Kung Fu Panda 4(2024)

Submitted by Evan B

Pooper:
Po and Zhen team up to finally beat Chameleon, and the villain is dragged into the spirit world by Tai Lung. Po then begins training Zhen to be his successor as Dragon Warrior.

Long Ending:
Po (voiced by Jack Black) is still greatly enjoying his time as the Dragon Warrior, i.e., the top kung fu master in all the land who is duty-bound to keep the Valley of Peace safe from villains. One day, Po’s teacher Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) reconnects with his former disciple and insists that he find a successor. When Po asks what he’s supposed to do if someone else becomes the Dragon Warrior, Shifu responds that he will become a sage who dispenses advice and wisdom throughout the land. Although Po holds an audition for a successor, he refuses to select any of the applicants or relinquish his Dragon Warrior title.

Later, Po apprehends a thief named Zhen (voiced by Awkwafina) who is trying to steal artifacts from his kung fu temple. As Po celebrates, he’s approached by some terrified civilians who claim that his old nemesis Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane) has returned and taken control of their mine. This seems impossible since Tai Lung is dead and resides in the spirit world. Upon further investigation, Po learns that a shapeshifting sorcerer named the Chameleon (voiced by Viola Davis) has been going around the country impersonating all of Po’s former villains to amass wealth and resources. He also learns that Zhen knows how to find Chameleon, so he strikes a deal to lessen Zhen’s sentence if she’ll guide him to the Chameleon. Po grabs his spiritual staff for the journey and the pair depart. They are secretly followed by Po’s dads – Li (voiced by Bryan Cranston) and Ping (voiced by James Hong) – who are worried that Po will need help defeating this new enemy.

As the pair journey forth, Po preaches to Zhen that it’s never too late to change. She slowly begins following Po’s teachings and refraining from thievery. Po also begins to realize that he has a knack for teaching and that he enjoys watching Zhen thrive. He even trains her Zhen to use the spiritual staff in battle (although she adopts the phrase “Skablam” instead of Po’s “Skadoosh”). They eventually arrive at the city where Chameleon’s operations are headquartered and infiltrate the villain’s lair. When they confront Chameleon, the Villain causes Po to get trapped inside a magically reinforced cage. Po hands Zhen his spiritual staff to help pry the cage open, but Zhen surprises Po by giving the staff to Chameleon. It turns out that when Zhen was a young, orphaned street urchin, Chameleon took her in and trained her to become a master thief. Po then escapes by punching a hole through the floor below the cage, but is seemingly tossed off a ledge to his death by Chameleon’s guards. Zhen regrets helping Chameleon, saying that Po was never supposed to be hurt. However, Po is rescued by Ping and Li and decides to go back and get his staff.

Chameleon then reveals her plan. She wanted to be a kung fu master, but given her small stature, every school refused to train her. She now uses Po’s spiritual staff to open a gateway to the spirit world and calls forth all the villains whose forms she had mimicked earlier (including Tai Lung). Once the spirits are summoned, she traps them in her cages and siphons their kung fu powers, thus making her a true kung fu master. Meanwhile, Zhen reunites with Po, renounces Chameleon, and pledges to help Po fight to the end. She has her friends in the thief community join Li and Ping to fight Chameleon’s guards, while she and Po confront the now uber-powerful Chameleon. As Po distracts Chameleon, he again entrusts his spiritual staff to Zhen so that she can use it to deliver a final blow. This time, Zhen doesn’t betray Po and uses the Staff to defeat Chameleon and free the captured spirits. As they all return to the spirit world, Tai Lung expresses begrudging respect for Po’s accomplishments as the Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung then grabs Chameleon and forces her into the spirit world with him.

Po, his fathers, and Zhen return to the Valley of Peace. As Zhen wonders what she’ll do now that she’s abandoned her life as a thief, Po asks her to accompany him to his temple. Inside, the Furious Five await. Po and his comrades begin training Zhen to become Po’s successor and the new Dragon Warrior.

There are also small roles voiced by Ke Huy Quan, Cedric Yarbrough, Phil LaMarr, Ronny Chieng, and Jimmy “Mr. Beast” Donaldson.