“Kung Fu Panda 4” (2024).Photo:Dreamworks
Dreamworks
Kung Fu Pandais back with another playfully action-packed adventure.
This Friday, 16 years after the original film,Kung Fu Panda 4hits theaters, bringing backJack Black’s lovable Dragon Warrior bear, Po.
The new entry, which continues to pack the punches and puns, is geared to kids, of course, but contains some mildly scary moments.
Read on for some of the moments parents might want to be aware of before bringing their young kids to theaters. (Warning: This article contains spoilers for the film.)
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There is cartoonish violence throughout
The fourthKung Fu Pandafilm contains as much action as its predecessors, all involving animals with different martial arts styles. There’s no blood, and most of the fight scenes are brief.
One fight sequence is shown in silhouettes, there’s a bar-brawl style showdown, a climactic face-off with the main villain, and three child rabbit characters chant “more violence” at certain points.
“I think it’s the funniest of the four, and it’s action-packed,” star Black told reporters at the film’s recent premiere,according toThe Hollywood Reporter. “Everyone just kills it, and it’s so fun to be back. … It’s really exciting to be back on a horsey blowing people’s minds again. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
Awkwafina’s sidekick Zhen in “Kung Fu Panda 4”.Dreamworks
There are lots of weapons
Lots of weapons, including swords and knives, are used in the fight sequences and are frequently onscreen, though there is never any blood or clear stabbing, nor guns. Characters are also hit on the head with various objects.
“Kung Fu Panda 4”.Dreamworks
There are implied deaths and peril
In one scene, Awkwafina’s grifter character Zhen plays dead and Po (Black) initially believes it. She quickly wakes up and teases him.
Viola Davis’s Chameleon villain in “Kung Fu Panda 4”.Dreamworks
There is a menacing villain
EachKung Fu Pandamovie has its own scary villain. In this film,Viola Davisvoices the tiny yet formidable Chameleon. She can shape-shift into larger animals and is on a mission to acquire fight skills from the spirits of defeated villains from past films.
The Chameleon is shown being threatening in multiple scenes, pushing people off ledges and reveling in being bad. For the climactic fight, she morphs into a gigantic monster that’s a combination of several animals.
“I think that people see me as nurturing and kind, and I’m all those things, I’m shy, I’m introverted. To just get out of my comfort zone, to just be sort of uncomfortably just fun and evil. The scope of it was a joy for me,” she said.
There are brief suggestive jokes
Another character, who is a fish, is said to “drink like a fish” and is shown at a bar being served a beverage. Later, someone questions if the fish character “should be driving” as he captains a ship seemingly while drunk.
source: people.com
