In today’s franchise-saturated film scene, few sequels manage to expand their series’ world while retaining the fundamental ingredients that made the original great. With bright, colorful animation, world-expanding locations, great new characters and a lighthearted, action-packed story, DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda 4” stands as one of these few.  

The film follows Po’s (Jack Black) struggle with letting go of his status as the Dragon Warrior and taking the next step in his journey — becoming a spiritual leader. Things become difficult when Po realizes he must team up with the thieving Zhen (Awkwafina) to defeat a mysterious villain: The Chameleon (Viola Davis). 

With a runtime of just over 90 minutes, “Kung Fu Panda 4” maintains a brisk pace, staying light on the story and heavy on the action, making for an easy viewing experience. Despite catering to young children, the film proves a blast even for adults, largely thanks to DreamWorks’ blend of comedy and action. The characters never stop fighting, running and crashing through scenes, and the filmmakers expertly blend the movie’s animation style with the slapstick of Hong Kong action comedies. 

The film somewhat falters with its storytelling. With a simple, straightforward plot creating more room for the action set pieces and jokes, the filmmakers appear more concerned with worldbuilding. As a result, “Kung Fu Panda 4” lacks the heart and complexity of its predecessors. Featuring mostly simple and rehashed themes from previous films, the film’s central theme of “change is good” sends a nice message to kids.

“Kung Fu Panda 4” struggles with a villain problem. Despite a strong vocal performance by Viola Davis, The Chameleon never seems menacing like Tai Lung and General Kai and fails to make a personal connection to Po as Lord Shen does. Because of this, The Chameleon seems more like a nuisance than a real threat while her motivations remain unclear. 

The film also lacks the emotional core of its predecessors due to a strangely muted and ordinary sound. Unlike Hans Zimmer’s more iconic works, the musical themes do not stand out, instead just accompanying the scenes and hiding behind sound effects. A single piece of music playing during a chase scene reminds the viewer of Zimmer’s greatness from the series’ other installments but quickly fades away. 

However, “Kung Fu Panda” makes up for its lack of depth with great worldbuilding, characters and stunning animation. Juniper City’s narrow streets make for a great location for the film’s action scenes, and Po’s friendship with Zhen forms the film’s emotional core. Po’s fathers Mr. Ping (James Hong) and Li Shan (Bryan Cranston) return, their role as concerned parents adding both humor and heart to this movie, while Ronny Chieng’s Captain Fish introduces an absurd but welcome new character. With this many new characters and an expanded world, viewers can expect to see more of Kung Fu Panda. 

Clearly created for younger viewers, “Kung Fu Panda 4” will easily win over seasoned franchise fans as well through its gorgeous visuals, fast-paced action and sense of humor. Take the whole family and see it on the biggest screen possible. 

4 crazy, violence-loving bunnies out of 5