Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight review — A well-meaning but thinly written sequel

Jack Black as Po in the Kung Fu Panda movies is one of the great voice performances of the 21st century, it has to be said. Black’s strong, malleable voice, effortless comedic style and endless array of goofs and gags have made him a fan favourite. Therefore, when Netflix announced that Black was returning to his famous role for the sequel series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, expectations were understandably high. The previous two series in the franchise had not, after all, featured Black even in a cameo.

Does the show meet those expectations? Not quite, sadly. While Black remains as amiable as ever and new cast member Rita Ora makes an impression as the character called Luthera or ‘the Wandering Blade’ (who hails from England and is well-versed in knight-lore), the show is a bit thinly written. It also does not have the reassuring presence of series familiars Master Shifu or the Furious Five. Ultimately, the show settles down into comfortable mediocrity in the absence of these traditional strengths.

The story sees an older, calmer Po, widely respected and loved as the Dragon Warrior. In fact, you could even say this is Po’s pastoral phase, as he embarks on a food tour of China (who among us wouldn’t, if given the chance?), starting with a village where a restaurant has caught our hero’s eye. But the sudden appearance of the Dumont weasel-siblings Klaus and Veruca (played delightfully by Chris Geere and Della Saba respectively) throws a spanner in Po’s plans—he is stripped of his title as Dragon Warrior and decides to aid Luthera in her quest to defeat the Dumonts.

Apparently, the two siblings are after a powerful glove called ‘the Gauntlet’ which looks and sounds a lot like the Infinity Gauntlet from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, I didn’t see the point of this narrative choice either, ironic or otherwise. It serves as a useless nudge-wink towards a franchise that has very little in common with the world of Kung Fu Panda, tonally speaking. Is Po the Iron Man of this series, or is he more like the jokey version of Thor? As you can see all this leads to is confusion on the part of the audience.

This is just one of the obvious flaws in The Dragon Knight’s set-up. Another is the decision to make Po Luthera’s page. Don’t get me wrong, I think Po is a wonderful character, whether he’s the sidekick or the main guy. The problem here is that the show makes much of Luthera’s stories about knights in the good old days of the British Empire and well, Po is from the East and every time the story gets a little too real and it feels like a colonialism dialogue is inevitable, the tension is broken through some absolutely paper-thin joke or gag.

It all feels very manipulative, as though the writers had one eye on the parents of the kids this story is meant for. But TV writing doesn’t work that way. You can’t tip-toe your way around stuff like this: you either say something definite or steer well clear about the issue; that’s how good TV writing works. Marvel films may get away with referring to real-world events in a vague way, avoiding stepping on any toes around the world. But for a TV show, because of the episodic format, it’s quite frustrating to see the same blind spot emerge again and again in the screenplay.

I’d like to put in a word for the music choices here, which are tip-top from the word go, as per usual for Kung Fu Panda. I can see kids furiously looking up these songs on Google and going down a rabbit-hole of some great music.

The rest of the story, meanwhile, plays out in largely predictable manner and Black gets ample opportunity to show off his full range of comedic hijinks. It’s fan service, basically, but done with heart and a vibrant visual style. The last couple of episodes, in fact, are head and shoulders above the rest of the show, I’d argue. I just wish the show had taken less time to hit its stride.

Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight is sure to keep fans of the franchise happy, but it doesn’t add a whole lot to it, unlike any of the individual movies. Bring Black back for the next one, I’d say, but give him juicy plotlines, preferably one where he gets to face off against one or more of the Furious Five. And while bringing in hero-lore from other cultures is a good idea on paper, maybe think beyond the British? Just a thought.

Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight is streaming on Netflix

Aditya Mani Jha is a Delhi-based independent writer and journalist, currently working on a book of essays on Indian comics and graphic novels.

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