Giant pandas are certainly unbearably adorable creatures. Characterised by large blotches of black fur over their ears, eyes, and body, these Chinese bears are big, beautiful, seemingly clumsy, lazy, and are stars of countless videos on YouTube. Perhaps this is why Po of Kung Fu Panda has grown into such a phenomenon as he epitomises everything we love about the animals.

Well, if you can’t get enough of Po, then get ready for panda overdose, for by taking us on a journey to meet his extended family, Kung Fu Panda 3 features more Panda action than you may have wished for.

In Kung Fu Panda 3, Po finally meets his father Li Shan, and eventually heads to his mystical panda village, where he meets cute baby pandas, a sassy nunchucku-wielding panda, a panda so stupid that he even frightens Po, a panda who loves to hug, and more. Needless to say, every one of these pandas eats more than a starving man at an all-you-can-eat-buffet, and is rather fat and lazy. Yes, Kung Fu Panda 3 is every Po joke from the film’s two predecessors multiplied by 10 and rolled into one fried Chinese roll.

Kung Fu Panda 3 glorifies certain avoidable habits without the realisation that movies, especially those targeting younger audiences, have untold power

This is a shame, because Kung Fu Panda 3 is an otherwise enjoyable action/comedy animated film by 20th Century Fox. Starring the voices of Jack Black (Po), Bryan Cranston (Li Shan), Angelina Jolie (Master Tigress), Dustin Hoffman (Master Shifu), Jackie Chan (Master Monkey), Seth Rogen (Master Mantis), Lucy Liu (Master Viper), David Cross (Master Crane), and others as the heroes, as well as J.K. Simmons as the film’s antagonist, the film is engagingly acted.

The narrative, where a powerful spirit warrior named Kai enters the mortal world in search of vengeance against the pandas is interesting in spite of the repetitive nature of the panda humour. Here, Kai, in spite of warnings from his friend turned foe, Grand Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), seeks to enslave the greatest kung fu masters by stealing their chi.

In typical DreamWorks Animation fashion, the animation on offer is drop-dead gorgeous. The colours are vibrant, the 3D effects are fun, and the art is beautiful. Fully of magic and spiritualism, the action scenes are wonderful to behold, and a feast for the eyes. To top it all off, the music by Hans Zimmer is simply stunning. As a Zimmer fanboy, I am unashamed to admit that I picked up the awesome soundtrack hours after watching the film.

As usual, Kung Fu Panda 3 features a spiritual angle and the message that every creature needs self-belief in spite of their limitations is excellent for viewers of all ages.

Where I was torn though, was the film’s glorification of certain life traits. While I am all for being happy the way you are, Kung Fu Panda 3 seems to glorify certain avoidable habits such as overeating, laziness and witlessness. You could say that Kung Fu Panda 3 is only a movie, but movies, especially those targeting younger audiences, have untold power. Telling easily-influenced viewers that they too can be heroes if they carry self-belief, even if they get out of bed late in the afternoon while munching on unhealthy food all day, seems irresponsible. Maybe in Kung Fu Panda 4, Po and the dozens of other pandas can eat responsibly, work hard, and then defeat the baddies.

Rated PG for martial arts action and some mild rude humour

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 27th, 2016