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.
Verdict : Load of awesomeness, even in Tamil
