After all the pixel-driven dragons, eco-fairies, robots and dinosaurs I won’t mind never seeing again, this portly panda voiced so exuberantly by Jack Black will be missed.
Kung Fu Panda 3 is a well-constructed, occasionally too hectic conclusion, building upon previous episodes as if there was always a narrative plan.( There seldom is, unless books came first.) No characters here contradict anything set up for them before, and new characters don’t feel shoe-horned in.
Po has settled into his anointed role of Dragon Warrior, although demanding Master Shifu( Dustin Hoffman) believes he doesn’t fully understand what that role means. Life is peaceful since Episode 2, so Po and his Furious Five warriors don’t have much to do except be celebrated. Not for long.
In the Spirit Realm where the greatest masters reside, the rogue Gen. Kai( J.K. Simmons) is stealing each one’s chi, their life essence. Kai plans to overrun the Mortal Realm with jade zombies of the dead masters at his command. Only Po’s chi can stop him, if the panda harnesses it in time.
For many sequels that would be enough imagination. But Po’s story has always had an outsider/orphan subtext that Kung Fu Panda 3 brings to full bloom. Po always treasured the goose Mr. Ping( James Hong) as his father, and believed himself to be the last panda. Both notions are shaken by the arrival of Li( Bryan Cranston), who looks, jiggles and eats dumplings like Po.
Their scene of first recognition as father and son — and Mr. Ping’s reaction — is wonderful, igniting a paternal competition that evolves into something admirable. Yet, this isn’t a simple matter. Something about Li — Cranston’s line readings, perhaps — leaves a shadow of doubt about his claim from the outset. Ambiguity in a kid flick is a sign of respect, its resolution seconding.