'Kung Fu Panda 4' Review: Me So Funny
Jack Black returns as a lovable Chinese giant panda, teamed this time with Awkwafina in the family-friendly adventure that may simply irritate adults, now streaming on Peacock TV.
Now Streaming: Why is Jack Black still voicing a Chinese giant panda?
Jack Black plays a lovable lug in the franchise, which is detached from reality at its most essential level, as Po (Black's character) is a talking animal who faces off against other talking animals. The first three animated films, released in 2008, 2011, and 2016, were incredibly popular, grossing $632 million worldwide, $665 million worldwide, and $521 million worldwide, respectively. Four television series and five short films have been spun off from the films, plus a television special. Producing a fourth film was a no-brainer; initially released in March 2024, the film has grossed $543 million worldwide so far. Who wants to argue with success?
All four films have been written or co-written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, and they are eminently respectful of Chinese heritage. The films are wuxia comedies that rely upon the characters to drive the comedy, and though the non-Asian talent outnumbers the Asian talent, both behind the microphones and behind the scenes, Asian actors, including Lucy Liu, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, Jackie Chan, have Michelle Yeoh, have co-starred in all four films, and many Asian influences have been acknowledged as creative inspirations and active participants in the animation and in developing the characters.
Still.
Kung Fu Panda 4 begins with a splendid opportunity for Jack Black as a Chinese giant panda named Po to choose his own successor, as he is informed that he is needed to serve as the new Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. Great!
Or so I thought, because it turns out that Po is reluctant to choose any of the candidates who demonstrate their fighting prowess in a public audition of their skills, mumbling that none of them strike him as truly deserving of the exalted title of Dragon Warrior. Really, what it seems like is that Po doesn't want to be the new Spiritual Leader; he's comfortable now as Dragon Warrior and wants to remain Dragon Warrior, and besides, a powerful threat from the past has emerged, so it's a good thing that he is still Dragon Warrior …
In the reality of the franchise, Po needs to learn another lesson, which is a requirement in any movie that is produced by Hollywood and is aimed at children; it's not a requirement of the production code or anything like that, but it's a lesson inherited from our forefathers and everyone in Hollywood readily obeys. 'Cuz it's for kids, and kids need to be educated by responsible adults, whether they're Caucasians voicing Chinese characters or not.
And maybe it's not for me to say anything about it, as a half-Irish, half-Mexican person. After all, Awkwafina stars as Zhen, who becomes Po's fighting companion, and James Hong returns as Mr. Ping, and Ke Huy Quan voices Han, an important supporting character, and Ronny Chieng voices Fish, and Lori Tan Chinn voices Granny Boar. And I must admit that Bryan Cranston, an awesome actor, has one awesome scene in particular in which I forgot that he was voicing Po's Chinse father Li and experienced actual nuclear fission, just from listening to him.
The animation is gorgeous, and little ones will undoubtedly enjoy. Perhaps when they're older, you can explain to them why Jack Black is voicing a Chinese giant panda (again). [Peacock TV]
