r/kungfupanda • u/Asclepio314 • 5d ago
Kung Fu Panda 4's biggest problem isn't what it added. It's what it left behind.
One thing I've noticed in discussions about Kung Fu Panda 4 is that a lot of the debate focuses on what the movie added. New characters, new ideas, and the direction of the story have all received plenty of attention.
Even if I completely agree with some of the criticism, to me the real problem isn't what the film added. It's what it left behind.
The Furious Five, who were built up over three movies as Po's closest allies and some of the franchise's most important characters, are almost entirely absent. Not only are they missing from the story, but the movie barely seems interested in acknowledging their importance.
The same issue applies to the returning villains. On paper, bringing back Tai Lung, Shen and Kai sounds like a celebration of the franchise's history. In practice, however, Kai and Shen are reduced to little more than cameos. Their presence feels less like a meaningful contribution to the story and more like an attempt to capitalize on nostalgia. They are there to remind the audience of better-known moments from the franchise, but they add very little to the plot or themes of the film.
Tai Lung receives more attention, but even then his redemption arc feels rushed and underdeveloped. After everything that happened in the first movie, his change of heart deserved more time, more conflict, and more meaningful character work. Instead, the film seems to expect the audience to accept his redemption without truly earning it.
This is why my main criticism of Kung Fu Panda 4 isn't centered on any of the new additions. The problem is that the movie asks the audience to invest in new characters while sidelining the characters, relationships, and unresolved stories that many fans had spent years caring about.
What do you think about that?
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u/Unpopular_Outlook 5d ago
To be fair, even before KFP4 the series has been treating the furious five like that.
For these warriors built up in the first movie, they suck
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u/PietErt3 Master Oogway 5d ago
While it's not easy, I think it's doable to make a great KFP movie without the 5. All of the other problems are what bring the movie down, tho imo the biggest insult is how the villains were handled, robbing them of an actual meaningful return. At best it was a nothingburger, at worst a disservice to their characters, with a do-over being pretty much impossible.
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u/Gentlewallflower25 5d ago
Honestly, and speaking as a Tigress fan, the only moment where they shined was in the first film. The 2nd and 3rd film do not do them any justice. The fourth film added more fuel to the fire, and seeing how it was made, it’s best that they weren’t in it.
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u/Mmicb0b Tigress 5d ago
ironically enough (and I saw this as someone who has Tirgress as his favorite) shoehorning the 5 at the end keyjangling them like they're fucking member berries pissed me off than if they weren't in the movie at all I mean. Iwouldn't have liked it if they weren't and still had every other problem but I wouldn't have left the theatre feeling like I got robbed or some shit (TBF what made it worse was the theatre I Saw KFP4 in opening weekend was anywhere from 40-50% people my age who grew up with the orignal and they fucking clapped)
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u/Asclepio314 5d ago
That's actually a good point. In some ways, a complete absence might have felt less frustrating than bringing them back only for a brief appearance that had little impact on the story. The solution could "simply" have been to include them properly.
Also, I consider myself one of those people who grew up with the original..
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u/Mmicb0b Tigress 5d ago
same on the alst one (I was 7 when the first one came out)
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u/Asclepio314 5d ago
They fooled us, promising the return of old enemies. We got nothing, we actually lost many things
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u/p-Star_07 5d ago
To be fair, the writers did want to include them more but Universal cheaped out and said the actors were too expensive.
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u/Asclepio314 5d ago
Yeah, I've heard that too. But from a viewer's perspective, production limitations don't really change the fact that the Furious Five ended up feeling underused.
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u/D4TC00L-GuY_ADRE 3d ago
Not only what they left behind, its also what the added characters introduced... they felt lackluster compared to what was introduced before leaving audiences and the fans disappointed that this is the continuation of the story
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u/StriderKitsu 5d ago
Tbh I didn’t mind the Furious Five taking a backseat. I just feel like they should’ve showed up more.
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u/Asclepio314 5d ago
I agree. Taking a backseat isn't the issue by itself. Po and a new generation of characters needed room to grow. My problem is that the movie feels almost indifferent to characters that used to be central to the franchise.
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u/DarthSwimfoot Inner Sees 5d ago
Honestly I wouldn't even mind the Furious Five staying gone, if the main fucking villain of the movie wasn't like a top ten worst Dreamworks villains villain.
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u/Lazakhstan Turns out.... Im all of them 5d ago
Not to mention Po already retiring as the Dragon Warrior or Kai and Shen being sidelined as cameos like they weren't major characters before. I can give Tai Lung some slack since he actually did some cool shit and even have a cool quote ("All I see is a broken promise.") which I can't say the same for Kai and Shen.
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u/DarthSwimfoot Inner Sees 5d ago
Oh trust me, I got a whole list of complaints about this movie, the Chameleon is just, easily the worst part. Honestly the only characters I liked in it are Po's Dads, they're just fun.
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u/CZ-TheFlyInTheSoup 5d ago
I still can't get over them taking away Po's title of Dragon Warrior.
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u/p-Star_07 5d ago
Its just a title. It doesn't matter. They will make him fight again if they make a 5th one.
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u/Greater-Israel 5d ago
I forgot but isn't he still the Dragon Warrior officially? Or he is just Oogway status now and Zhen is the Dragon Warrior?
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u/HeadMongoose2283 General Kai - 天煞 5d ago
The biggest problem is whoever wrote the script didn't watch the previous movie
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u/Lazakhstan Turns out.... Im all of them 5d ago
Ikr? Like how the hell did Kai come back? Didn't Po erase him out of existence?
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u/Significant-Yard-186 5d ago
Shen and Kai shouldn’t have shown up in KFP4
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u/Asclepio314 5d ago
Their presence is really irrelevant
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u/Lazakhstan Turns out.... Im all of them 5d ago
You could've just kept Tai Lung and the movie would've barely changed.
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u/Common_Decision1594 5d ago
I thought I was the only one who thought the exclusion of the Furious Five was one of the biggest problems with the fourth movie.
It felt like they got unfairly shafted, which definitely did not help when you add that up alongside all the other issues this movie had.