I saw the trailer and I definatily watch it as of all the Dreamworks Animation franchise lead characters—not that there are many of them—Po, the often goofily hapless but ultimately mighty titular Kung Fu Panda voiced by Jack Black is the most unambiguously and unabashedly lovable.
So, “Kung Fu Panda 3” has got that going for it right off the bat. The sunny metrics of the believe-in-yourself scenario the character offers—as appealing a combo as pandas and martial arts seem, they’re not exactly made for each other, which in each of the movies is exactly the point—are sufficiently strong that the films don’t need to truck in overt jokiness ( as the “Shrek” pictures tend to, which I myself tend to find needy and irritating) ; they’re more about a genial, jovial, we’re-in-this-together attitude.
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Which is nice. “Kung Fu Panda 3, ” in spite of its abundant action—and for all the interspecies mashups, this is as much an action-adventure animated movie as it is a funny-animal animated movie—is a pretty relaxing experience for the adult viewer. The colors are beautiful, the design of the varied realms is ingenious and pleasing, the animation fluid and graceful. This panda doesn’t pander—there are scant, if any, nudging pop-culture references soliciting laughter from knowing grown-ups. “Be the best you you can be” is this movie’s message, and writers Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger, and directors Alessandro Carloni & Jennifer Yuh heed their own advice throughout this brisk romp.
