KUNG FU PANDA 3 Movie Review

Kung Fu Panda 3 movie brings lots of laughs, pretty visuals, and great talent

If you’ve seen Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2, then you can expect to see much of the same in the Kung Fu Panda 3 movie, which is lots of humor, amazing and colorful animation, and wonderful voice talent, with the addition of some impressive actors added to the already impressive cast.

The first third of the movie was quite lively, bringing us back to Po and his celebratory status as “Dragon Warrior.”  He’s comfortable where he’s at, but things change as Master Shifu relenquishes teaching duties to the panda.  We get to see that being although Po is a might fighter, he’s probably a little inept at giving lessons to his pupils and fellow warriors Tigress, Crane, Monkey, Viper, and Mantis.  Of course we get some hilarious results from it.

Kung Fu Panda 3 movie pandas

With that come two new surprises – one being reunited with his father, and the other the appearance of a new enemy.  With multiple issues to deal with, Po finds it hard to know what to do, let alone find out who he really is.

But when he does find the strength and faith in himself to be a true Dragon Warrior as well as teacher, it sets the final part of the movie up for a beautiful, exciting, and satisfactory ending.  Add a little cuteness factor into the film and it’s no wonder that the movie is a successful addition to the Kung Fu Panda franchise.

I do have to say, however, that the middle part of the movie did suffer a bit from feeling too dragged out as Po deals with the same issues he’s had in the first two films, and that is just trying to find the faith in himself to do be able to defeat the enemy.

kung-fu-panda-3-03

Still, the movie overall is a fun film for the whole family with lots of quick-witted humor.  And it certainly does help when the voice talent is wonderfully able to bring life to the characters they portray.  Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, and Dustin Hoffman returned to reprise their roles as the Kung Fu team and they, which we appreciate them for.  But the new additions of Bryan Cranston as Po’s father Li Shan, Kate Hudson as ribbon dancer Mei Mei, and last year’s Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons as villain Kai were exceptional.  I always find J.K. Simmons to be great in everything he does, so this was no surprise, but I really enjoyed Kate’s work as the flirtatious Mei Mei.

Even though I still consider Kung Fu Panda 2 my favorite, this Kung Fu Panda 3 plenty of great moments.

By Molly

Molly is a proud Canadian who is currently attending university in Scotland. She loves to read, write, watch films, and talk about Sarah J. Maas books. If not snuggled up with a book, Molly can usually be found tapping at the dance studio, or writing yet another essay.