MovieChat Forums > Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) Discussion > Are they purposefully dumbing these movi...

Are they purposefully dumbing these movies down?

posted 9 years ago by Lord-Bigglesworth
8 replies | jump to latest

Compared to the two sequels, the original Kung Fu Panda was a bit more complex and infinitely more subtle in regards to the struggles and development of the main character. In the sequels, the struggle and the "solution" is something that's repeated like a mantra throughout the films "INNER PEACE!!" & "CHI!". However, neither film really fleshes out those constructs beyond Po rather magically doing something related to them that enables him to defeat the enemy.

The first film, by comparison was rather brilliant about it though. True, on the surface, it was "be yourself" or "it's just you" but the real way in which he was able to defeat Tai Lung was that Po was just too fat for the nerve attacks to work (something the film very subtly developed). Watching the 3rd film last night and seeing almost the same exact treatment of this plot device that the 2nd one did, it had me wondering if the filmmakers are doing this intentionally to help the films connect with younger viewers. Are they?

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

[–] Splarne 9 years ago

On the highest level, this is a kids movie. Perhaps you should find a different genre for the depth you want.

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[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 9 years ago

Further proof that when you put lipstick on a gorilla, it's still just a stupid ape

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

[–] radioardilla 9 years ago

On the highest level, this is a kids movie

Have to strongly disagree there. The showing I saw it, early evening, was a majority of adults by themselves or with other adults. Very few children or parents with their children.

[–] TutuAnimationPrincess 9 years ago

I agree that the first film was the most subtle and achieved the best balance of the three films. But that doesn't mean the sequels were dumbed down in any way. I admit that personally I wasn't the biggest fan of the second film, I get what it was going for, but I don't feel it accomplished it to perfection or maintained the balance of the first film. The third film however brought a nice close and the story full circle while maintaining the balance far better. The first is the best, but there is still much to enjoy from both the sequels.

"Unless you're an alien, time traveler, or esper, your opinion doesn't matter."

[–] Lord-Bigglesworth 9 years ago

I struggle to find anything worth enjoying in the 2nd film but I did really enjoy the 3rd. And I'm not saying they're bad, it just feels like they may be purposefully tailoring these more towards kids. Or it's just differences in the directors' styles that we're seeing.

However, I'm rather inclined to believe that Dreamworks just operates like a sailboat without a rudder sometimes. Take a look at the How to train your dragon films. One of the greatest things about the first film was its absolutely amazing score and sound design (which among other things, made the music even more epic). But for the sequel (and I found a video of him saying this), the director says that they purposefully tapered down the sound design because of complaints (I have no idea from whom) that the sound & music of the first sometimes overpowered the story.

You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.

[–] FairlyAnonymous 9 years ago

That's odd, because the second film has incredibly loud music and is very dramatic.

[–] moviewizguy 9 years ago

I personally found the second to be the best in the trilogy, being the most emotionally moving and thematically rich with its storytelling. I haven't seen the first two in awhile, so I'm going by memory. What's great about part 2 is that they branched out the story with having Po struggle with his internal self. As someone wrote, it's a "sombre tale of identity and abandonment." However, I do agree the storytelling did feel dumbed down with part 3, which is why I'm so disappointed with the film. It's entertaining as is but doesn't reach the pinnacle that is part 2. Additionally, the villain in part 2 is easily the best in the trilogy, obviously because his past ties in with Po's tragic beginnings as a child.

[–] jbflower96 9 years ago

While the message of this film is a bit more noticeable than in the previous two, I don't believe it's necessarily "dumbed down." It makes sense that the ideas from the 2nd movie will be more prevalent because the events in movie 2 tie directly into movie 3!

Movie two revealed that Po is adopted, there are still pandas out there, and implies his panda father will seek him out. Movie 3 brings up those reveals and expands upon them. It also ties in with the Soothsayer's words about how one's life involves many paths which connects with other beings' paths.

Personally, I found the idea of trying to connect to your roots a very thoughtful message and works well with the idea of 'chi'. Everyone's past somehow relates to their present, whether they "may not have such a happy be beginning" or not, and their interactions with others can have a variety of effects from the obvious to the most indirect. Since chi involves the ability to manipulate the energy of something, one would have to be able to read these energies and coax them into changing the way they want. When Po and the others realize just how intertwined their paths are with his, he fully understands not only himself but everyone else. With this knowledge, he is able to perceive how energy moves and gains the strength to redefine that energy into what he wants.

In short, Po knows what his goal is but must first realize what he needs to do to achieve it. Reconnecting with his past is one key and once that combines with everything else he learns, he manages to reach closer to his potential.