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With Kung Fu Panda 4 currently in theaters, it's a good time to catch up on the previous instalment of the fun and funny franchise, which once again features Jack Black as Po, the lovable panda of the title. This time around the cast also includes Bryan "Walter White" Cranston, Kate Hudson, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen and JK Simmons, and it's a surprisingly touching film with some emotional hits among the martial arts madness.
Is Kung Fu Panda 3 worth streaming?
Yes. Franchises have a tendency to run out of steam, and that's particularly true with hit kids' animations. But the third Panda movie bucks the trend and has a strong 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. A huge part of its success is Jack Black's huge charisma, of course, but the writing's good too. As Jennifer Heaton of Alternative Lens writes: "it doesn't quite have the originality of the first film or the boldness of the second, but it still has heart where it counts."
The film isn't really breaking any new ground, but it's still a fun experience. The Independent says that "It may serve up exactly the same mix of mayhem, noodles and dumplings as the first two films in the series, but Kung Fu Panda 3 is still energetic and wildly entertaining fare." And ContactMusic found it improved on the first movies in some respects: "Both the writing and the animation are especially strong this time around, drawing in bigger themes while still keeping things both thrilling and very silly."
"It's not tired recycling," says The Age, which argues that "the movie deftly reinforces and extends what has gone before." And the New Zealand Herald says "It's smart, colourful, easy fun for the whole family."
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