‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Is Sorely Missing the Furious Five

The Dragon Warrior returned to the big screen this year, as Kung Fu Panda 4 brought audiences back to the Valley of Peace to follow martial arts master and fanboy Po (Jack Black) as he takes the next steps in his kung fu journey. Using all the experience he's acquired, Po must rise above his station as Dragon Warrior, learn to lead others and fight enemies new and old to protect his home. However, this most recent outing in the animated martial arts series is missing some familiar faces— and their absence is impossible to miss. While Kung Fu Panda 4 features the return of important characters like Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and Po's two fathers, Mr. Ping (James Hong) and Li (Bryan Cranston), the film is glaringly missing the presence of the Furious Five. Though the Furious Five do make brief appearances, they are essentially relegated to small cameos that largely diminish their importance to the story. Despite the movie's intention of expanding the world and looking at new horizons, the absence of the Furious Five is a glaring misstep that makes the story less impactful because it traded in meaningful relationships that Po developed over countless films for new dynamics that don't receive sufficient time to develop. To put it in terms that the cuisine-loving Po would resonate with, Kung Fu Panda 4 is missing five of its most important ingredients, and the broth is sorely lacking in depth because of it.