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Kung Fu Panda 4 follows on from three films I’ve never seen, but I figured the plot wouldn’t be too difficult to get into.
Jack Black (School Of Rock) takes the lead as Po, dragon warrior and titular panda, with Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman – The Program) telling him the time has come for him to choose a successor, so Po can then head off and be the spiritual leader of the valley of peace, and bring harmony everywhere.
A chance meeting with Fox Zhen (Awkwafina – Migration 3D) leads to him stopping her thievery and sending her to jail. If only justice was so quick for the corrupt Tory party. However, because reasons,he must also take down The Chameleon (Viola Davis – The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes), who has taken over Juniper City. Naturally, the unlikely pair need each other in order to succeed.
There’s a few jokes that made me laugh a bit, such as Po being told he must take steps to protect his health, having just walked up a number of very steep ones, the grammar of working out what was the precise plural of “nemesis” – as that’s something I would’ve done in the same situation, plus how a local bar in Juniper City is balanced on a rock, whicih is the most ridiculous planning of a building ever!
I went to watch Kung Fu Panda 4 mostly because of the fact that Odeon had a 3D screening, and when you’re on Limitless Plus – which allows for no additional charge for these – you may as well take the chance when you can, and the 3D was fine. Not outstanding, but fine.
Plot-wise, it was as threadbare as I expected, and droned on and on for some time.
Beyond that, since when did “Parental Guidance” for PG STOP meaning kids should be accompanied by parents?
I know expecting all kids to be silent during a film is an impossible ask, but I’ve not come across a situation like this before.
Towards the end of the row were three kids (anywhere from age 7-10, at a guess) who I thought were with a parent, but it transpired they weren’t.
They weren’t disruptive at first, but before too long, they start chattering away, and even though they certainly heard me shushing them, as well as later asking them to be quiet – all of which went ignored, there came a time where two of them went out for a while. Then they came back in, then they all went out for so long that I thought they’d left for good… then came back, then finally, around the halfway point in the film, they left and never returned.
I doubt they had their own Limitless Plus accounts each, so three lots of 3D tickets, glasses and snacks can’t be cheap. Their parents must’ve been with them, unless they drove on their own, so where were they?!
And why are the staff letting them all run in and out like a yoyo? When you come out of screen 1 in the Trafford Centre, there’s CCTV on that corridor, so if they’re not walking past staff back into the main area, then they’re staying in that corridor and should be spotted at some point, since they’re hardly going to be quiet. They didn’t exactly have Metal Gear Solid-levels of stealth(!)
I emailed Odeon later and asked them to look into this, and why didn’t they check CCTV at the time?
Odeon responded with a basic: “Should you experience disruption from other guests again in future, my best advice would be to raise it with a friendly member of the cinema team who will be happy to do everything possible to rectify the issue for you. Our team members are always available at the ticket check point and at the retail counter, we also have a duty manager available on request who is usually the one to carry out screen checks.”
Well, the kids left. Plus, even if they’d stayed, I’d have to walk past them on my row.
They added: “I will ensure that your feedback is relayed to the management team at Trafford Centre so that we can look into ways of improving our services and experiences for all of our valued guests, as well as ensuring all cinema team members are aware of our processes and as a training opportunity in our customer service expectations.”
So, maybe they will check CCTV more in such cases, but I won’t hold my breath.
With regards to the minimum age kids should be allowed into a screen, “Kids are allowed into a PG film without any parents or guardians. We would recommend 8 years old and up. Below is our official statement on it.
Parental Guidance
General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch, but parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.”
So, that’s a basic BBFC statement, but one would hope that they don’t just allow a group of younger kids in there on their own, otherwise there’s a bigger chance of them being complete twats.
About their CCTV, they did add “In regards to the CCTV that we have in our cinemas. This is there as a prevention tool but is not monitored. Footage will be accessed as required should an accident, incident or similar happen.”
Well, they have come in to rectify a situation where a kid came into one screen, wandered through to the other side, leaving via the Fire Door, and they got them out without any prompting. Similarly, and surprisingly, they also once stopped someone putting their feet up on the chair in front. I haven’t seen them do that before, but it doesn’t happen too often, and people should actually behave when they’re in a cinema.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release date TBA.
You can also pre-order the original Kung Fu Panda on 4K Steelbook, ahead of its release date of April 22nd.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 94 minutes
Release date: March 29th 2024
Studio: Universal Pictures
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Dolby Vision)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 3/10
Directors: Mike Mitchell, Stephanie Ma Stine
Producers: Rebecca Huntley
Screenplay: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Darren Lemke
Music: Steve Mazzaro, Hans Zimmer
Voice cast:
Po: Jack Black
Zhen: Awkwafina
The Chameleon: Viola Davis
Master Shifu: Dustin Hoffman
Li: Bryan Cranston
Mr. Ping: James Hong
Tai Lung: Ian McShane
Han: Ke Huy Quan
Fish: Ronny Chieng
Granny Boar: Lori Tan Chinn
Mantis: Seth Rogen
Panda Pig: Mr Beast
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.