Samhi C.  – Features Editor
skc5908@psu.edu

The morning before I flew back to Erie after Spring Break, my family and I went to a local theater back home and watched “Kung Fu Panda 4”. 

The movie, in terms of plot, was highly predictable and follows an age-old trope: Po makes a new friend, the friend betrays Po, and then the friend realizes that Po is the good guy and changes their ways, turning against their old master. I mean, this movie is ‘meant’ for little kids, so of course, the plot has to be extremely easy to follow. 

And you know what? It is perfectly okay. 

Usually, the high predictability of stories irritates me but when it comes to kids TV and film, you have to watch it with an entirely different lens. 

I remember two summers ago, my younger brother played “Kung Fu Panda 3” on repeat on Netflix for god knows why. And when I say younger, not by much. He is a college student. It dawned on me the morning we watched the fourth film about why he loved the film series so much and why I still loved it too: the humor. 

The writers of the films deserve kudos for their perfect timing and their robust handle on language. No spoilers; you have to watch the movie for yourself to find out what these jokes are. Really! You have to. Not to mention, the animations themselves, the expressions and movements of the characters also lend to the laughter that no doubt will erupt through any audience. 

The entire time we sat in that theater, from the opening to the end credits, every other minute you could hear at least half the people there laughing. 

I also want to give a shout out to the sound track, composed by Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro. In particular, I loved the score entitled “Tavern Fight”. I also loved the song used for the end credits: Tenacious D’s rendition of Britney Spears’s “… Baby One More Time”. I did not particularly understand why they chose this song at the time but it may have something to do with the lyrics including “hit me, baby, one more time”. While the song is a love song, it can very well be interpreted as a fight song, too. 

Overall, “Kung Fu Panda 4” is a great film to watch if you are in the mood to laugh nonstop with your friends and family.