Film Preview: Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(December 17, 2023) Original
(March 3, 2024) New Trailer (#2) — New Posters (#2-#18)

Release Date:

March 8, 2024

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Follow Po on his wide-eyed adventures in ancient China, whose love of kung fu is matched only by an insatiable appetite.”

Poster Rating: B- / C / B- / C / C+ (5) / B- / C / C+ / C (5) / C+

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1, B-) Bringing together the characters we’re somewhat familiar with, but without the Furious Five, seems like a poor choice for a film choice and reflecting that in the admittedly clutter free design won’t likely sell the film.

(#2, C) The noodles in the shape of a four might seem clever but when the surrounding design is so simplistic and dull, the cleverness wears off quickly. (#3, B-) While the details and character arrangement are nice, but empty spaces almost overwhelm. (#4, C) While the background isn’t technically blank, it’s not an appealing pattern and it only accentuates the flaws with the central figure and its simplistic placement. (#5-#9, C+) The nice background details from design #3 are expounded upon with these character posters, it makes the empty spaces even more noticeable. (#10, B-) Another rendition of design #3 with the Dolby logo and a vagueness of emptiness overwhelming. (#11, C) Unlike design #4, this one does have very little detail in the background but is slightly enhanced by the fiery dragon employed, which makes the effort pop. (#12, C+) This design builds into Chinese cultural symbolism from the coins to the dragon and the clouds. It feels a big gaudy overall. (#13-#17, C) These look to be low-effort character designs with individual characters and zero background details other than the cosmotic motion blur. (#18, C+) Minimal effort was put into this action-blurred background and simply posed foreground characters.

Trailer Rating: B- / C

SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: (#1, B-) Po is back, but without most of his friends. The concept here is shoddily presented and cheaply produced, making this look like a tough sell to even those who are fans of the original films. There are some interesting concepts on display, but it’s also a bit frustrating to see them poorly utilized.

(#2, C) This pre-release buy-your-tickets-now trailer lacks engaging elements and makes the film look dreadfully like the prior three films. It’s a tease with some action and little impact to the viewer.

Oscar Prospects:

The first two films were nominated for Best Animated Feature, but the third was ignored. Fatigue has likely set in and a nomination for the fourth chapter is iffy.