Kung Fu Panda 4 - Turbine Collector Series 3D Blu-ray

There comes a time when any franchise has to figure out whether or not it’s worth continuing. Has the story been told? Is there enough here to make another adventure worth the audience’s time? This is where we’re at with Kung Fu Panda 4. After the swift action of Jennifer Yuh Nelson’s Kung Fu Panda 3, I rather felt that this series had wrapped up nicely with Jack Black’s Po fully embodying the Dragon Warrior and becoming the leader of the Valley of Peace. Did we need a Kung Fu Panda 4? Probably, not, but we got one, and franchise newcomer directors Mike Mitchell and Stephanie Stine give us a fun reason to come back with another fun sequel villain played by yet another Oscar-winner. 

Now most of the time I don’t really keep up with animated kids' films without a niece or my son instigating the viewing, but I did my best to keep up with Po’s wild and crazy adventures in food and fighting. Part of that is because when this franchise started it was 2008 and I didn’t have the age-related hang-up about going to kids' films on my own. While I didn’t get to all of the sequels in theaters, when I found the time I’d check in and see what was happening. Thus I’m here for Kung Fu Panda 4 and it’s a surprisingly funny flick. 

In this outing we see Jack Black’s Po taking on a leadership role within his community and reluctant to give up his position as the Dragon Warrior. Under pressure from Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), Po goes through the motions of finding a protege Zhen (Awkwafina), but when the diabolical Chameleon (Viola Davis) threatens the safety of the land along with the return of the diabolical Tai Lung (Ian McShane), Po must lumber back into action, in between snacks. 

I don’t know what it is about this franchise among all others that I just get a kick out of. Maybe it’s the silliness of the premise, maybe it’s the goofy mix of comedy and animated action, or maybe I just have a soft spot for a manic-voiced Jack Black as a character who will do anything he can to be lazy. Maybe it’s all three. It helps that the creatives behind the franchise keep giving us reasons to come back for more and letting another Oscar winner like Viola Davis join the villainous ranks alongside Gary Oldman and J.K. Simmons. Then we get the added fun of Ian McShane’s return for another layer of value. 

With that, I have to say that the Kung Fu Panda franchise is precariously close to stretching itself too thin by repetition. After watching this latest sequel virtually back-to-back with Despicable Me 4, I realized that the time between entries has been good for Po and his pals. Eight years was a nice rest for this one without the added weight of trying to smash in spin-offs, prequels, or side films. The short-lived TV series didn’t seem to diminish anything of value here. In fact, this film was originally conceived as an animated/live-action hybrid film like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? but those plans fell through. The process of trying to find something new and exciting to do gave rise to a new story worth telling. If there is to be a Kung Fu Panda 5 I hope the creatives have a good reason to do it beyond raking in those box office bucks.  

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray 3D 
Kicking into action, Kung Fu Panda 4 leaps all three dimensions onto physical media as the sixteenth entry in the Turbine Collector Series run of Blu-ray 3D Releases. As with past releases in this line from the German label, the film is pressed on a Region Free BD50 disc. The disc is housed in a clear case with reversible insert art. The disc automatically loads to an animated 3D menu with basic navigation options.

Holding to a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, the 3D transfer makes great use of that frame. While this might not be overly aggressive with the parallax “pop-outs,” that sense of depth is a wild time. There’s plenty of close foreground, middle, and deep background object placement to give this image a great line along the z-axis. The full-animated action sequences make great use of the visual space giving you a fun reason to be wearing the glasses while enjoying the show.  Just about any time Po dreams of snacks or has an internal argument, the depth is intricately layered for a very pleasing and comfortable three-dimensional experience. Details are sharp throughout. The colors are lovely with plenty of primary pop. All around a great time.

Given how Turbine has approached these Blu-ray 3D releases, it shouldn’t be a surprise that this disc is once again packed with an excellent Atmos release. This is another wildly entertaining wall-to-wall experience. From the wild voice cast giving it their best to the rip-roaring action sequences to the great score from Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro score, the Atmos track is a real kick. Given it’s a kids’ animated feature, there’s very little downtime or quiet moments, but when needed it springs into action wonderfully. Dialog is clean without any issues. Height channels are well-appointed giving plenty of object-specific activity while the sides and rears fill the soundscape. It’s a very fun active mix to keep up with those 3D visuals. And again with the more recent releases for Turbine’s line of 3D discs, this one offers French, Spanish, and Italian in Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 with relative subtitle options. German Atmos is the default, but it’s easy to switch over in the main menu without issue.

In keeping with past Turbine Collector Series releases, there are no bonus features. Having the film in 3D is the reward there. 

While Universal/Illumination has been busy churning out anything and everything Minions and Despicable Me as fast as possible, Universal/Dreamworks was content to keep the offerings of the Kung Fu Panda Po relatively light. After nearly a decade since the last film, Kung Fu Panda 4 blasts into the fray with another fun adventure for Jack Black and his great cast of fellow voice actors. Maybe not as good as the previous sequels, but this adventure gives fans a good reason to return beyond simple I.P. recognition. Through the action and comedy, there’s a nice beating heart behind the film. Now Turbine unleashes the beast in all three dimensions with another fantastic Blu-ray 3D release in their growing Turbine Collector Series line of Blu-ray 3D discs. We get an excellent 3D transfer complete with a terrific Atmos mix to match. Hopefully, Turbine has more three-dimensional efforts in the offering very soon! Highly Recommended
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