Peril, some potty humor in Dragon Warrior buddy comedy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
some
Lots of martial arts fighting, both in small groups and hand-to-hand combat. Fight scenes are quick and intense, but hardly anyone gets seriously injured. Tai Lung destroys a village and lights a quarry on fire. Chameleon is scary as she summons the abilities of dead kung fu masters. Key characters are captured/in danger. Slapstick falls/crashes. Characters are involuntarily brought back from the spirit realm, imprisoned, and forced to help a sorceress summon their talents. Characters are hurt, and one dies.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Infrequent use of words including "stupid," "butt," "loser," "screw up." Joke about a fish who lives in a pelican's mouth "drinking like a fish." Some bathroom humor.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
Nothing on screen, but off screen there are many tie-ins: spin-offs, video games, apparel, toys, and other branded merchandise.
Positive Messages
a lot
Several positive messages about redemption, not allowing your past mistakes to dictate your future choices, the importance of teamwork, and finding ways to use your gifts and talents for the greater good, not just yourself. Integrity and ethics are also heavily featured, as well as facing the consequences of your actions.
Positive Role Models
some
Po is optimistic, brave, selfless. He's kind and loving to his dads, mentor Master Shifu, and friends. Po, his recently discovered biological father, and his adoptive father all love and support one another. Zhen is determined and believes in the "rules of the streets" until she realizes there's more to life than looking out for yourself. She redeems herself and learns from her past mistakes. She learns from and befriends the Dragon Warrior.
Diverse Representations
some
Celebrates traditional Chinese culture through depictions of ancient Chinese architecture, rural life, and philosophies such as the importance of harmony, balance, and community—but these familiar depictions have also become clichéd over time. While several main characters are still voiced by White actors (including star Jack Black), this installment in the franchise has more Chinese representation than previous films. One director, Stephanie Ma Stine, is Chinese, and returning actor James Hong and Awkwafina (who's of Chinese and Korean descent) voice major characters. Additional supporting roles are voiced by Chinese and Asian American actors, including Ronny Chieng, Ke Huy Quan, and Lori Tan Chinn. Zhen is determined, crafty, and scrappy. Although she's a villain, Chameleon is also a strong, confident, and intelligent female character. Characters have a positive, healthy relationship with food, viewing it as a means of bringing folks together, and there aren't obvious fatphobic comments as there were in some previous movies. Po, his biological father, and his adoptive father all love and support each other in their blended family.
Meant for entertainment, not educational purposes, but it has positive messages and characters who represent a variety of Asia-dwelling animals.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Kung Fu Panda 4—the fourth movie in the popular Kung Fu Panda franchise—finds unlikely hero Po (again voiced by Jack Black) charged with selecting his successor as Dragon Warrior so that he can take on new responsibilities. But first he must face ruthless new villain Chameleon (Viola Davis), joined by quick-witted fox Zhen (Awkwafina). Expect lots of martial-arts action (both one-on-one and group fighting), including sometimes-intense scenes of widespread destruction and coercion and characters having their powers stolen to be used for evil. There's also some potty humor and infrequent language ("butt," "screw up," "stupid," etc.). But there are positive messages about redemption, the importance of teamwork, and serving the greater good. Po and his two dads are a loving blended family, and there are a few more Chinese actors in supporting roles this time, making the movie more representative of the ancient culture the franchise has been celebrating for so long. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
This has a lot of “demonic” voices/powers/images. It’s actually pretty scary for young children. My seven year old was fine but said it wasn’t near as good as the others. My three year old begged to leave, so he and I waited outside while my other and his dad finished the movie.
I watched half of it and was perfectly fine to leave. It was basically a Zootopia for the Kung Fu Panda franchise. Meh.
I think that the movie is not suitable for children under the age of 12 due to the large number of random combat movements. The adoptive father had to remain only friends with Poe after the biological father appeared.
What's the Story?
KUNG FU PANDA 4 begins with the presumed-dead tiger villain Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane) terrorizing a community of miners. Meanwhile, at the Jade Palace, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) informs Po (Jack Black) that Po has been selected as the new spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace and must quickly select and train his successor as Dragon Warrior. When Zhen (Awkwafina), a clever, scheming fox, arrives in the valley and tries to steal the Jade Palace's treasured weapons, Po and Shifu find out that a wicked sorceress, Chameleon (Viola Davis)—who can shape-shift into any kind of creature—poses a threat to the entire realm. Po helps release the imprisoned Zhen to help him confront Chameleon before she causes any more destruction. Along the way, Po sees Zhen's potential, even as she proves craftier than he realized.
This beautifully animated fourth installment is funny and cute, but audiences will miss the Furious Five. The long gap between the release of this film and Kung Fu Panda 3means that some of the details of the previous films might be a bit fuzzy. But that doesn't matter, because Po himself fills in the blanks for viewers who may have forgotten the giant panda's plot journey. (TL;DR: The Furious Five are each away on assignment.) Black and Awkwafina have a natural comedic chemistry based in a platonic "odd couple" dynamic. James Hong and Bryan Cranston are charming as Po's adoptive and biological dads, and, with her commanding voice, Davis is an ideal villain. Chameleon makes a variety of other animals cower with her shape-shifting abilities, even as she craves to summon the kung fu powers of departed master villains.
The script—by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, and Darren Lemke—relies too heavily on Awkwafina's sarcastic stylings, but it makes good use of contrasting Zhen's edgy, morally gray personality with Po's ethical, selfless character. The easy-to-follow plot should engage families of all ages, and the humor is little-kid friendly, with the requisite (if thankfully fairly infrequent) potty humor references to butts and farts. It's too bad there's not more about the Dragon-Warrior-to-spiritual-leader transition, but it's clear that this is a franchise that could still keep going.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Kung Fu Panda 4 compares to the earlier movies in the series. Which of the movies do you like most, and why?
Discuss the buddy-comedy aspects of this installment. What do you think of Zhen as Po's sidekick?
MPAA explanation:
martial arts action/mild violence, scary images and some mild rude humor
Last updated:
August 7, 2024
Inclusion information powered by
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Sandie Angulo Chen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
