Jack Black on Po's wisdom in Kung Fu Panda 4

After defeating world-class villains in three movies over the past 16 years, Po the Dragon Warrior panda (voiced by Jack Black) has a new mission from kung fu master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) the red panda: to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, and to train an apprentice to take over his role as the Dragon Warrior. 

What could be a better training mission for Po and one possible apprentice – scrappy, streetwise thief Zhen (voiced by Awkwafina), a Corsac fox – than taking on evil shapeshifting sorceress The Chameleon (voiced by Viola Davis), who wants to get her sticky paws on Po’s Staff of Wisdom, which will give her the power to re-summon all the villains that Po has vanquished into the spirit realm. And yes, that means we get the return of fan favourites like Tai Lung the snow leopard (voiced by Ian McShane).

“Of all the journeys Po has been on, this story is his most emotional and exciting. As Po faces new challenges and characters like Zhen, and the most menacing opponent the Valley of Peace has ever seen in The Chameleon, this film takes him, and in turn the audience, on a fantastical new adventure,” promises DreamWorks Animation president Margie Cohn.

Stream Kung Fu Panda 4 now.

In Jack Black & white

“Returning to play Po feels like reconnecting with an old friend who’s still as awesome and goofy as ever,” says Jack Black. “Po’s journey this time around as the Spiritual Leader adds a whole new layer to his personality. He has a new depth to him, like this whole ‘wise and all-knowing’ thing, but, at the same time, part of him wonders, ‘Can I really do this? Am I wise enough to step into these shoes? Can you be the wisest dude in the room and still crack a joke?’ Po thinks so. And he’s out there trying, and that’s what makes Po so awesome.”

“When Po steps into the shoes of Spiritual Leader, you get to see his whole internal struggle,” says Jack. “He has the Staff of Wisdom, but he’s scratching his head wondering if he knows anything about wisdom at all. This chapter is like Po’s mid-kung fu-life crisis. More wisdom, fewer dumplings, but the same lovable Po.”

“The most rewarding part is seeing Po evolve emotionally, going from a noodle-slurping warrior to a spiritual leader with a heart as big as his appetite.”

Country bear in the city

But in true martial arts movie reverse-Uno fashion, to stay and guard the Valley of Peace, Po must first venture outside of it – to the metropolis of Juniper City. “We wanted to design a film where Zhen represents the city mouse and Po the country mouse,” says co-director Mike Mitchell. “He’s coming to the big city for the first time ever. So, we’ve created, essentially, New York City’s Times Square in an ancient fantasy China world. With crowds of animals – more animals than you’ve ever seen – rhinos, sheep, boar, pigs, goats, crocodiles, bears.” 

Cue a big-eyed “Ooohhhhh” from Po, and a major shift in perspective. “This immense scale triggers a change in Po, making him realise he was perhaps a big fish in a small pond,” explains co-director Stephanie Ma Stine. “As he explores this vast new world, he discovers the diversity of people and embraces the sub-theme that the world is not black and white. It’s a journey that leads Po to wisdom, seeing beyond the simplistic hero-villain narrative, a realisation mirrored in Zhen, a grey Corsac fox representing the shades of grey in the world.” 

There was more to the choice of a fox than the colour of Zhen’s fur. Mike Mitchell adds, “We considered a lot of different animals, but we landed on a fox because we thought it was the perfect character for someone who’s a fast, smart thief. Our team went through thousands of drawings of foxes, studied real foxes and looked at footage of foxes and how they move. Specifically, Zhen’s tail had an entire team of people who were dedicated to making her beautiful, giant tail move around fluidly and realistically. Loads of work and technology went into making Zhen not only look great but move great.” 

Meanwhile Stepanie was able to draw on her own experiences growing up with her family from Taiwan and China to bring Po into this new world. “I had fun teaching the crew how to play Mahjong, a game my father jokingly warned would lead me down a path of destruction,” she reveals. “Yet, there I was, imparting the joy of this Chinese game on my peers. And within our film, from the rural Valley of Peace to the bustling Juniper City, we’ve worked to capture the vast spectrum of this culture. The smallest details, like featuring authentic foods, create a richness to the Kung Fu Panda world.” 

Little chameleon, big trouble

While The Chameleon has the ability to shapeshift into any animal in the Kung Fu Panda world – including a giant version of Po himself – all this cunning and power is squeezed into a teen, tiny package. “With The Chameleon, we have an epic, beautiful design,” says Mike Mitchell. “With Viola’s voice, you would never consider how tiny this character is. Her voice is big, and the performance is empowering, and that’s exactly what we needed for The Chameleon. It was a perfect match.” 

This is Viola’s first-ever time voicing an animated character, and she loved playing with The Chameleon’s transformations. “Depending on the situation she finds herself in, The Chameleon’s voice changes – whether she feels overcome, insecure or at the peak of her power,” Viola reveals. “I challenged her journey and played with it. I wasn’t always sure if it would land, but I was happy to just explore the voice within the realms of this tiny creature. Working on this film gave me a sense of freedom to just be silly for a few hours, and I had forgotten what it feels like – just to be silly.” And she found that licence to play and dream truly in line with the Kung Fu Panda world. “Po doesn’t necessarily look like a warrior, but it sparks the imagination and allows the viewer to envision what they can become,” Viola says.

Also watch

Kung Fu Panda: In ancient China, bumbling, optimistic giant panda Po loves two things: eating and kung fu. The second one comes in handy when snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane) is set to escape imprisonment and attack Po’s home, the Valley of Peace. An unlikely hero, Po is chosen by wise tortoise Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) to become the "Dragon Warrior" – a hero deemed worthy of reading the Dragon Scroll, which is said to grant limitless power, and fighting alongside Po’s heroes, the Furious Five kung fu masters.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (back on Showmax from Monday, 30 December): Po is living his dream as a kung fu master, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside the Furious Five as they set out on a mission to stop the evil peacock Lord Shen (Gary Oldman) from using his new weapon, the cannon, to conquer China and destroy kung fu tradition. Po’s backstory comes into play when he finds out that his biological parents risked everything to save him from Shen, who massacred all the pandas he could find because of a prophecy that he would be defeated by "a warrior of black-and-white". 

Kung Fu Panda 3: Master Shifu hands his position as master of the Jade Palace to Po, who’s now responsible for training the Furious Five, and protecting them all from bull spirit warrior General Kai (JK Simmons) who is back in the mortal realm and “collecting” living and dead kung fu masters from all over China to serve in his Jade Zombie army. To defeat General Kai, Po must master the power of Chi which, according to his biological father Li Shan (Bryan Cranston), he can only learn to do in the secret Panda Valley.