KUNG FU PANDA 3 REVIEW - The Martial Arts Panda is Back!!!

How far can you stretch a yarn? It has got to break at some point, it has to get thin, it has to look weak, right? Kung Fu Panda was a movie founded on such a yarn, an interesting concept of a Panda who was destined to learn Kung Fu and fight for an entire valley. Of course he’s no good at it, he’s fat, he’s clumsy and he just doesn’t want to do it, but the prophecy says so and prophecies aren’t wrong. Yes, we had one great movie with that yarn, like Ratatouille was a great movie spun from an interesting yarn. But, did we imagine that the same premise can be reinvented for Kung Fu Panda 2, which was again good, and did we imagine that they will come back with the same premise for Kung Fu Panda 3? They have and have they reinvented the premise well this time?

We are back in the same valley and nothing’s changed except the

fact that Po, our Panda, believes in his Kung Fu now. He is proud of being Dragon Warrior and going around the valley giving high fives and kicking butt! But that’s all that he wants to be and Master Shifu is not happy. Shifu wants to go into retirement to seek answers of deeper questions and gain greater mastery over Chi, and he wants the Dragon Warrior to take his place. Our Dragon Warrior is however too busy with his dumpling eating contests and his toys, and he doesn’t want to take up anything new. ‘If you do only what you can do’, will you ever be a better you? Shifu wants the Dragon Warrior to take it to the next level. 

As is the template in all Kung Fu Panda movies we know that a strong foe will emerge from somewhere; someone who has the skills and the power to wipe out the Dragon Master and his entire valley. The foe does emerge, and he is shown as nearly invincible. He has otherworldly powers and he is coming for revenge.

How does our Po, the Dragon Warrior, prepare to face this foe who comes with powers he has never faced before? For that he has to go back to his roots. And that’s where for the first time we have another Panda in the Kung Fu Panda series. Now, there are two Pandas, and there’s belly bumping, more dumpling eating, and lot of insane buffoonery, and you think that the fun is stopping. But then we are introduced to a whole village of Pandas, there’s more bumping, rolling, eating, hugging, bouncing, flying, there’s everything but Kung Fu. How on earth is this preparation for the foe who comes with his great powers? Can the prophecy be wrong?

Kung Fu Panda 3 is perhaps the best movie the franchise has yet

given us, and that is saying something. This is a whole lot of fun. There’s a good joke almost every couple of minutes. The thing we all oved about Kung Fu Panda was the adorable Panda himself. He looked so cute even when he fell flat on his back. Imagine the overload of cuteness on screen when there’s a village of Pandas trying to do Kung Fu! You got to enjoy this in theatres. It is amazing that almost the same premise has been retold, reinvented and refreshed the third time and yet continues to delight us. It was a masterstroke to bring in more Pandas, write a script that makes them all essential, not redundant. And, the set up of the nemesis too has been done extremely well. There is not a moment you are bored. 

However, the best thing about Kung Fu Panda 3 are the dialogues, Witty, hilarious, funny, all at the same time; you will find yourself laughing hard many many times during the 90 odd minutes. And after a spate of movies that were over 2 hours long, this crisp, lovable, light gem of a movie is a real delight. Go with your friends, go with your family, go with anyone, laugh out loud and hard, have a great time. See the Panda do Kung Fu again, because you never know when a good thing ends. We just hope other franchises like the Ice Age follow the lead of the Kung Fu Panda. Is there anything negative that can be said about the movie? To quote a line from the movie; ‘Be the best you you can be’, and Kung Fu Panda has been the best Kung Fu Panda 3 we could have asked for. So let’s not waste our energy looking all negatives, let's enjoy the 'Chi'.

Absolute delight – Watch the Panda in theaters!

3.5/5