Kung Fu Panda 3, mini movie review

Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars

For all of Po's life he believed he was the very last Panda alive, being raised by his goose father Mr. Ping, master of noodles and dumplings.  The end credit tease at the end of Kung Fu Panda 2 showed a panda village, dun dun duuuun!, and in Kung Fu Panda 3 Po finally meets his father.  Enter a supernatural villain and the movie plays out to the lyrics of Kung Fu Fighting: "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting; Those kicks were fast as lightning . .. " etc, etc, etc.

Any more info and I spoil the plot!  What fun would that be?

Without giving too much away, this movie is my favorite of the bunch, with the first movie being a super close second. I loved the first movie. Didn't care so much for the second film.  (And if you haven't seen any of the episodes from the Kung Fu Panda television series, you are truly missing out.  They're really fun.)

Of all the villains this Panda series has introduced us to, Kai is my favorite, who is an old pal of Oogway, the Kung Fu master who passed away in the first movie.  (As a note, an animated series based on Kai and Oogway's past would be fantastic.)

This movie is presented in both 2D and 3D.  I've gotten to the point where I avoid 3D movies, because I'm completely over them.  I'm growing annoyed by the trend.  But I went with my brother Robbie and sister-in-law Lindsay, and they picked the time, which happened to be the 3D showing.  I moaned at the realization, but the opening scene in 3D was so beautiful I let out an audible "ohhh."  It was gorgeous, and I really enjoyed the 3D through the whole movie.

As a final thought, my Dad took the nieces to the movie and I asked him what he thought of the movie.  He gave it 3.5 stars, because he didn't feel the movie wasn't really for kids.  Here I disagreed with him, because I didn't get that feeling.  There's fighting, but that's expected, and much talk about Kung Fu.

I liked the message of the movie.  I liked the theme about family.  There was some backstory I wish wasn't brushed over, but that's okay.  Overall I had fun, and that's one of the main reasons why I like going to the movies.  

MPAA: Rated PG for martial arts action and some mild rude humor.