3.5/5 stars
Most film franchises insist on pumping out sequels with alarming regularity, but this eight-year gap means the dumpling-loving creature’s return is a fond one. With Po voiced once again by Jack Black, Kung Fu Panda 4 is far better than the unimaginative title suggests.
Directed by Mike Mitchell, an animation veteran with credits in the Shrek, Trolls and Alvin and the Chipmunks universes, the latest instalment begins as Po is informed by his mentor Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) that he must choose a new Dragon Warrior.
Reluctant to give up his title and hand over the Staff of Wisdom, he is soon out to prove himself on a mission to bring down The Chameleon (Viola Davis), a power-hungry, shape-shifting reptile.
With the Furious Five – warriors from earlier films, voiced by Angelina Jolie and others – out of the picture, Po is joined by an acrobatic fox named Zhen (Awkwafina), who helps him navigate the big, bad city where The Chameleon has set up as an evil overlord.
True, Kung Fu Panda 4 doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, with Po up to his old tricks of fighting and eating; “one of everything is my go-to order”, he says, greedily hoovering up a platter of morsels in a grim-looking restaurant known as The Happy Bunny.
But Mitchell keeps it feeling fresh, especially through the addition of Awkwafina and Davis, who brings menace and self-deprecating humour to her villainous role. There’s also a welcome return for Ian McShane as Tai Leung, the snow leopard first seen in the original 2008 movie.
With plenty of vibrant action, including one beautifully designed monochrome-esque fight scene as Po escapes from The Chameleon’s clutches, it’s a peach to look at.
Better still, the script comes with plenty of lines to make you smile, especially Po’s pearls of wisdom (“one shouldn’t do a deep squat with a Chapstick in your pocket”). On this evidence, a fifth Kung Fu Panda wouldn’t be out of the question – as long as enough time has passed.