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Kung Fu Panda 4: Disappointedly flat
With a painfully lackluster plot and comedic relief that fell short, I found Kung Fu Panda 4, the latest in a franchise known for its humor and warm feels, to be an unexpected failure.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is rife with problems. Nothing about this movie was new or original, and it felt immensely predictable. Not only that, but it was also written awkwardly and full of plot holes. Po, the much beloved comedic relief and main character of the series, showed little to no change throughout the movie, despite the themes of growth and change mentioned by the characters. Although Po constantly spoke to Zhen, his companion in the quest to stop the Chameleon from stealing the Kung-Fu from masters all around China about growing and changing to become a good candidate for Dragon Warrior, Po himself barely demonstrated any of the development he so adamantly supported. The supposed challenges he faces, such as being tricked by the wicked villainess, the Chameleon, barely change him.
Although both Zhen, the second main character, and the Chameleon, the reptilian villainess, often talk about Po’s overly trusting nature, calling him an “easy mark,” Po doesn’t learn to avoid others’ trickery or become less trusting, which would’ve added an interesting element to the movie. The message from his encounters–to not trust others too willingly–are forgotten throughout the movie. The film would have been significantly more interesting if the writers had elaborated on this message instead of hitting and running.
In this film, Po’s naïvety, intended to be charming, felt annoying and disappointing. In previous movies, Po learned to be a better warrior, panda, and friend, having been taught by both his enemies and his teachers, but in this movie, he doesn’t learn or grow in any way–from neither his teachers nor his enemies.
The plot itself is predictable–naming Zhen the new Dragon Warrior was expected. However, I barely saw any of the growth that was a theme in the franchise throughout the movie. Zhen does not become a better person, despite Po’s attempts to help her. Instead, when given the opportunity to redeem herself, she still goes down the wrong route. Throughout the movie, she mocked him for his perceived “weakness” and betrayed him by stealing his staff, giving it to the Chameleon, when he was at his most vulnerable moment, Even then, Po still forgives her, which makes no sense.
After Zhen decided to help Po, it felt as if she didn’t really improve. Instead, she simply felt the burn of the manipulation caused by the Chameleon, someone whom she believed loved her. Her “growth” felt more like a fear-induced self correction, or simply resentment towards the Chameleon. Had the plot shown Zhen’s actual change of heart instead of her guilty conscience, the movie would have been significantly more enjoyable. This transition from an entitled brat to a Dragon Warrior is barely there, much less written.
Foreshadowing Zhen’s betrayal by showing her conflicting emotions would have been much more effective in conveying her growth, or at least showing that Zhen herself is not entirely irredeemable. Perhaps the only point throughout the movie that Zhen actually proves herself is in the rallying of the criminals, but this mere feat should not be sufficient to make her Dragon Warrior.
The villainess and Zhen’s mentor, the Chameleon, was incredibly flat and lazily written. There’s no proper backstory for her, other than her insecurity about her height. She is constantly told that no trainer would accept her, despite many other Kung Fu masters who are smaller than her presenting themselves throughout the movie, particularly Mantis and Viper, and even Master Shifu himself. There’s no reason for her to want to take over the world, making her one of the most two-dimensional, boring, and dully written villains I’ve ever watched.
Overall, I found Kung Fu Panda 4 disappointing. Although the previous movies were overwhelming successes, this movie struggled to make a memorable impression. Its plot was terribly dry and its characters, particularly the two main characters, were unremarkable and two-dimensional. I expected more from a franchise so cherished by many.
Sports
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The Wellesley Ultimate Frisbee Team
Running, diving, talking, shouting. Breathing, gasping, throwing, catching. With tension in the air, the Wellesley Phoenixes make a final push to victory. The frisbee flies through the air, spinning across the coarse mud of Sprague field. Then, Mr. Jim Chen sighs a breath of relief. The Phoenixes have won.
However, they have not won as an official team. The high school’s athletic directors have not yet accepted the frisbee team as an official team for Wellesley High School.
“Ultimate Frisbee is not MIAA sponsored. So, therefore, it is technically a club sport.” Mr. Jim Chen, the head coach of the Wellesley Phoenixes, explains. “There are programs, of course, where you talk about Newton, Lexington and so on. Their program has become so popular and so big that their school has elevated their club team to be a varsity sport.”
Mr. Chen isn’t wrong. Across other towns across Massachusetts, Ultimate Frisbee comes up as a school sport for schools around Wellesley. “Just every, every town around us, you can imagine, has a team. They’ve had programs that have lasted a long time.” Jason Chen ‘27, Mr. Chen’s son and a captain of the frisbee team club, confirms.
Though they aren’t an official sport at Wellesley High School, they still do wish they can be a part of Wellesley High School. “With school support,” Jason says, “you get funding, you get special privileges, you get field privileges and everything.”
Without the school’s fundraising and special privileges, many of them have pitched in their time and effort to rake Wellesley leaves in the fall. And with some generosity from their parents, they managed to raise enough money to earn themselves a nice budget which will serve them well this season.
This season has been relatively better than usual as well. “For the first year team, we have a winning record and we are doing pretty well.” Mr. Chen mentions. “We just came back from a tournament at Amherst, the Amherst invitation, in which we went 4-1-2 and that’s a pretty good record for our first year team. And I think it’s one of those things where success will land more, hopefully, awareness in popularity so that our program and team can continue to grow.”
And indeed, their team is growing very fast. With new recruits coming to the frisbee team season. The team is more lively than ever. One new recruit, Oliver Zinggeler ‘27, is especially committed to the team. “Coming out here, I want to challenge myself, I want to do something new every day.” Oliver comments. “I push myself forward, I want to sell out what I do, and you know coming into something new you’ve never really done before, it’s a new challenge. I’m out here with people I’ve done this for four or five years now, and it’s a challenge each day.”
But with more people, mutiny and arguments appear more often. “The thing about Ultimate is,” Mr. Chen remarks, “I’m going back to the spirit of the game. There’s a lot of conversation in the game, you know, there’s a question about, did you do this or did you do that? They talk it through. And that’s part of this sport is, like, you actually talk it through, and you know, go do that. I can convince you, or you can, you can convince me.”
And it’s usually a team captain who usually does the talking and convincing. “I’m very competitive.” Silas Rideout ‘25 states. “So I want the team to play to the best of their ability. And I feel like if you have team captains who are willing to help push the team and actually help them, strive to to win, then you make that aspect of the team a lot better. So I guess that’s what competitive nature makes me wanna be a captain.”
Some people think that being a captain of the Frisbee team requires a lot of commitment. But according to many captains and leaders, they can choose how committed they are to the team. Most of the frisbee players play as much as they can, but showing up to the practices is optional for many.
But finding places to practice is difficult for the Frisbee team. Since they aren’t Wellesley High School sponsored, they have to find their own fields, and they’ve kicked out numerous times.
Aside from the difficulties, the team is holding itself together through bonding.“Everyone is friends with each other.” Silas says. “Everyone enjoys hanging out with each other, and it’s just like a really good community. Ultimate as a whole is just a very different community than most sports whereas it’s like a sportsmanship sport. So as a team, I would say everybody is very good at sports. They’re all very good natured, and it’s just a lot of fun playing with them.”
And as they continue to win more and more games, their movement and hope to become a Wellesley High School sport continues to grow. With school ending, the Wellesley High School Frisbee team can only hope for next year’s season.
