Starring: Jack Black, Ke Huy Quan, Bryan Cranston, Awkwafina, Jackie Chan, Viola Davis, Ian McShane, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story: Animated action adventure sequel directed by Mike Mitchell andStephanie Ma Stine. Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) follows Po (Jack Black) as he attempts to assume the position of Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to quickly find and train a new Dragon Warrior before he can assume his new lofty position. However, there’s been a recent sighting of a wicked, powerful sorceress, Chameleon (Viola Davis), a tiny lizard who can shapeshift into any creature, and who has set her sights on Po’s Staff of Wisdom. Needing need some help, Po finds it in the form of crafty, quick-witted thief Zhen (Awkwafina), a corsac fox who really gets under Po’s fur, but whose skills will prove invaluable. In their quest to protect the Valley of Peace from Chameleon’s reptilian claws, this comedic odd-couple duo will have to work together. In the process, Po discovers that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places.
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I guess it's just easier to hold on to the life you know than move on to the one you don't.' - Zhen (Kung Fu Panda 4) Share on X
Tai Lung: I have returned to take what is mine, which is everything that is yours.
Po: It is said that whoever possesses this staff has the power to travel between the realms. The power to unlock the door to the Spirit Realm. And now, the power to open the all-new Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu! Where the broth has kick, and the bean curd’s a knockout.
Shifu: [referring to the Staff of Wisdom] It was given to you by Master Oogway. Do you really think it was so you could open a restaurant, or pose for pictures?
Po: He wasn’t super specific.
Po: I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but I don’t know anything about passing on wisdom, or inspiring hope. All I know are two things, kicking butt and taking names. And if I’m being completely honest, I’m not even that good at the name-taking. Like who is that fire breathing crocodile? I want to say Steve.
Shifu: You were chosen to bring peace to the valley. And there are other ways to bring peace than simply kicking butt.
Po: Well, sure, but not any fun ones.
Shifu: You will know when you know.
Po: How do I know when I know? You know?
Po: [trying to meditate] Alright, universe, give me some guidance. Inner peace. Inner peace. Inner peace. Dinner please. Dinner with peas. Snow peas in a sesame soy glaze. Inner peace. Inner peace. This is not working at all.
Po’s Inner Voice: Wait, if I’m Po’s inner voice, then who are you?
Po’s Inner-Inner Voice: I’m Po’s inner-inner voice.
Po: How many voices do I have in there?
Zhen: [to Po] Oh, no. He’s got a walking stick. What are you going to do, stroll me to death?
Po: I am the Dragon Warrior.
Zhen: I’m just going to say it. Nothing about you says “dragon” or “warrior”.
Po: [as he takes back the Staff of Wisdom] Told told you!
Zhen: You got me, O Great and Powerful Dumpling Warrior.
Zhen: Valley of Peace prison? Sounds like a day care.
Po: It is a day care on the weekends. But it’s also a prison.
Zhen: Every step leaves a footprint, no matter how small.
Bear Crime Boss: We used to run this city. Now we pay her half the money we swindle.
Wolf Crime Boss: It’s like a criminal can’t make an honest living anymore.
Zhen: Are we going to stop for lunch soon?
Po: Justice doesn’t stop for lunch. But it does take the occasional time-out for snackage.
Li: I know pandas come across as calm, gentle, and chill, but the truth is, I’m kind of freaking out!
Ping: You know, Li, a wise goose once said, “Worrying doesn’t make the broth boil any faster.”
Li: Who was that idiot?
Ping: Me, of course. I was the wise goose.
Granny Boar: I’m only hungry for…
Po: Dumplings?
Granny Boar: Vengeance.
Po: It’s never too late to do the right thing.
Ping: You don’t have to be brave. You just have to act brave.
Fish: Goose dads, panda dads. Guess it takes all kinds.
Po: What do I know about being a Spiritual Leader? I can’t even come up with one of those cool-sounding proverbs.
'“Life's greatest enemy is...” I don't know. Stairs?' - Po (Kung Fu Panda 4) Share on X
Fish: Everyone knows life’s greatest enemy is time.
Zhen: A vision? While you were asleep. I’m pretty sure that’s just a dream.
Zhen: It isn’t much farther now.
Po: You always say that, and it’s always so much farther.
Han: Alright. How should we do this? Quick and painless? Or, slow and painful?
Bunnies: Slow and painful! Slow and painful.
Po: Hold on. Shouldn’t my inner Shifus have differing opinions?
Shifu: We are in total agreement. With our mutual disappointment. In you.
Po: He who resorts to violence now will only find more violence later.
Bunny: Violence makes my tummy tingle.
Po: I’ll come up with better wisdom.
Zhen: You have got to workshop those proverbs.
Li: Now, this can go one of two ways. The easy way, in which you tell me where he is. Or the hard way, in which you tell me where he is, but it’s hard to understand what you’re saying because you have no teeth.
Po: The word is “skadoosh”.
Zhen: “Skadoosh” isn’t a word.
Po: And “skablam” is?
Po: As a wise spiritual leader once said, “How may one kick butt if one doesn’t seek a butt to kick?”
The Chameleon: You see, Po, kung fu may be performed by the body, but its secrets are housed in the spirit.
Ping: Change doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Why do you think I always change the menu at the restaurant? Because if things stayed the same forever, sooner or later, they would lose their flavor.
'Who you are will always be a part of what you become.' - Shifu (Kung Fu Panda 4) Share on X
Zhen: I am a terrible friend.
Li: “Friend”? That feels a little generous, no?
Zhen: A good friend once told me it’s never too late to do the right thing.
Han: So what you’re saying is, the more right we do now, the more wrong we can do later.
Zhen: What? No!
Zhen: Are you guys ready to do the right thing for the wrong reasons?
Po: Those are all my old nemesis-es. Nemes-ee? Nemes-i?
The Chameleon: Can’t you even die right?
Po: Can’t you even kill wrong? No. Wordplay didn’t come together.
Po: I’ve realized that it’s probably time I made a change. And so should you.
The Chameleon: I’m The Chameleon. I do nothing but change.
Po: Only on the outside. Real change happens from within. And if we’re really as alike as you say, then maybe we could both let go of who we were and become something better than we already are.
Po: [referring to the Chameleon shapeshifting into a dragon] That is awesome! I mean, it’s disturbing, but it’s awesome.
Po: [as Chameleon shapeshifts into Po] Stand back. I’m going to kick my butt.
Po: A wise old tortoise once told me that you never know what you can do until you do it.
Zhen: The fate of the world hangs in the balance, and you’re here giving me life advice from a tortoise?
Shifu: Out of all the candidates you choose to train as your worthy successor, you chose the fox?
Po: You know when you know. You know?
Shifu: Fine. Choose who you want. A thief, a stick, a carrot. I don’t even know why I bother. I’m going to go meditate. A lot.
Zhen: What about me says I’m ready for this?
Po: Well, as I learned from working in my dad’s kitchen, sometimes the greatest dishes come from the most unlikely ingredients.
Po: I’m getting the hang of this proverb thing. One shouldn’t do a deep squat with a chopstick in one’s pocket.
Po: Money can’t buy happiness. But it sure can buy a lot of dumplings.
Zhen: Why does it always come back to dumplings with you?
'When life gives you lemons, make pear juice and blow everyone's minds.' - Po (Kung Fu Panda 4) Share on X