The third installment in the Animated series – Kungfu Panda is here
finally, and undoubtedly the reason why the franchise is alive is Po the
Panda and his bunch of amigos. Back on the big-screen scene after an
almost five-year hiatus, Po and the Furious Five still have all the
right moves on display in Kung Fu Panda 3, a generally pleasing,
terrific-looking entry in the Oscar-nominated franchise. While the
storyline, in which Jack Black’s Dragon Warrior is reunited with his
biological father, doesn’t quite fulfill its prophecies, dramatically
speaking, visually speaking it’s all quite impressive — one of those
very rare animated features that completely justifies its 3D glasses.
If you are watching this in English, you
will enjoy it thoroughly and if you are watching the movie in regional
language, especially in Tamil that’s not a bad idea either. For the
movie’s dubbing is hilarious, obviously some of the dialogues have been
altered to suit the Tamil audience but still the dumpling finds its way
into our stomach with much laughter.
The movie opens with Po’s former
master Oogway (Randall Duk-Kim) relaxing in the spirituality, where he’s
unfortunately confronted by bullish warrior Kai, who’s on a mission to
rule all being and non-being by stealing the “chi” (life force) of
masters. His quest will end, he proclaims, when he becomes the last
earthly master of chi, who happens to be our hero Po.
When we see him on Earth, Po is
having trouble enough taking over the martial arts school from
supposedly retiring master Shifu. After some
martial-arts-equipment-destroying rounds with old pals Tigress, Mantis,
Viper, and Monkey, Po has been pummeled back into the identity crisis
that’s occasionally haunted the so-called Dragon Warrior throughout the
series. The plot thickens when Po’s biological father (series adepts
know that Po has been adopted by a crane) Li shows up to bring him back
up to Secret Panda Village. Turns out Li’s on a mission that was shown
to him in the form of a letter from the universe.
The animation is absolutely
breathtaking. Dreamworks continues to define itself time after time as
one of the greatest animation workshops in the entire world it comes
incredibly close. From the beautiful mountains of China to the overall
structures of the buildings, the images are simply amazing, and the
characters’ movements flow smoothly. Jack Black as Po as usual balances
the character with much ease as he always does, the voice modulation and
the mannerism has been replicated on Po to tickle the funny bone.
As again when you watch it in Tamil,
the lead character Po’s Tamil accent is incredibly funny and added to
the hilarious body language it sure is to give you a sharp dosage of
humor. What lifts the film is not just its high-kicking fight sequences,
but the sharpness of the screenplay which essentially keeps the film
going and maybe evolve with a couple of more films down the franchise.
There’s enough humor to entertain the kids, and older animation
aficionados will be spellbound by the inventive, high-quality visuals,
some inspired by graphic novels and classic Chinese paintings. Hans
Zimmer’s Asian-influenced score for “Kung Fu Panda 3? is also top notch,
the signature tune has been retained with some mild alterations to
bring in innovation.
Overall, if you are a kid you’d love
the movie and want more Panda’s in the franchise. If you are a grownup,
you can enjoy this very much along with your kid or if you are even
older, then this film should really give you a hard laugh which surely
is the intent of any animation movie. Watch it for Po and the sheer
brilliance of the animation.
