Review: ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Teams Jack Black With Awkwafina On 4K UHD
by David Lewis
Kung Fu Panda 4, which made its 4K UHD and Blu-ray debut earlier this month, proves that this long-running series is Jack Black‘s world and everyone else is just animated in it. Your appreciation of the film will be exactly proportionate to your interest in his hyperactive schtick.
Nearly a decade after Kung Fu Panda 3, Black returns as Po, who is enjoying his status as the Dragon Warrior in the Valley of Peace. When Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) tells him that he is destined to become the area’s new Spiritual Leader, Po must find a replacement Dragon Warrior. He soon finds a potential candidate when he crosses paths with a sly fox named Zhen (Awkwafina), although he might not fully trust her. The duo quickly team up to take down a new threat in the valley known as The Chameleon (Viola Davis), a small shapeshifter with big plans.
Black is clearly still having a blast in the role he origintated in 2008, and he never gives it less than 100%. Awkwafina’s droll, dry deliveries provide a good counterpoint. But it all feels too safe, familiar, and predictable — and the DreamWorks Animation team’s computer generated visuals still can’t compare with even the most routine Pixar movies.
Voice actors Hoffman, Ian McShane, James Hong, and Bryan Cranston all return for another round, and their instantly recognizable — and barely disguised — voices can be a distraction. The fourquel also adds the voices of Ronny Chieng, Ke Huy Quan, and Davis, who is particularly good as the film’s main baddie and will doubtlessly be heard from again.
The disc is packed with extras that are wisely aimed at kids. Besides some fun antics of the cast members yukking it up in the vocal booth, there’s a new short film featuring Po and Zhen, in which they briefly fight over whose favorite dumplings are superior. It doesn’t exactly feel necessary, but fans may crave it.
The bonus features’ real highlights are the fun, educational featurettes that teach kids how to create a shadow puppet theater featuring Po and Zhen, how to draw the films’ main characters, and even how to make dumplings (ask your parents’ permission!) with Black’s help. They’re all short and bubbly and feel like a throwback to the type of craft-friendly kids’ programming you used to see on PBS, Nickelodeon, and even during Saturday Morning Cartoon blocks in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is now available as a 4K/Blu-ray combo disc.
