Took Me Long Enough... "Kung Fu Panda 3"

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Kate Hudson, J.K. Simmons, David Cross, James Hong

Directed by Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh

The Story:

Po (Black) reunites with his long lost father (Cranston), much to the chagrin of his current father (Hong) and they journey to the hidden Panda village so that Po can master his chi. Kai (Simmons) has been defeating the masters both in the spirit world and is now back in our world, more powerful than ever. Po must teach the new pandas how to do the Fu in order to save his friends, and the world!

So you might remember earlier this year when the kids went to the movies and saw this one:

"There was a very good plot. A great balance between the action and the humor.  It didn't let me down with the franchise and go out on a low note.  I'd give it an A!"

"Amazing.  I give it an A!"

"I think it was very funny, not too serious and not all action. I really liked what the movie did with both of Po's dads. I give it an A!"

"So far the best film I've seen all year. It didn't exceed the the greatness of Part 2, but it may very well have equaled it. Definitely an A."

"It was great. There were two sad parts that made me cry sad tears. I was glad I got to see it."

" It was phenomenal. By far the prettiest of all three movies and the animation was just spectacular. Not quite as good as Part 2, but really, really, really good nonetheless."



How am I supposed to compete with those kinds of reviews?

:)

So the movie has been in our house since the release, and I managed to walk in at the part where Po begins training the panda village.

I didn't really want to review half a movie, so I figured I'd probably catch the beginning sooner or later.

That said, what I had seen was the usual awesome work from Dreamworks, and a lot of fun from the cast.

Especially inspired work from a villainous J.K. Simmons who seems to be having a blast as the baddest bad guy that nobody has ever heard of.

Then the movie came to Netflix streaming, and it's played a few times since then, and I seemingly always arrive when it's time for Po to start training the village.

So I finally grabbed the remote and started it from scratch.

I wasn't disappointed.

Again, Cranston's hot streak of great movies chugs along, and it's a nice conclusion to the Kung Fu Panda trilogy.

Whether they continue, or not, it's been a great series of films, and Dreamworks should be very proud of what they've accomplished.

Can't argue with the kids on this one.

It's really good, and possibly just a bit less awesome than Part 2.

But what a great trilogy they've entertained us with!

Final Grade: A

Special Guest Reviews: "Kung Fu Panda 3 "

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Kate Hudson, J.K. Simmons, David Cross, James Hong

Directed by Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh

The Story:

Po (Black) reunites with his long lost father (Cranston) and they journey to where the rest of the Pandas are located.  However, while he is away, a new villain, Kai (Simmons) begins defeating the Kung Fu masters. Po must teach the new pandas how to do the Fu in order to save his friends, and the world!

Kung Fu Panda was released in 2008 to much commercial and critical success.

In 2011, Kung Fu Panda 2 came out and did the unusual and unthinkable: it was the sequel that was better than the original.  It matched the humor of the original, but this time it brought some emotional heart to the festivities.

I never bothered with either for years, until I finally watched both last year. Hmmm. I guess I should've thrown some reviews on the site! ;)

So with the release of Part 3, I sent the experts on all thing Panda into the theater to do my dirty work for me.

Here then are some of their thoughts on the movie:

First we'll start with the biggest fan of  Kung Fu Panda in the house -

There was a very good plot. A great balance between the action and the humor.  It didn't let me down with the franchise and go out on a low note.  I'd give it an A!

Next kid:

Amazing.  I give it an A!

How about # 3?

I think it was very funny, not too serious and not all action. I really liked what the movie did with both of Po's dads. I give it an A!

As for the oldest that saw the movie on Friday:

 So far the best film I've seen all year. It didn't exceed the the greatness of Part 2, but it may very well have equaled it. Definitely an A.

And the opinion of the youngest:

It was great. There were two sad parts that made me cry sad tears. I was glad I got to see it.

Apparently it was so good, the oldest had to go see it on Sunday to see if it was indeed truly as good as everyone said.

Her text: It was phenomenal. She elaborated later that it was by far the prettiest of all three movies and the animation was just spectacular. Then her comments seemed to echo just about everyone else, not quite as good as Part 2, but really, really, really good nonetheless.

Overall final grade (for now):  Looks like the A's have it. Sounds like a contender for Best of the Year if I know what's good for me.

The real grade will be revealed when it comes out on Netflix or for sale later this year.

;)