With these animated movie franchises, without great writers behind them; they will slide down that slippery slope of greatness.
You can tell from this third installment of Kung Fu Panda, they are running out of stories to tell and are throwing in subplots that either are struggling to be fleshed out properly on paper, or do not help make the overall movie more interesting.
One thing that I still really like about this movie is the 2D animated artwork. The consistency of using that style as flashback storytelling is still strong and equally beautiful, though by now it's slightly dated.
The main villain this time, voiced by J.K. Simmons has its redeeming qualities. His weapons of choice are really cool and used to great effects. And his voice acting did stand out, as with another newcomer to the franchise, Bryan Cranston, playing Po's biological father. James Hong's voicing Po's adopted father still sounds fantastic.
The story was the biggest let down. The story progression moved too fast without any breathing room. The panda village progression was also glossed over a couple of times with some voice-over montages. A couple of characters from that village were at least memorable but none made any kind of impact because not enough time was invested on them.
This could also be linked to a new and fresh director partnering up with the director from the first sequel. That's why the direction was lacking in this third movie. The producers should really bring back the duo that directed the first movie.
But at the end of it all, I have come to disagree strongly with where the direction of Jack Black's Po has gone in this franchise. Why is he given such powerful accolades when he seems the weakest in terms of skills? How does he keep surpassing all those who came before him at such a young age in his journey? None of it makes sense.
And because of that, I have lost hope in this franchise and do not hope for any more installments.
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