The Film Buffa Reviews: ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ continues to thrive on Jack Black power

The sequel zips by, washing viewers with a child like escapism.

Animated films aimed at kids run an interesting arc with families. Most of the time, the parents are wrangled into watching one of these movies with their kids in the early going, but eventually the adults are keeping more up with the sequels than the little ones who begged them to see it. What started out tailored for a kid then becomes fitted more for adults, thus hindering their overall appeal as a family event. Sometimes, they just try weird and outlandish things to stay fresh, when the old playbook still looks like a smooth route.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is the rare veteran to avoid that age group problem. By sticking to a simple yet enjoyable formula, it has retained most of its original interest 16 years after the original hit theaters. While the directors and writers may change movie to movie, the Panda series has always thrived on one main weapon of choice: Mr. Jack Black.

He’s the difference between casual interest and mass interest. An actor that appeals to all ages, Black brings all the movie audience genres to the yard. He’s the School of Rock teacher, the actor who would do crazy things in a jungle for drugs in Tropic Thunder, the Mexican wrestler from Nacho Libre, and the music brainiac from High Fidelity. As Po, the now legendary warrior who must train an apprentice while fighting every villain from his past and a new threat, Black is the whole package.

The hapless Po that audiences fell in love with as being a lovable goof is being hand-selected to be the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, a high-ranking position that his mentor (a gifted Dustin Hoffman) sorely wanted and one that doesn’t fit our main guy anything like a glove. A young grifter fox (Awkwafina is perfect) challenges and soon becomes Poe’s new trainee. Can they overcome a badass sorceress voiced by the great Viola Davis?

The Kung Fu Panda movies aren’t known for their originality, at least not as the years and successful sequels have piled up. Why change if something works? Everything doesn’t have to evolve and carve into multiple meanings if the kids are having fun and the grown-ups aren’t thinking for a couple hours. Well, make that 90 minutes or less.

Kung Fu Panda 4 clocks in at a brisk 86 minutes before the first credits roll, blending together a classic yet hip soundtrack with a steady rhythm of humor and adventurous wit. All of it is held together by the guiding light that is Black, someone who plays in multiple entertainment genres and has produced an eclectic resume of hits and roles. Po will always endure him, though, to his widest group of fans.

Like everyone in life, he has to learn a new skill in this fourth go-round, finding new ways to snuff out the past’s wrath and seek enlightenment. It’s not the thrill-seeking that he seeks out in dishing out ninja-yoga ass-whoopings; he genuinely wants to help the world and keep others safe. We as an audience have aged with his character, watching him grow into this complete person. That’s just a cool and well-earned arc.

A tip of the cap to all the effects workers, artists, and maestros that assembled this movie for the past 5-10 years. These creations take so much time, energy, sacrifice, and diligence; seeing them come together on screen must be as big of a treat for the crew as it is the cast and moviegoers.

A huge credit to the screenwriters for not turning Po into an out-of-shape and over the hill warrior before the latest film started. There’s nothing immediately draining about a 10-15 minute dump over seeing him get whipped into shape inside a 90-second training montage. They skipped that, kept him sharp, and the movie was off and running.

Go see this one, and take the kids. Fill them with some sugar, throw some water down their throat, and see if the fire still burns for a classic animated tale. Thanks to versatile talents like Black, Kung Fu Panda 4 is a rock solid sequel.