Kung Fu Panda 3

Rating: 4/5 stars

Director: Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Screenplay: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger

Length: 95 minutes

Starring: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, J.K. Simmons, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Kate Hudson, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, Steele Gagnon, Liam Knight, Wayne Knight, Barbara Dickinson, Al Roker, Willie Geist, Fred Tatasciore, Pax Jolie-Pitt

MPAA Rating: PG (Martial arts action, mild rude humor)

Review
The entire Kung Fu Panda franchise is stunning to look at and the third installment is no different.

The basic premise of the franchise is this: Po must learn something about himself in order to become what he is meant to be leading him to discover the exact thing he must do in order to defeat the villain. In the third film, Po must discover who he is so that he can master the art of chi. A master of chi is the only person (animal?) who will be able to defeat the spirit warrior threatening the existence of China.

We open with  Po and the Furious Five (Tigress, Crane, Viper, Monkey and Mantis) helping the citizens of China while being praised and glorified for what they do. As the threat of the villain Kai (J.K. Simmons) arises, Po reunites with his father and follows him to the secret panda village seen briefly in the second film. Po's mission to learn how to be himself as that is the only way he can master the art of chi.

The narrative is simple. It is the same basic premise of the previous films, but the filmmakers do a great job of continuing to add something new and fresh to the story that it isn't boring. Getting to see Po's village and meeting his father Li (Bryan Cranston) is compelling.

While Master Shifu and the Furious Five are not main characters in this film, the new characters make up for this. The pandas in the village all have endearing quirks and humorous traits. The screenplay is able to combine the adventure of finding yourself while the threat of battle looms near seamlessly.

As mentioned, the film is beautiful to look at. The directors do a fine job of bringing the rich characters to life in a visually stunning world. There is a distinct difference between the real world and the spirit world and both have their visual appeal to them. If nothing more, the film is worth it for the visuals alone.

Pixar dominates in the animation box office, but Dreamworks is proving more and more that they are major competition. Their films are meant for adults and kids alike and I feel that while Pixar films have more heart, Dreamworks knows how to add humor to situations that seem impossible. Their films always provide something that is meant to motivate. Most importantly it seems the studio is more willing to let go and have fun with their films.

Kung Fu Panda 3 continues the solid storytelling and animation of the previous films and anyone who enjoyed those, will enjoy this one.