFP4 was considered to be live action-animation hybrid, and featured humans. I posted concept art of the human Chameleon vs Po. Seems like Zhen would’ve been human too. They’d have come from Hu-man City, apparently…”
Furthermore, “Stephanie wanted for KFP4 to stay truer to KFP1 and KFP2’ but was dismissed as a nobody by the crew.” One of the individuals that advocated for most of this was Mike Mitchell, and personally, I think it might be best if he doesn’t return for the supposed fifth movie.
And it’s not just him that I think should take a back seat; in fact, I think a portion of the Dreamworks executives should step back because these kinds of decisions could ultimately kill one of their most profitable and beloved franchises.
