Kung Fu Panda 3

Dir: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Alessandro Carloni

2016

****

I'm well aware that animated films take a great deal of time to make but I was starting to wonder (worry) that there wasn't going to be another Kung Fu Panda (especially as it had been mooted back in 2012). It was both a relief that in 2016 there was indeed a third instalment and that said third instalment was even better than the last. It is rare that a sequel is better than the original, but for a third to be better than the two before is unheard of (okay, okay, Toy Story is the only other example, again, but it's still pretty rare). Kung Fu Panda 3, like the two previous instalments, really understands the Kung Fu genre and how such a series should progress. It could have easily slipped into rather insulting stereotype and no doubt been just as popular but it didn't, it is better than that. The two previous films Po has been told he is the chosen one, a Dragon Warrior. He is told by his Master Shifu that he has completed his training and now he must teach to fulfil the prophecy but Po fails at it. When the universe is suddenly threatened by a Yak from the spirit realm (voiced by the brilliant J.K. Simmons) Po is told he must master the art of Qi. The only one who can teach him is other Pandas and Po is soon reunited with his long lost father. This is the stuff of real Kung Fu cinema and when we do see Po in full swing as a Dragon Warrior it is clear to see that DreamWorks knows what it is doing. There is good reason for it too, as Kung Fu Panda 3 is the first American animation to be co-produced by a Chinese studio, Oriental DreamWorks, based in Shanghai. A large chunk of the film was made in China and the film has an undeniable authenticity about it because of it. The scenes in the spirit realm are stunning and the return of Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) is a particular highlight. The story is as charming as ever with a much darker edge added for good measure. If that weren't enough, Jean-Claude Van Damme voices are Kung Fu Crocodile. It has been announced that there will be six Kung Fu Panda films in total, each representing a different chapter in Po's life. The best news I've heard all year.