Let’s just say there’s a reason that the panda isn’t considered to be the world’s most intelligent creature. In the first English-language trailer (though it’s really more of a teaser) for next year’s Kung Fu Panda 3, Po (Jack Black) finally reunites with his father (Bryan Cranston), and it doesn’t exactly go as well as you would hope.
Directed by Jennifer Yuh and Alessandro Carloni, the threequel finds Po discovering an entire village of fun-loving, carefree pandas with whom he feels like he could actually belong. But when a fearsome new threat begins to take down kung fu masters across China, Po is forced to train an entire village of kung fu pandas if he’s to have any hope of stopping the villain’s reign of terror.
DreamWorks Animation has relied very heavily on the high-grossing Kung Fu Panda franchise as it undergoes a creative evolution. After the string of misfires that was Rise of the Guardians, Turbo and Mr. Peabody and Sherman, the studio is looking very carefully at which movies are on its release schedule and working hard to ensure that its future titles are more successful. That shouldn’t be a problem for Kung Fu Panda 3, given what a shockingly rabid fanbase the franchise has accrued.
The film also features the voices of Rebel Wilson, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, David Cross, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, James Hong and Randall Duk Kim.
Kung Fu Panda 3 opens January 29 next year.
In 2016, one of the most successful animated franchises in the world returns with its biggest comedy adventure yet, KUNG FU PANDA 3. When Po’s long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible—learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!
