The Wait (Weight) is Over for Kung Fu Panda 3; 10 Things I Love about this Sequel

I’ve been waiting for Kung Fu Panda 3’s release since last year. While the original release date published is supposedly March 16, 2016, the movie was actually shown earlier. And the wait weight (borrowing a tagline from one of the promotional posters) is over, we were finally able to see it on 3D last weekend.

And to cut it short, skipping a narration of the story line and cast which can be easily found through pages online like Wikipedia and IMDB, I’ll jump straight into the parts and pieces which I like most about this sequel. Spoilers alert!

10 Things I Love about The Kung Fu Panda 3 Sequel

1.  The DreamWorks Pictures introduction featuring Po is uber cute. 

2. There is continuity of Po’s adventures from the previous sequel (Kung Fu Panda 2 in 2011). The entire Furious Five gang (Tigress, Mantis, Monkey, Crane, Viper, and Master Shifu) is back on training while the rest of the village is back to normal too.

3. The teaser at the end of the second movie which showed Po’s father and his faraway village of panda bears in finally revealed. The secret community’s location is breathtaking.

4. Po did not lose either father (panda and goose) but gained two and had been reacquainted with his fellow panda kin. He has two cousins named Dim and Sum.

5. The Tigress love angle wasn’t pursued; it will be too awkward anyway – panda and tiger? No! For a while, I thought that the ribbon dancing panda (named Mei Mei) from Po’s birthplace will be his love interest but it looks like our hero is better off alone for now to pursue his mission as the dragon master.

6. Our hero learned, err… mastered a new technique – chi which even Shifu failed to master right away. The old Master Oogway gained mastery of the same method 500 years or so ago.

7. This movie’s villain (Kai) came to be around the same time and was formerly a brother-in-arms of Oogway before he turned towards the dark side. It’s almost the same as part 1’s tiger villain (Tai Lung, a former student of Shifu). I mistook Kai for the bull general in part 2 but they’re not the same.

8. If you’re wondering why Peacock’s (from part 2) chi wasn’t stolen, it’s simply because only the good guy’s chi is good for stealing. Using master’s Oogway’s chi, one can travel from the spirit world back to life (but the tortoise never bothered to do so). Po may have earned the same ability.

9. Oogway had also passed on his staff to Po while they conversed in the spirit world; making Po the new successor, bypassing Shifu.

10. The movie did not fail to deliver the same “fun” and “entertainment” it offered since the first film.

Sadly, I waited until the credits roll but did not see any teaser for an upcoming continuation of the story. But at least I saw three Jolie-Pitt names amongst the credits. They must have been Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's kids dubbing the voice over of the little panda characters from Po's village. 

Rumors are spreading over the web though that there will be three more Kung Fu Panda movies coming up, making the entire film franchise totaling to six. That's something worth waiting for again. 

Watch the Kung Fu Panda 3 playlist from DreamWorks pictures below: 

Image from the DreamWorks pictures UK poster for the movie