At the tail-end of 2010, then-CEO of DreamWorks Animation Jeffrey Katzenberg said that, amongst the franchising plans for the Shrek Shack’s myriad of properties, there was a plan in place for six Kung Fu Panda features. And, bear in mind that this was before the second was even released.

Now, while this series started out on the note of being an animated Jack Black vehicle, the subsequent sequels have shown at least some merit to continuing on for that long. Consistently eye-catching visuals, one of the better all-star voice casts in the studio’s lengthy history of such things, and an approach to Taoist philosophy and teachings that does justice to its nuances while still making it accessible for all ages. Oh, and cute fluffy panda; there’s that too.

With this fourth installment, all of that is still present and accounted for, albeit with the added bonus of the eight years’ worth of advancements in artificial lighting and textures to keep up with the times. But in keeping with the legacy approach that went into Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, we now have our favourite rotund roundhouse-kicker Po in search of a new Dragon Warrior to take his place. Incidentally, he also runs into street thief Zhen (Awkwafina) and the two need to team up for plot reasons. Where could this possibly be going?

Yeah, the plot is pretty standard, not the least of which because it involves Po yet again searching for questions about who he is and what he must do. The series thus far has found some okay variety in its exploration of the Tao, showing Po getting his head around how to do without doing (or wu wei), finding his own flow, moving with the tides of life rather than against them… or, to quote another popular Taoist, to “be like water”.

Here, that becomes an overall message about change as a constant of the universe, and that it is ultimately more beneficial to change with it than to be inflexible. It’s a message that works well with Po, Zhen, and even Viola Davis’ villainous Chameleon (adding another awesome character design to the franchise’s pedigree), and the way Po interacts with foes both past and present holds true to his Taoist virtues. But for a film all about the necessity of change, there’s not a whole lot different here from what the series has already presented audiences. Well, aside from a noticeable increase in weak punning and a mild dip in the quality of the action scenes.

The character drama still delivers, the spectacle is spectacular, and even considering the blander jokes this time around, it’s still fairly consistent in its giggle factor. Jack Black and Awkwafina work well together, and James Hong and Bryan Cranston as Po’s paternal double-act, while somewhat digressional to the actual plot, are always welcome.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is another solidly entertaining addition to the franchise; not a ground-breaking or revelatory addition, just another one. While the diminishing returns here certainly put a question mark over whether the initial six-film plan truly needs to be happen, the diminishment in question isn’t so severe as to make the film itself unnecessary; this isn’t Trolls Band Together we’re talking about here. It may be a bit stuck in neutral, but for fans of the series up to this point, it’s still a high-flying good time.

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