‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Trailer: A Kung Fu Panda Meets His Father
By the time Kung Fu Panda 3 hits theaters, it’ll have been five years since the previous adventure of Jack Black’s Po and his martial artist animal buddies. For the kids weened on the first two movies, that’s practically a lifetime. Considering the diminishing creative (but certainly not financial) returns between Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2, will anyone care about this movie when it ultimately lurches into theaters? Consider that question as soon as you click play on the trailer above.
Like every other first trailer for an animated movie (and this is the third one in a week), there is no focus on plot here. This preview exists solely to remind everyone that this movie exists and that it features Kung Fu, pandas, and, since this is a DreamWorks Animation production, an enormous cast of celebrities earning a quick paycheck. After a brief action scene, the trailer quickly introduces the latest big name: Bryan Cranston, playing the voice of Po’s long lost father. The trailer focuses almost entirely on an interaction between these two, a conversation between two imbeciles that is almost funny. It’s a weird, underwhelming choice for a preview.
The actual plot of the film sounds exactly like what you’d expect from another movie in this series:
When Po's long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible—learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!
This could be a fun-enough movie, but it is hard to shake just how stale and familiar this teaser feels. This combination of anthropomorphic animal martial artistry and Jack Black buffoonery worked before, but it’s hard to imagine it working a third time. Surprise us, DreamWorks. We want you to break through our icy hearts with your colorful panda action! Teach us how to love again!
Kung Fu Panda 3 opens on January 29, 2016.