Kung Fu Panda III: In which Po finds his father

Continuing his “legendary adventures of awesomeness”, Po must face two hugely epic, but different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home.

The Kung Fu Panda films have been designed like the old myths that we have seen played out in fiction and movies time and again. Star Wars, Harry Potter, you name it. It’s about an unlikely hero, stuck in the daily grind of life but destined for greatness. His journey of self-discovery begins only after he finds himself at the centre of a saga of cosmic proportions. There is the tough mentor who teaches him the art of noble fights. But it’s from the wise old man, that he learns the all-pervasive, one simple truth of the universe. There is also the villain, out for revenge, who thinks he has been wronged. He also happens to be a former student/aide of the wise old man.

While the first instalment of the series, Kung Fu Pandaticked all the abovementioned boxes, introducing us to this wondrous world of “awesomeness”, the sequel deepened Po’s self discovery by delving into his memories of his childhood. In part III, we finally have Po reunited with his long-lost father Li (Bryan Cranston) and returning to his roots but strangely enough, it is the least emotional of the three movies.

It plays it too safe, sticking to the template of the prequels. A new antagonist with supernatural powers is introduced at the beginning of the film, its central conflict laid out neatly half an hour into it. But the mystery of how Po finds answers to these doesn’t unravel the way it did in the prequels that felt more than the sum of its parts.

The narrative flow isn’t wholly logically satisfying either: how for example, does the Tigress land up in the secret village after escaping the attack of Kai (JK Simmons), is one of them. Although it raises its stakes higher with the Five Masters, Shifu and the secret Panda paradise in potential danger, there is emotionally a lot less at stake here. Even the big pay-off in the climactic battle with Kai is also far less satisfying. The forgotten healing power of Pandas and their connection to the Spirit Realm is something that left me underwhelmed.

Yet, the things that work in part III are also the formulaic ones. Po’s role-reversal from a student to a teacher delightfully plays out in set-pieces that involve a valley of Pandas training in Kung Fu while doing that one thing they love doing – example: a particular panda disrupts the enemy by hugging because that’s what he likes doing the best. The wit and playfulness of the series is intact, punctuating heavy-duty moments. Even Kai’s dangerous superpowers are undercut by his desperation to be recognised: a yak, he has both the beastly physicality of a wild buffalo and the silly grin of a donkey.

Kung Fu Panda III may have the least heart-tugging moments of the series but it is still good fun.