I thought Kung Fu Panda 4 was interesting when it came out. I always hoped that there would be another film in this franchise. The third one had an amazing story with a good ending. Kai takes everyone else’s Chi and Po becomes a teacher. At the end of Kung Fu Panda 3, Po teaches everyone how to use Chi.
I felt like we needed another sequel to see what happened to my favorite characters. To have a panda learning martial arts was such a fun idea and Po’s story of starting as a fan of martial arts and becoming a martial artist himself is one many can relate to.
Kung Fu Panda 4 came out earlier this year. My brother and I found out because we saw a Burger King advertisement in Japantown and we thought the hype was real.
I didn’t see this movie until it came out on Netflix in October.
When my mom, siblings and I watched it on Netflix, we all felt disappointed. A lot of people on social media hyped up the movie for me, but I felt there were a lot of problems.
This movie reminded me and my siblings of other sequels to animated films like Cars 3, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Toy Story 4, where writers make the character feel confident but then overthink what they’re doing.
At first, the protagonist really has a purpose but then they give up their title to the next person in line. In Cars 3, Lightning McQueen can’t race anymore because there are a lot of overpowered cars that are faster than him. McQueen meets Cruz, who has a sob story of wanting to be a racer herself, so McQueen gives his title to her.
I noticed this trope then, and saw it play out again. In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ralph and Vanellope go to the Internet to find a new part for Vanellope’s game. Then they try to win money. The focus becomes on Vanellope instead of Ralph.
{Spoiler Alert: In Kung Fu Panda 4, Master Shifu tells Po that Po is too strong and needs to find a new dragon warrior to pass on his wisdom to. Po finds Zen and gives his power to her. It’s the same formula!}
In the movie Megamind, there’s a scene where the character Metro Man realizes he’s tired of being the hero and that he can quit being the hero, so he fakes his death. But that was the point of the joke they were showing us. This real trope happens in a lot of movies like Cars 3, Lego Movie 2, Toy Story 4, and now Kung Fu Panda 4 has met this fate. When a movie franchise ends, they don’t know how to end their sequels, so they give them a confusing conclusion.
I’m still upset that Kung Fu Panda 4 wasn’t as engaging as its three predecessors. It wasn’t just me who had that same feeling. My siblings and social media fans agree–this didn’t cut it.
If you love Kung Fu Panda and want to watch this, I say watch it as a regular animated movie, totally separate from its original predecessors. Then you might not be disappointed.
