Megamind 2 and Kung Fu Panda 4: Dreamworks 2024 so far

Why aren't the furious 5 here? Why is Megamind Doom Syndicate ... alive
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This video's content falls under critical or film studies. Predominantly containing discussions, deliberations, examinations, essays and analyses of the thematic integrity of works of visual artistic expression by ways of some subpar comedy.
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[@CellSpex]

Some have seen the Discord interview with Stephanie Ma Stine the Co Director, and while I'm a little skeptical of its legitimacy, it does seem very revealing about the production including her wanting it to be more like the first two films but being shot down, and not wanting to bring back Tai Lung just to be instantly beaten, and wanting Shifu to be there with him at the end but also. ALSO Dreamworks is continuing layoffs now.

[@user-ev8qw6bw2e]

This is off topic but I disagree that since Mantis was trained Chameleon should have been too. I mean firstly Secrets of Scroll explains how the Five became masters. Then just because there few small animals who became kung fu masters does not mean that every small animal would be accepted by a training hall come on. It's like saying if racism is not prevalent in most countries means that racism is not present at all so there should be not be a villain with a racism motive.

[@carlosalbuquerque22]

Orion and the Dark was pretty good.

[@jlev1028]

​@@user-ev8qw6bw2eThe filmmakers weren't thinking of that at all. It's just a contrived villain motive from a lazy cashgrab.

[@niv731]

As someone whose pfp is benny from The Lego Movie, the Monkie Kid shout out s greatly appreciated.

[@StevenJones851]

​@@user-ev8qw6bw2ethe writers weren't thinking of a interesting plot like this unfortunately

[@anormalguy9320]

I can never look at Kung fu Panda 4 the same way after learning some of the behind the scenes stuff. The co-director seemed to really want to put as much heart and emotion into the film as much as the first two KFP movies, and she was mistreated and called a "nobody" by the crew.

[@MasterMaddox64]

😭

[@abeedo]

Source?

[@robertdelossantos5844]

People say there’s 2 sides to every story, and we only do hear Stephanie Ma Stine’s POV. But if what she’s said is accurate, man did they screw her and any Kung Fu Panda fans over.

[@cartoonishidealism582]

@@abeedo Reddit thread titled “Got to talk to the Co-director of KFP 4 and probably got the most information we'll ever get about a KFP films production. I have made a transcript, it is 48 questions, 8200 words long.”

[@CageBlack1443]

All I can say is: Damn. No, really. I have no words. Being called a "nobody" for wanting to put heart into a movie with really promising potential? The Chameleon could've been really awesome! The Furious Five missing? I think it still could have worked! The Chameleon's backstory? Could have been used to make up some new backstory for Mantis, where we could discover some sort of prejudice that he managed to avoid by proving himself. But humor had to take a front seat in a franchise where it doesn't work as well to the extent it had. Pour one out for the movie KFP 4 could have been.

[@APOYOSC]

Megamind 2 shouldn't even count as an actual Cinematic sequel, for many, MANY reasons, but they considered it to be one to get more attention, which seems like it backfired a lot At least kung fu panda 4 isn't the worst thing ever.

[@lennahcmarblesmonstersandm6070]

Hold up I didn't know you watched this channel

[@Dora-xi5ob]

Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate is a tv pilot so we can excuse its bad animation (it’d be expensive to animated every episode with the best animation) but that is no excuse for its bad writing

[@The_X-PO_Center]

Ey, it's APOY!!

[@TOBCYT]

GASP! APOY?! IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF A CELLSPEX VIDEO?! You know, if I had a nickel for every time I've seen APOY on a YT video I had no idea that he'd be interested in, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened twice.

[@christansanchez8686]

Finally someone agrees that it is NOT CANON.

[@swallowfox237]

the fact that they weren't willing to pay for the Furious Five voice actors but probably shilled out a couple million for Akwafina is fucking maddening.

[@cartoonishidealism582]

Apparently it’s because the contract established for the Furious Five VAs (along with a ton of other celebrity VAs) back in the early 2000s promised an exponential increase in pay AND residuals for every single subsequent sequel or film. That’s apparently how DreamWorks managed to net so many big names even when they were just starting out. So it’s legitimately much cheaper to bring in new celebrity VAs rather than pay the old ones.

[@raze2012_]

​​@@cartoonishidealism582yeah. Idk about exponential, but it's a very standard contract clause in television and movies alike that the original voice actor must be contacted when a character is reprised. And obviously a reprisal will probably want more money for a proven success they helped make. But only within that medium; which is why Video to TV usually gets a sound a like and TV to video gets Chris Pratt. Ofc these a list celebrities don't really NEED that stipulation, but at the same time they have the most weight to throw around. So what can you do? It's one of those well meaning clauses that usually benefits the elite the most, as usual.

[@Killerstorm5280]

The movie didn’t even need the 5.

[@CF-or3ci]

When Awkwafina clearly doesn‘t deserve this kind of money

[@John-fk2ky]

@@Killerstorm5280 the movie as written might not have, but a worthy sequel to what came before does.

[@yugoxgc]

Shifu raised a child & trained the furious 5 for decades. Not retired. Oogway was a master to Shifu for god knows how long before he "retired" Po retires now after less fighting experience than either of the 2 or even the Furious Five. seriously, WHY?!?

[@oldoutlet6946]

That also seems super out of character for him too. All these dreams of becoming the greatest kung-fu legend only to retire before he reaches his 30s or 40s.

[@thirdcoinedge]

It would make more sense if they put it as a distant concern, as in "Po will not be on this earth forever, so it is in his best interest for him to pass on his knowledge and lessons to students that will be able to succeed him one day."

[@firdanharbima6997]

​@@thirdcoinedgebut noooooooo wE nEEd THe nExT drAGoN wRAriOr

[@ArynBacklogDragon]

the only reason I can think of is that, without Oogway, there was no one that could assume his role. and Shifu felt Po was the one to do it.

[@firdanharbima6997]

@@ArynBacklogDragon but him can't be both is stupid

[@mesousagaby740]

Yeah, turns out a reason why KFP4 was so mid is because Dreamworks hired a yes man director (Mike Mitchell) and told him what THEY wanted in a KFP4, even if it had the same writers, it seems like they were told to make it very "jokey", so they wanted a full on comedy, and any further ideas were ditched because the other director (Stephanie Ma Stine) was treated as a "nobody", which is...PROBLEMATIC.

[@mohdamerulaidilbinrazisahm7317]

Let's not forget about that he's also the guy who destroyed The Lego Movie 2. I really like Stephanie approach more. It shows she did care about the whole movie

[@mesousagaby740]

@@mohdamerulaidilbinrazisahm7317 Actually, most people admit that Lego Movie 2 on the same solid factor as the first. Mitchell might have directed it, but Lord and Miller still wrote and produced it.

[@mohdamerulaidilbinrazisahm7317]

@@mesousagaby740 but the storyline wasn't so good as the first movie. Even the jokes aren't funny. I didn't laugh during the whole dinosaur scene. Pretty sure the duo was busy with writing Spider Verse, that studio hired a guy who just follow their order without question

[@jclkaytwo]

​@@mohdamerulaidilbinrazisahm7317lego movie 2 absolutely lived up to the first movie imo. it just derailed once that ridiculous time travel storyline happened.

[@leithaziz2716]

@@mohdamerulaidilbinrazisahm7317 Lego Movie 2 is not a bad film at all. It just felt a letdown because it wasn't as good as the 1st film. The animation felt off as well. But It's no Pacific Rim Uprising in terms of disappointment to say the least.

[@anormalguy9320]

11:21 "Only when their movie flop, people tend to forget rather than obssess over" That's so true, when Disney makes a bad movie, it becomes the internet's next punching bag, but when DreamWorks makes a bad movie, it's usually just another tuesday.

[@taptiotrevizo9415]

Puss n Boots 2 people loved to use as a example that DreamWorks was head and shoulders above Disney's when they both can disappointm

[@Tokensdorf]

Works the other way around too. When a bad Disney or Marvel movie comes out I see so many people try to defend them but when DreamWorks does it they are a laughing stock and a company that can't make good things with rare exceptions. Some people are too serious about trying to make companies into an us vs them kind of thing, same as the people still acting like console wars are a thing, instead of just enjoying a good movie and moving on when a bad movie comes out as it isn't worth focusing on after the initial discussion.

[@thirdcoinedge]

I mean, for all of Disney's faults, it never made a Shark Tale. That's the lowest low for theatrical releases for DreamWorks, and it was made fairly early in their company history, so people know how bad this studio can mess up. Thus, audiences that grew up with DreamWorks are generally more accepting of mediocre films like Madagascar and Home as part of the studio's regular output, rather than turning it into the latest online object of mockery. It also helps that DreamWorks has made two acclaimed animated trilogies and a number of other great films as well, so we know they have a consistent potential for artistic greatness, they just like to experiment around a bit with other story ideas that are more comedic.

[@DullyPrimary]

I still remember ProZD making a viral video shitting on Dreamworks.

[@wyattbusch49]

@@thirdcoinedgetwo? Don’t you mean three?

[@Princess_-gp3ep]

The perfect Cure for this is watching Mulan 2 just for the three princesses, especially since Lucy Liu voiced princess mei.

[@s3nsation646]

See. I always thought Mulan 2 was ok. The main characters are butchered compared to the original sure, but it never struck me as their story so much as the princesses story. They were just fun to watch with their antics with the 3 soilders and was over all cute. It's mistake was being a sequel to Mulan in my opinion.

[@jackiegonzalez6814]

“Like other girls” is literally the best musical number in Mulan 2.

[@sketchycat6223]

Mulan 2 would be great if it didn’t ruin Mushu’s character, they made him so unlikeable for absolutely no reason

[@SnowFoxWithAGasMask]

Mulan 2 is… not good… In my opinion. I’m glad other people enjoy it though!

[@VademecumPopkultury]

I just want to forget this movie

[@DanGamingFan2846]

The worst part of KFP4 for me was how Shifu was forcing Po to pick a successor. I get that someone else will need to take the role eventually, but why force Po to give up the title now? Oogway was a spiritual leader and defender of the Valley of Pace at the same time, why can't Po? Is that really what "Oogway planned for him" Shifu? He is so out of character in this movie.

[@watershipup7101]

100% agree.

[@genjis5155]

They assassinated Shifu's character so hard.

[@garnetbird7557]

He's got so little respect for Po despite everything they've been through, it makes no sense.

[@Rammkommando]

@@genjis5155 if anything from the sound of things they shouldve set up an arc for shifu pushing Po's path too fast

[@alisonsouter8788]

Yeah! Oogway chose Po when he did because he knew his time was coming, heck he ascended the day after!

[@hartthorn]

My thought on Chameleon's backstory were immediately the same. How wild to blame her "size" when Mantis, as well as Snake and arguably Crane exist. Hell! Sifu! He's tiny as balls! Not to mention how often the lesson of "size matters not" has been a huge deal in Kung Fu in general and KFP specifically. My first idea for trying to fix it would have been Po to literally just bring up how weird that is (citing his many excellent examples), and have her reveal it was more about her ambition overtaking her discipline and she just READ that as it being about her iz tiny.

[@Sootielove]

The issue is that could could definitely rework it as a reaction to mantis and viper e.g. They're the exceptions and not the rule or chameleon thinks they're hacks, but since they're not even mentioned it comes off like the just forgot. A conflict focusing on the furious five would have been great

[@r-171]

I'd say it's safe to assume that she's a lot older than the F5 & Po, probably 40+ like what Tai Lung & Lord Shen had been. With that, you could make the argument that it was a recent progression in Kung-Fu when Viper & Mantis first started out, & that prior to that point, the animals with smaller physiques had been rejected before. And unlike Viper, Mantis, or Shifu, it didn't seem she had the raw strength to make up for her size, either - We see Mantis able to throw around & hold up heavy objects, people, & even a bridge, whilst Viper is lightning-fast & able to force people far stronger to hit themselves, & Shifu could break solid rock & basically treat Po like a beach ball in the first film - The Chameleon, however, had to explicitly rely on her shape-shifting & sorcery. It's still a weak motive & I'm not denying that by any means, yet if you assume that those of smaller size were only really accepted in the last two decades or so of their time, it isn't *too* inconceivable.

[@kirin1230]

​@@SootieloveMaster Chicken is also small. There's wayyy too many Kung Fu masters smaller than Chameleon

[@ThePonderer]

The thing that frustrates me to no end about the Megamind sequel/series is that it so fundamentally misses the point of what made the original film work as a dramatic character piece. It’s not just that it takes a superhero subversion and makes it a more generic superhero story, in suggesting that Megamind’s world was always full of heroes and villains, it also completely voids the premise of his and Metro Man’s relationship- that they’re both horribly lonely, and can only relate to each other through this twisted game they play because there’s *no one else on Earth like them.* The original Megamind wasn’t set in a “superhero world.” It was set in a (cartoonish) world of regular people, where two superhuman’s happened to get dropped in and forced into the *roles* of hero and villain in order to feel like they belonged. By confirming that supers are just a regular thing in this world, and that Megamind had cohorts or a “mentor in evil,” this continuation fundamentally breaks the point of the character to the point that I don’t even know why this is the same IP instead of something brand new.

[@animezilla4486]

Keep in mind megaman never had no huge deep story in the first place it was basically it don't have to be the villain kind of story which has been done millions of times

[@Dalton_Boardman2000]

These are my exact feelings. Other superheroes and villains co-existing in the Megamind world just feels wrong. It's like seeing a talking animal in a Scooby Doo movie that isn't the title character. There was absolutely no implication that there were others, the whole story was very self contained and made the two characters unique. Now it just looks like a generic superhero setting.

[@ThePonderer]

@@animezilla4486I disagree

[@thirdcoinedge]

That part about the loneliness is key. When you look at the concept art for the original movie, they were thinking of having the world be populated by a number of different heroes and villains, but that would've taken away from the unique nature of Megamind and Metro Man's relationship, the core dynamic around which the main premise revolves, so they left them out. Without their unique nature as the only superhumans in the story, there's no meaningful importance of them feeling as though they must conform to their respective roles and have such a rivalry in the first place.

[@prismavoid3764]

I think the idea of a Megamind sequel based around a group of new supervillains could've worked, but the way they went around it was just all wrong. When they said in the trailers that the Doom Syndicate were Megamind's old friends, any interest I had in seeing the movie went right out the window. It was the biggest red flag imaginable that this movie was being made by a team that fundamentally did not understand the point of the original. A lot of these problems could be solved if the movie had just been rewritten to remove the aspect of Megamind having been their friends in the past - maybe the Doom Syndicate are an entirely new group of bad guys who just got their powers. You could have themes based on Megamind's continuing loneliness, since he as a single inexperienced superhero with nobody but Minion to help him is struggling to keep up with a united group of villains who know how to play off each other. While I think Megamind is better as a standalone film, I do think making a franchise out of it could've worked with the right creative staff, but unfortunately it looks like the people responsible only see it as another generic kids superhero brand and don't understand the reason why the original stood out so much.

[@kionheidari2025]

I think you’re forgetting Tigress being the secondary protagonist of KFP2 and having a lot to do

[@thirdcoinedge]

I think she's mostly talking about the F5 in general. Tigress always had a bigger role in the movies than the other members.

[@Bobby90]

Being celebrity VA, the Furious Five were always going to have a short life. Became too expensive to be hired on for more than the few lines done in the last movie.

[@amyvasquez4268]

Why couldn’t they have, y’know… REPLACED THEIR ACTORS WITH MUCH CHEAPER ONES??? (Unless those actors are required to play those characters that is)

[@Bobby90]

@@amyvasquez4268 Because once such a thought entered the producers - for lack of a more accurate word - minds, Jeff Black would have been included. Edit: Actually, aren't many if not all the celeb VA producers with influence over their own paychecks? If so that would explain things.

[@r-171]

@@amyvasquez4268 After an entire trilogy with them, having the VA be replaced would be weird. Would be like if they'd replaced Shifu or even Po himself.

[@stobie9063]

It wouldn't have bee THAT weird. ​@@r-171

[@beakwooda.k.aadregallus8788]

​@@r-171There's nothing remarkably unique about David Cross's voice. I don't doubt they could easily find someone to voice, at least, Crane and Monkey.

[@samuelsolomon7330]

It kills me how the plot of KFP4 is about finding an heir to the role of Dragon Warrior, they bring back Tai Lung, and they dont do a storyline where Tai Lung feigns loyalty to Po to take the title back, complete with a redemption arc. It was right there. Just put those pieces together. Also I agree Tigress should have played a bigger role. KFP3 basically set it up.

[@animezilla4486]

There was nothing wrong with that plot of finding the next Dragon warrior I think that was a good idea

[@DLxxx]

​@@animezilla4486Po retiring before he even reached his 30s is NOT a good idea, lol. Maybe if it was a more distant concern about Po not being able to live forever, and he accidentally found his best student through chance, then sure. But what we got was pretty silly. And especially awkward after the ending of the 3rd film already set up the idea of Po being a teacher, and they did nothing with that here.

[@SiNKarnage]

​@@animezilla4486 Po fights 3 villains and thats warrant enough to find a new successor? Po hasnt reached reached the end of his journey yet and they're trying to pass him along like that?

[@piotrfijoek1095]

The most frustrating thing is there are elements in KFP4 that could be great if they were given time to polish. I disagree that Po needs to give up his Dragon Warrior title so soon as well. It feels very forced. You brought up a good point about Tigress. In KFP1 she has the skill of a dragon warrior but she lacks the empathy of one thus Po was chosen. It gave the message you need to be a good person first and skill always can be taught. I saw how Tigress lost her cold personality over 3 movies thanks to being friends with Po. She could drop her mask a lil bit (famous scene on the boat when they have a talk and the unexpected hugs in the prison and at the port). KFP2 and KFP3 showed it the best. If they really wanted to pass the title of Dragon Warrior, it should have been Tigress but in later movies, not in 4th one. It could also introduce conflict in Po about how can he choose someone from Furious Five without favoritism. They could even introduce Zhen as the new member of Furious Five if they so wished.

[@togeluga_the_cat]

​@@SiNKarnage bro barely touched the stove and they acting like hes allready cooked to much

[@LauraM96829]

At least The Wild Robot looks really good.

[@thespeedyyoshi]

It’s my only hope 😅😅

[@amyvasquez4268]

I do have a hopeful feeling it’ll be a good movie, maybe even a masterpiece, but let’s learn from what happened after PiB2 and know that DreamWorks will still make SOME meh movies after that.

[@chaoticneutral7976]

I'm just concerned because the trailer is hiding the fact that the animals speak, which can be jarring to people who think this will be like the first act of Wall E with no dialogue, while there is quite a bit of dialogue in the books. I'm still gonna watch it since after this, all DreamWorks animated films will be outsourced.

[@thespeedyyoshi]

@@chaoticneutral7976 They're definitely hiding the fact the animals talk, but I think it's honestly such a good hook. Get people hooked onto the beautiful scenery, then show them the narrative that carries that environment. It might be a bit jarring. Similar to SOUL's advertising not even showing a single thing about the switching bodies thing. But hopefully it'll be worth it. Or maybe the "jarring" nature of it is actually gonna be what they're going for.

[@joshiethepoketeen6357]

@@chaoticneutral7976 Unlike Awkwafina, the 3 actors who voice the main animals (Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, & Kit Connor) are way more likeable than her

[@artemiswolf4508]

I think an important difference between Megamind 2 and the old Disney sequels, is that there is a world of difference between a low budget 2D movie and a low budget 3D movie. When you’re watching an old Disney sequel is not like you’re ever unaware of the budget drop but there can still be good individual animation sequences and you can tell when the animators put that extra effort in there. However when you have cheap 3D animation that already doesn’t look great… yeah there’s no much you can do about that. The same way you can always tell which objects going to be interacted with in cheap 2D animations, you can also kinda tell the limitations of a 3D character model. Which I would argue is a way way worse limitation. I’m not even saying the animation in Megamind 2 is terrible, but with the other movie the comparison really is stark

[@prismavoid3764]

Yeah, absolutely. A series that was designed from scratch for that kind of lower budget can adapt its style in ways that make it look better and avoid the "edges" of what's possible to do, but when something like Megamind is forced to be made with those intense restrictions, it ends up looking way worse; that design was made for the kinds of stretchy and expressive animation that you can only consistently get from a full-budget movie.

[@_NIKOS9_NIKOS]

Hot take. Considering the role the 5 were given in Movie 3 was beyond small and it just boils down to them being reduced to just damsels in distress I prefer how Movie 4 decided to straight up say "Yeah, these guys are busy and are out there being badasses" than to try soe horning them in.

[@jeremytewari3346]

Yeah but they also didn't need to be shoehorned they coulda been actual characters for once.

[@wackyotter1235]

@@jeremytewari3346maybe they could get their own movie 🤷‍♂️ this one is called kung fu panda

[@KgEclispe252]

Fair especially with how bad this movie turned out maybe it was for the best

[@Rosa-he6xb]

I’d would’ve preferred if not replacing their VAs to let the Furious Five be featured, then to just only have a one, two or three if that’s the limit of them there to at least have them acknowledge. Like maybe just make up a story reason why only 1-2 there like idk perhaps Tigeressa,Crane, and Monkey are on a mission right now far away so we only have Vipor and Mantis here for the ride(actually Mantis could’ve actually been used for this plot to disprove the villain’s point and maybe realize whoever refuse her wasn’t just because she was small, but unworthy of it or something).

[@chrispeart1394]

​@@Rosa-he6xbAn adventure with just tigress and po would be great imo

[@zacharymccoy7091]

DreamWorks truly will always have the highest highs and the lowest lows with their projects. And the upcoming Chris Sanders movie seems to be an apology for both of these sequels.

[@Dora-xi5ob]

Disney did that with Encanto yet everyone lost their minds when Strange World released

[@cynxmanga]

Disney still takes more Ls than DreamWorks ​@@Dora-xi5ob

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

Their tv projects are also reflect that for every penguins of Madagascar there all hail king Julien. With every ambitious idea that was the Tales of Arcadia trilogy, there’s a “”finale”” movie that destroyed the trilogy.

[@mikemorro140]

@@Dora-xi5ob cause it's kind of like what Cellspex was saying when Dreamworks fucks up it's just another Tuesday, people for a long time put Disney on a pedestal so they're harsher when they screw up

[@justinstewart9145]

What Chris Sanders movie? Wild Robot?

[@stuffwithjon]

I think a story where Po chooses Tigress as the next Dragon Warrior but Tigress is no longer the same person who yearned for it and has doubts if she's right for the role could've been super interesting. Her and Po's friendship was just as much part of the OT's soul as Shifu's and Po's mentorship.

[@Misty713]

When I found out Kung fu panda 4 was going to be a thing my first thought was "so it's going to be toy story 4" Like not bad...just...didn't needed to be made

[@scrittle]

"NOW BUY OUR PLASTIC FORKS FOR $19.99!"

[@Misty713]

@@scrittle XD so true!

[@smoltimes]

THANK YOU for the Lego Monkie Kid shout out, literally one of my favorite things ever and extremely underrated at the moment like Rise of the TMNT was (still kinda is).

[@thirdcoinedge]

It's incredible that the show has been going since 2020, and has managed to maintain a consistent narrative through-line despite being intrinsically tied to the merchandise. It's like a better-focused Ninjago that's actually willing to take inspiration from anime. Might be the best story-focused theme for Lego since Bionicle.

[@MagicPotato08]

Totally agree, I love that show!!!

[@danthedeer8]

Moana 2 should be a prequel: Maoi. Maoi's upcoming, how his family abandoned him, finding the good in humans, maybe a particularone thatMoana later reminds him of her. His relationship with the crab, getting his hook, and then his downfall to the island. You're Welcome, Disney :D

[@MrLegendofLP]

I’d watch that movie. An hour and a half of The Rock being charismatic and funny? Sign me up.

[@PaulW_ftPAULK]

As long as Tamatoa gets enough screen time and gets his arm ripped off, hell yeah!

[@DLxxx]

Unfortunately, it's too late to be giving out ideas now, lol. Moana 2 is coming out later this year, and there's no use telling Disney what it "should be" anymore.

[@PARR-E]

The only consistent thing about Dreamworks is its inconsistency.

[@firecrakerj3312]

People to Dreamworks in 2022: “All hail Dreamworks and their new golden age resurgence!” People to Dreamworks in 2024: “FRAUD! FRAUD! FRAUD! FRAUD!”

[@amyvasquez4268]

If there’s any animation studio that’s undergoing a “golden age” right now, honestly, I’d say it’d probably be Sony. And even they put out a couple blunders here and there. That being said, most of their upcoming movies look really promising, I’m mildly interested in that adult dog movie by Gennedy.

[@cartoonishidealism582]

@@amyvasquez4268 They’re also doing a musical action movie about K-Pop stars who moonlight as demon hunters and I hope to god that never gets cancelled mid-production holy shit

[@PaulW_ftPAULK]

​@@amyvasquez4268 that sounds almost terrible but also so fricking amazing.

[@Squishy-Balls]

Then in 2026 they're gonna make another absolute banger

[@Duskool]

It's been a very recent thing, but i've seen people jump to this dumbass conclusion that when something good is released from any media company that had a bad rut, it's immediately a "resurgence", ALWAYS after just one good thing, they're apparently back. Why don't people just fucking wait and see what said company does next and don't get their expectations absurdly high only to get disappointed 1 year into the "resurgence"

[@EvieRawlings]

I'm so mad that Tigress isn't the dragon warrior now. WHY!?

[@TheNinjaDC]

I believe it is because she can't be the Dragon warrior, nor any of the Furious Five. The Dragon warrior isn't just the most skilled in martial arts. In many ways all of the Furious Five, and especially Tigress, are more skilled in their raw martial arts than even Po. What makes the Dragon warrior though, is their personality. A Dragon Warrior entwines their self into their martial art. Remember the scroll was a mirror. Po works his jokiness, clumsiness, and weight into his free form style. One that can't really be replicated by someone else. Zhen makes a great candidate because she is like Po in that she brings a lot of her personality into her style. She was a master thief. She is quick, a master of misdirection, and mischievous. She will likely work that into her style as a Dragon Warrior. Po Dragon Warrior style was comparable to a drunken fist fighting style. Chaotic and unpredictable. Zhen I'd imagine will be more like a ninja. Revolving around misdirection and precision trickery.

[@EvieRawlings]

@@TheNinjaDC Good analysis.

[@thirdcoinedge]

2:55 I believe the word you're looking for is "PRESENTATION!"

[@satin8683]

These movies had so much potential to be like Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (mostly on Kung Fu Panda 4) but Instead reliving a newer era of bad sequels cash grabs!

[@Dora-xi5ob]

And it’s crazy because the first Puss in Boots didn’t even have that big of a fan base nor was it one of their most popular movies

[@emblemblade9245]

Pretty sure it all comes down to the director

[@firdanharbima6997]

​@@emblemblade9245absolutely

[@amyvasquez4268]

Gotta love how a forgotten spin-off to a sequel has much more thought and care put into it than the fourth installment to a well respected trilogy

[@firdanharbima6997]

@@emblemblade9245 absolutely

[@superjboy16]

There used to be a time where American Animated features only had maybe one or two guest star celebrities voicing the side characters. While the professional voice actors rightfully voiced the main ones, we should go back to that era.

[@jacobwilliams1223]

I do like bringing up the double standards of how when Disney produces a bad film people are so quick to mass hate and dump all over it with glee but when DreamWork produces a bad film it becomes more like crickets.

[@adolfopena7358]

Yup. And that's coming from someone who loved Wish.

[@Polychi1998]

Crickets? What bubble you’re living in? Everyone is crapping on KP4 like it’s the worst thing ever. And don’t forget the Megamind TV pilot.

[@ville4090]

​@@Polychi1998 not on a scale compared to Disney. Cartoon KZbinrs shit a lot on Disney (and by extension Pixar) when the Last Wish was released until now.

[@yannislaurin5438]

​@@ville4090Not on the same scale? Everyone is saying megamind 2 is the worst thing ever.

[@kirin1230]

Wha? Wish is months old, KFP4 and Megamind 2 just came out. And people DEFINITELY are shitting on them. But obviously you've heard more wish criticism because it's older (and an anniversary film)

[@thehumanphantom3494]

Flying Bark Studios (which animates Lego Monke Kid and Rise of the TMNT) is SUCH an underrated studio!! I love their 2D work.

[@cartoonishidealism582]

They’re also doing Moon Girl

[@thirdcoinedge]

I can't wait to see what they're going to do for the Avatar film coming next year. The fight scenes will look so good. Edit: Coming out in 2026 now.

[@CellSpex]

Where are my fellow Monkie Kid fans? Though I think the Lego App to watch 3 and 4 may only be for smart tvs, which is so unfair. Seasons 1 and 2 and its specials are on Prime

[@TuppyToast]

still waiting for season 5.

[@ruarstergaming1695]

HEEEEERE, so glad we have creators shouting out the underrated gem

[@Some_rook]

What app do you download? I can’t find it.

[@Plexxis_SugarPom]

was absolutely not anticipating your mention of it. But good gosh am I ecstatic that you also like the show. It is soooooo good and is an underrated, UNFINDABLE gemstone.

[@Plexxis_SugarPom]

@@Some_rook ok so LMK is extremely hard to find for eastern viewers since it's not advertised anywhere in that region, so, if you're an american viewer, seasons 1 and 2 are on amazon prime, and seasons 3 and 4 are on this free app called Happy Kids, don't worry, its not a scam, doesn't make you pay, you're chill to go on it. Sadly this masterpiece is on like, the worst places on the internet in terms of popularity.

[@TheBaffelio]

My thoughts on kung fu panda 4 is it felt like a Saturday morning cartoon.

[@diegofavaratozfilms962]

So you liked it or not?

[@TheBaffelio]

Yes and no it was entertaining but the story could have been a little better.

[@TeenWithACarrotIDK]

@@TheBaffelio that’s how I felt when watching the rise of skywalker. Entertaining, but the story was kinda shit. The thing I was disappointed about the most was when Anakin didn’t show up to give palatine a second beating, and even that would have been canon breaking. Why have the sequels when anakin already kicked palpatine’s ass and saved the galaxy before? Still wouldn’t be as bad as turning the sky walker name into a label they can slap onto their next marketable protagonist.

[@chewybucca7703]

Jackie was the kung fu consultant/action choreographer for the first 3, his voice for Monkey goes hand in hand with his other responsibilities.

[@biropgrules]

So basically... "Oh youre a hero all right... just not a super one." "Oh yeah? What's the difference?" "Presentation!"

[@jakenewland-griffin9460]

the bad guy, dragons & megamind all being ruined by straight to streaming products

[@fe_fanby2278]

Wait, what happened to dragons?

[@AJ-xc4qe]

What happened to The Bad Guys?

[@user-mz9xo3hx1h]

​@@AJ-xc4qe had a bad Christmas special

[@notsmrt4521]

​​@@fe_fanby2278really bad 8 season (over 2 or 3 years) sequel series that ignores most of the ending of the third movie (for example Hiccup went to explore the hidden world after the fact for some reason) heavily disrespcting the orginals (destroyed hiccups leg for no reason) and horrible writing through out (also theres one background character that changes race from black to white like 5 times)

[@suspiciousstar7547]

Idk about the Bad Guys though. The Christmas special was kinda mid but I wouldn't say it ruined anything.

[@thecinematicbandicoot7280]

I'm both puzzled yet satisfied at this turn of events because people went from using Dreamworks to bash Disney to turning on this studio when something didn't measure up to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Funny how quickly the tables can turn. I love Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as much as other animation enthusiasts, but using a studio to bash others feels very petty when animators congratulate each other when they work at different companies.

[@theadaptationstationmaster]

I do think it's kind of people just wanting to praise Dreamworks as an excuse to bash Disney. And I guess it's them wanting some studio to always produce great movies, which strikes me as demanding. Me, I'm happy as long as Dreamworks, Disney, etc. produce at least one great movie. I don't have to watch the bad ones. Of course, with sequels to movies you love, the bad ones can be harder to ignore.

[@traviscunningham7062]

Agreed.

[@Simbala-bq5vy]

True. Its so satisfying seeing these DreamWorks fans angry. Thats called Karma. Im not hating DreamWorks they also make masterpieces especially Kung Fu panda especially the 2nd one. But the fandom is just toxic

[@schmingbeefin4473]

Apparently, the animators of Kung Fu Panda 4... were also the writers, because the original writers were on strike.

[@DLxxx]

Correct. The actual writers of the film left part way through because of the strikes, and rather than postpone the film, they made the animators tell the story AS THEY ANIMATED. Like, no wonder this story felt so weak and flies by the seat of its pants.

[@isauldron4337]

Wait wtf

[@schmingbeefin4473]

@@isauldron4337 Wtf indeed.

[@cbmatty9262]

Remember all those Disney bad Dreamworks good videos that came out after puss n boots 2? What ever happened to them?

[@TheIqram12]

Lmao yeah its not aged well

[@dogerio]

Not like Disney improved in that time

[@theadaptationstationmaster]

You know, I never really got why it has to be either "Disney is doing great and Dreamworks is doing terrible" or "Dreamworks is doing great and Disney is doing terrible" in people's minds. I don't feel like I owe loyalty to any specific studio. They can both make great movies, and they can both make awful movies. It doesn't have to be one or the other with either.

[@Simbala-bq5vy]

They faded. Cause the recent villains from both of them suck and the movies to. Now its the comparing all Kungfu panda villains aka Tai lung vs Lord Shen vs Kai the collector vs Weizhuang (the chameleon) I created the name Weizhuang cause really? Teh chameleon? Thats just lame

[@chaoticneutral7976]

I guarantee you that if Ruby Gillman had been a Disney product, there would be non ending videos of anti woke KZbinrs milking the movie's flop being due to Ruby's lesbian friend who has 5 minutes of screen time and love interest being black.

[@huntercool2232]

Kung Fu Panda 4 is basically another Toy Story 4 incident. The movie wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t good, it was mid and overall unnecessary. I just wish companies would stop breaking trilogies that should’ve stayed trilogies just for money.

[@MundoJuanci]

I'd argue Toy Story 4 at least tried to expand Woody's worldview and didn't end like "just another adventure", it felt like they were reaching to a conclusion. KFP4 doesn't add much to the franchise and you could easily skip it and not miss much

[@aeroblu2002]

At this point Shrek 5 is probably gonna suck too. Puss in Boots honestly gave people WAY too high of expectations for Dreamworks.

[@HydragonofDeath]

Apparently shrek 5 is gonna be a reboot or something. Its 100% going to suck, Shrek's entire premise was that it subverted tropes, but nowadays all media is obsessed with subverting tropes, and then subverting the subversions. Shrek literally cannot be remade because it only worked due to when it was made.

[@alexklepp6479]

I agree that the Furious Five get so underused. I was hoping after the second film they’d get more to do so I was really disappointed that they were sidelined in the third film.

[@DuelaDent52]

Man, I feel like the only person to love Kung-Fu Panda 3.

[@Daiwie44]

Yeah, I get the downsides of Po teaching the Five, and sudden magic upgrade, but the story is great, the animation is spectacular and the dads have a great dynamic. 4 is just plain. Biggest issue I have with 4 is that it's not Po's story, not the villain's story, but the fox's story. Which feels undeserved.

[@SammEater]

I guess this means Last Wish drained all of their talent in that one movie and now there is nothing left.

[@naotohex]

I havent heard of "The Wild Robot" but after checking out the trailer im really interested now. Thanks for putting it on my radar!

[@misterzygarde6431]

Even though Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate is meant to be a pilot to a TV series, it's still disappointing. Given how it's a cult classic among adults, I feel like they should've aimed for a TV-PG like CN's Adventure Time or Regular Show or Dreamwork's own Jurassic Park: Camp Cretaceous rather than go the kiddie route. As for Kung Fu Panda 4, apparently there's a post on reddit about how the production went down and let me just say that I feel bad for Stephanie Stine seeing as she was trying to keep the spirit of the first two films and got shot down. It's not as bad as the deal Megamind got but given that KFP4's state. It's sad to know that we could've gotten something more.

[@RiderNexus]

Not to sound like a smug jerk, but I'm kinda glad I remained hesitant to jump on the bandwagon that everyone was on after The Last Wish where everyone believed a new era of Dreamworks had begun, I remained skeptical because I knew their output is very much like a zig zag.

[@diegodubber2140]

DreamWorks always were zig-zag. They can make Shrek one year and The Boss Baby the next.

[@kharijordan6426]

I was hoping Po would be as old as Master Shifoo before retiring. I also would have liked to roll into a ball more when in chase scenes.

[@bene5785]

You’re so real for recommending the Monkie Kid show, it’s incredible

[@FurKid_the_Gg_roo_99]

Ya know, with how Po reached the point where he had nothing else to rly learn on a "movie level" by the 3rd film 4 was focused on him getting a new dragon warrior, & the 5 weren't really in the film at all, why wasn't it focused on the origins of a new Furious 5? We could've had new characters to grow + get invested in & Po could still be around as the new Shifu (akin to how Oogway had that role in the last Furious 5 before Po in "Legends of Awesomeness")!

[@scrittle]

Wasn't there a TV series focusing on each of their backstories? The "monke" meme originates from that.

[@FurKid_the_Gg_roo_99]

​@@scrittleYeah, I think it was a short or something tho. Can't remember the name

[@foxtoons1999]

@@FurKid_the_Gg_roo_99”Secrets of the Furious Five”.

[@Daiwie44]

yeah, 4 feels like it tv-series level. Especially with the lack of any interesting animated shots and shallow characters.

[@chaoticneutral7976]

Every animation studio has its ups and downs regarding their filmography. I knew that the people claiming that DreamWorks was gonna have some sort of Animated Renaissance were gonna be whining that the company "fell off" when the studio has infamously been a mixed bag regarding quality. While it does sadden me that there was corporate meddling surrounding this film and after the Wild Robot, DreamWorks will start outsourcing their films, I will say if nothing, at least people who made Puss in Boots 2 their whole personality for the first few months of 2023 are finally shutting up.

[@user-sz6te4wt6p]

I Haven’t seen Panda 4, but watching Po do the same sword deflect move as Shifu only to NOT catch the staff, even out of context, made me smile.

[@TRISCORE]

Tigress is the Most disrespected character in History - Orphan - no one wanted to adopt her - no friends - Tries hard to win Shifu's affection as her daughter - Lost Dragon Warrior to a random guy. - took Po one montage to be stronger than her - irreverent in KungFuPanda4 she experiences being Naruto, Sasuke,Vegeta, and the z fighter compressed into one person

[@dpray96]

I wouldn't say Po is stronger then her. Just skilled in a different style of fighting. Look at it like Rock, Paper, Scissors. Tai Lung > Tigress Tigress > Po Po > Tai Lung

[@DLxxx]

What's funny is that a lot of Kung Fu Panda fans were expecting the fourth movie to be about her! It's implied, based on the short where the furious five first come together, that Tigress was actually supposed to be some sort of princess! Which would recontextualize why she gets gold and black garb in the third movie. It would've been cool to see a movie more focused on her confronting a backstory like that, but alas..

[@dpray96]

Ironic how they went with a tv sequel budget for Megamind, when they could've hired Kari Wahlgren, Amir Talai, James Sie, and Max Koch for KFP4 instead.

[@dominicromano2449]

11:12 As some who has been complaining about the critical internet landscape's apparent memory loss problem over the last few years, thank you!

[@Prototype-357]

From Puss in Boots the Last Wish to THIS, and to think we've been clamoring for a Megamind sequel since the first one came out, i'm so sad cause Megamind is literally my favorite superhero movie ever.

[@skysiren4113]

5:51 I wanna bring up Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness as another example of giving depth to the furious five. As admittedly not good the show was, I've always respected it for not only making the five relevant, but also explaining their backstories and even go though arcs Monkey has a complicated relationship with his brother, we see Mantis's struggles with his insecurity with his size in one episode, we meet Crane's mother who is incredibly overprotective, we see Viper meet someone who she looked up to who has turned evil, and there's a lot of episodes that focus on Tigress and her issues Don't get me wrong the show has a lot of problems, with a lot of the characters being flanderized (especially Po) but I go gotta give the writers some credit for trying to do something with the furious five

[@Dylamn]

Megamind is one of my favourite movies of all time forever. I knew it shouldn't have a sequel. And I knew as soon as it was announced, it shouldn't exist. It's actually incredible how they took one of the most perfect movies they've ever done, and do the exact opposite and make something that doesn't even deserve a score of 1. That had to have been intentional.

[@animezilla4486]

I disagree because remember there's still a new generation of kids that probably never even know who megamind is so what better way to introduce them to the character then what a sequel. Also I don't know if I called the original movie perfect there is no such thing as a perfect movie good movie yes. Besides don't forget they're already making a live-action remake of how to train your Dragon movie and they're going to bring Shrek back

[@Dylamn]

@@animezilla4486 There are many great movies that came out before you or I were born that are still great, and didn't need a sequel to stay relevant.

[@animezilla4486]

@@Dylamn some sequels were good others were bad

[@niv731]

TYSM FOR THE LEGO MONKIE KID SHOUT OUT

[@purpleplasma4824]

Dreamworks killing off their best movie series speedrun.

[@171QA]

Oh boy. And thank you for bringing up Lego Monkie Kid.

[@kermitgotthesickkicks4265]

This is the norm for dreamworks I don't understand what people we're expecting.

[@crystalfairy912]

Same! I’ve been online long enough to remember everyone hating Dreamworks for their celebrity casting and pop culture references.

[@DLxxx]

The Last Wish genuinely seemed to make everyone forget how inconsistent DreamWorks has always been with the quality of it's films. From the moment KF4 was announced, I was immediately skeptical. But the way it was getting hyped up by everyone left me wondering if they forgot that the trilogy ended off on it's weakest film.

[@Dabugman02]

Except tigress, she is actually important to the story sometimes

[@eclipsicalbluestocking1182]

Love how direct-to-streaming is the new direct-to-video

[@thataintfalco7106]

Man, I was a huge fan of troll hunters when I was younger. It had such an amazing Del Toro feel. My first experience with him and it was excellent

[@blankedeye1451]

9:48 WOAH was NOT expecting a lmk name drop out of nowhere (not surprised tho bc, as usual, flying bark does the lord's work)

[@charliesawesomeworldofadve8024]

I wasn’t as bothered with the lack of the furious five as much as everyone else but I do think that the film would’ve been a little better if they were at least at the beginning as well as the end

[@CinnamonGrrlErin1]

7:45 and the sad thing is, is that non-celebrity voice actors *do* have strong fan bases among animation fans. I really doubt any of us would be that distraught if Jim Cummings or Tress MacNeille took over roles formerly played by matinee idols.

[@ThePianistDragon]

I’m super excited for Wild Robot *because* of its limited dialogue. I don’t know who’s doing voices in the movie, and I don’t care. The possibility of a mostly-silent, artful movie has me hooked and I really want to see it.

[@joshiethepoketeen6357]

Bad news, It’s a rushed film

[@ThePianistDragon]

It’s slated for September, so they have time to work on it.

[@Duskool]

You would think Po's retirement story would be saved for the 6th, aka final, movie script since by that point you could make a timeskip to when he is at least shifu's age and actually needs to retire. It could be like cars 3 where Po doesn't wanna retire and still thinks he's got it but is too old now or something

[@BladeBlur]

The problem with Awkwafina is that she is probably the most overused actress in voice-over, and to add insult to injury all of her roles are pretty identical. J.K. Simmons is someone who I hear a lot, but he doesn't always play the same character, nor is he a focal point of a movie. Awkwafina tends to be either a very prominent side character or a tertiary character that gets a lot of screentime thanks to trailers. Between the Sponge of Water movie, Migration, Angry Birds 2, Raya and the Lost Dragon, The Bad Guys, The Little Mermaid and now Kung Fu Panda 4, it's becoming irritating. Out of all of these roles I think her Bad Guys' character is probably her best since being a smack-talking hacker tarantula fits her style and she wasn't overused. My point is that I really wish the studios used other actresses. I can say the same thing about Chris Pratt too but at least he has Emett under his belt which was a great role.

[@dpray96]

The other issue with Awkwafina is the same thing with Seth Rogan. It's blatantly obvious who the actor is rather then just the character we see. It's a double edged sword, we know the actor but they're just themselves rather then the character so we get taken out of the immersion.

[@BladeBlur]

@@dpray96 yeah I forgot Seth Rogan. He was Awkwafina before she was everywhere. Like did they really need to make an original character in Horton just so he had a role?

[@nemowindsor8724]

At least the direct-to-video Disney stuff had quality in it somewhere, although it rarely lined up animation quality and script quality (Lion King 1 1/2 is probably the only one for that). Still, the TV series were often excellently written (Aladdin and Hercules are brilliant and Aladdin needs to be added to Plus yesterday), adn stuff like Bambi II did genuinely try to measure up to the original in artistry. These things are just hideous.

[@SMN9a]

I'm thinking they should have made a big timeskip after KF3 . Po is now old and need a successor. (The furious 5 didn't appear because they retire / pass away because of old age)

[@amanul_2474]

Call the Dreamorks now, because they are really lacking a W this year 💀

[@jonmercano1138]

Does anyone else remember that Megamind actually already had a sequel? Button of Doom. Granted it was a short. But it had the same level of animation as the movie and still had Ferrell and Cross. I remember liking it

[@kingsleycy3450]

I always thought the Furious 5 were going to be expanded upon in the sequels- that's why they got the celebrity VAs. Turns out they really got the celebrity VAs just to get the celebrity VAs

[@zombieguy4444]

In regards to your bit at the beginning about sequels, a big difference nowadays is that theater-quality movies are now getting released straight to streaming In the past, Direct-to-DVD meant "Not good enough for theaters" But the modern equivalent (straight-to-streaming) doesn't anymore

[@deandredukes95]

Sad how the Furious 5 fell from grace since the first movie

[@DLxxx]

Well, more like the second movie. They were consistently pretty awesome there.

[@supersmashproductions9890]

At least kung fun panda 4 was good

[@huntercool2232]

DreamWorks better redeem themselves with The Wild Robot

[@HellfireComms]

KFP4 isn't out in the UK until the 28th for some godforsaken reason, but I think I see where a lot of people are coming from re: the criticisms of it. I'll keep an open mind regardless.

[@KFP_Fanboy]

i loved kung fu panda 4 all of the movies have a recurring plot where po learns from his experience, fails and training and that happens again in this film. the theme of the movie is what po told zhen, “it’s never too late to do the right thing.” it applied to not only zhen and tai lung, but also to po. shifu wanted po to be like oogway, but po didn’t want to change. but on his journey he took his own advice and decided to choose a new dragon warrior. and he had amazing character growth along the way oogway could have defeated tai lung at any time. but instead, he let po, his successor, defeat tai lung. in kung fu panda 4, we find out po could’ve beaten the chameleon any time with the staff, but instead, he let zhen, his successor, defeat her (or at least get a good hit in) but after po revealed he could’ve broken out and beaten her himself, he gets the final blow and returns the kung fu to all of the masters she stole it from. this movie was po’s movie, he got more time to shine and prove that he was a worthy successor of oogway all along by training zhen.

[@vadimbanner2024]

OH SHUT UP

[@Dora-xi5ob]

That sounds a lot like Toy Story. Im personally not a huge fan of the Kung Fu Panda movies but I love how the Toy Story movies build and expand in the themes of the previous (yes, even the 4th one does a good job, despite its flaws in its plot)

[@MasterMaddox64]

movie has so much lost potential, i'm sticking to the trilogy

[@mergimvllasa7577]

​@@vadimbanner2024you made me laugh lol

[@antonypastrikos7036]

How, in whatever deity you might belive in, did you come up with THIS level of mental gymnastics. This doesn't even need a dissection, it's just a delusion surely made possible via the most dangerous drugs. KFP4 has no plot, it may appear that way but it's only because everything keeps moving fast as fuck. The chamaleon is an abysmal villain, in a franchise well known for its amazingly written villains. She poses no realistic threat considering that all po had to do was use the op staff on her and she was done for, it's just that the writers didn't find it convenient for that to happen IMMEDIATELY because then there would be no story. You might think I'm harping on this particular point about the villain instead of dissecting the rest of the movie, but the villain in KFP is MONUMENTAL to the story. They serve as the foil to the dragon warrior and the furious five, they raise the stakes, for fucks sake that's their only reason for training in kung fu, to protect the valley and china as a whole from THREATS. And in this movie they decide to bring back the og villains just so 2/3 aren't even able t speak and then they just have them return to spirit realm. A toddler could write something more competent than this absolute dumpster fire. And no, po IS NOT zhen's teacher, WHAT relationship do they actually have, WHY did he choose her. Why was there even a need for him to retire and pick the next dragon warrior when he has barely started acting as one?! Oogway was on his deathbed before finally picking someone, why does po need to do it now? They had already done the "po learns to become a teacher" plotline in KFP3, he teaches the pandas how to protect themselves before Kai appears, and could have build smth from that, have you a new start of a movie open a new kung fu temple of the panda village. Let him organically see the parallels between him and shifu and better understand him. Have him actually say goodbye to shifu at the end, idk ,do anything but this aquafina paper thin character. And we didn't need a movie "all about po" or a movie that spends more time on po. He is the protagonist, OFC it's his movie, what are you talking about?! That doesn't mean we have to take away his friends from the script. Po as a chatacter works best when he is in the presence of other characters, where they can bounce off of each other and let the humour breathe. ESPECIALLY with the furious five, some of the best moments have always been between him and the five, or team fights where they all help each other. Mind you no explanation is ever given on where the FUCKING FURIOUS FIVE are, like they are some damn nobodies?! And lastly, smth that really pissed me off and showed the absolute hypocrisy, delusion and or illiteracy coming from this comment that for some reason got more than 0 likes, NO shifu could not beat tai lung whenever he wanted to. NO he didn't leave it to po so he could let his student shine or learn to trust or belive in him or whatever else. Shifu needed to learn to put his faith in po and oogway yes, BUT that is different to the resolution of the tai lung situation, HIS ADOPTED SON. HE RAISED HIM. HE LOVED HIM. Multiple times both when oogway rejected tai lung and when he came back for revenge, we see shifu, clearly distraught, unable to fight him or at least finish him off. All he sees in him is the son he failed, his worst mistake still haunting him. To quote master oogway "po will bring peace to the valley, and also to you my friend". It is quite literally the whole point of the end of the first movie. I really cannot belive how subterranean the standards are now, if THIS take is spoken out unironically and with no shame.

[@giacomomasi8718]

Honestly my main question for "king fu panda" was... why Po need to continue proofing his value?

[@Plexxis_SugarPom]

actually, yeah. Thats a really good point, the first film was LITERALLY about this. For the villains not getting his value? Yeah i get that, they're villains. But seriously Poe is like constantly trying to prove something, even trying to prove he can still be the dragon warrior (makes no sense since i doubt it's been even a decade since he was chosen by Oogway)

[@cian.o]

They wanted to make kfp4 a live action hybrid...

[@Stormraider821]

Watched KFP 4. I found Po's story about having to step down as the Dragon Warrior very forced. The theme about being afraid of change could work, if the setting was a bit different. It might have worked better if Po was older and nowhere near as strong as he was in his prime, and so he has to choose a successor. But having come from humble beginnings, Po is afraid that he'll go back to becoming a nobody if he gave up his title. The thing is, Po is at the prime of his life. He's still physically as strong as ever before. He's young and has lots of vitality and strength to spare. And then Tai Lung...Tai Lung was wasted opportunity. He was summoned back just to beat up the Chameleon's guards before he gets one shot and is imprisoned for the rest of the movie. This movie could have done so much more with him.

[@oldoutlet6946]

It's like the people who were responsible for the final products of both these movies didn't watch nor care for the source material (not to say that's the entire reason they came out mediocre).

[@alisonsouter8788]

Well, you’re right about KFP4. According to research, the co-director actually cared about the franchise and had great ideas, but the main director had creative control and ignored her, treating her like a nobody. Heck the main animator quit a week into production. There had been many arguments for adding depth to the new characters but Mike refused, he only agreed after a second test screening, yeah a bit too late for that mister.

[@sophiebubbles07]

Dreamworks adding a kid character to Megamind 2 is something that definitely feels like something that you’d absolutely see in a Dreamworks TV series. There was absolutely corporate tampering behind the scenes with this movie, considering the writers from the first movie wrote for this film as well, and this is a pretty good example of that.

[@bluebelt1235]

9:49 MONKIE KID! 🤩 Are you going to do a review on that show next? Please do it. This show really needs more recognition

[@nickjoffe8433]

6:15 YES! Finally someone else points out the flaw of the Furious Five. 1st Movie: they get they're asses kicked by Tai Lung. 2nd Movie: they get captured by shen's army and Po has to free them. 3rd Movie: 4 out of the five are turned into Jombies by Kai. Even in the Nickelodeon show, the five constantly get beaten and Po always saves the day. Litterally the only reason the Furious Five are around is to make Po look better by conparison, even though they've been masters much longer than him.

[@thirdcoinedge]

Honestly, Tigress is really the only member of the group with actual character growth and depth over the movies. The rest are mostly just there for the action scenes and for banter. Still more entertaining than the HTTYD side characters, but still largely just an ensemble to fill space.

[@Mal-go5dl]

@@thirdcoinedge the Dragon's cast was vastly improved in the series, couldn't give a rat's ass about them in the films

[@sexy1018]

It’s funny how 2 years ago when The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish came out, many people on the internet were saying DreamWorks was making a comeback after having a string of average animated films like the Trolls films, The Boss Baby films and Spirit: Untamed and using it as an excuse to hate on Disney. Oh - what's that? NOW look - there’s are video released in hindsight of Kung Fu Panda 4’s release, discussing how DreamWorks is now “going downhill”. It really sure shows how many narrow-minded people on the internet will just automatically jump to the conclusion that a studio is returning back to its successful heights as in the old years, from just 2 frigging films, without considering the overall possible critical and financial outcome of the films following. Hilarious.

[@PedroBenolielBonito]

The funny thing is, Monkey IS Jackie Chan. It's a perfect bit of casting, every bit as good as Jack Black for Po...IF they had given him lines. To me, that is the most baffling aspect of the series - you have *Jackie Chan* (you know, that guy with the notable comic timing and the amusing line delivery and accent) playing a *mystical kung-fu fighting Ancient Chinese monkey*, and you give him three things to say per movie? What's up with that?

[@rogueone5711]

i feel as they could have made chameleon the kung fu panda version of shang tsung from mortal kombat, have her relying mostly on magic and sorcery to make up for lacking martial arts skills, now yes shang tsung did have impressive martial arts skills you still get my point. make her a threat no matter what you do, look at how shang tsung is portrayed in mk, he's such a big threat even the titan of time fears him and had to seal him away in an alternate dimension because she knew killing him wouldn't be enough. make chameleon that kind of threat with her magic

[@TheRealNingenOfAntarctica]

To be honest I got gay dad energy from Mr. Ping and Lee. Just me?

[@Planag7]

Lol it's mentioned xD

[@The_Keh27]

Based on the trailer's visuals, The Wild Robot looks like something that would be made BETTER by having ZERO dialogue, but maybe that's just me.

[@traviscunningham7062]

Like WALL·E?

[@colethecollector6742]

why would he retire? when his teachers were 50-100 years old!??

[@tevineleven11]

6:17 kinda reminds me of HTTYD with it's main cast, how the only one's who are really important is Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless. They're so nothing that my friend had no idea that the other dragons have NAMES

[@Dora-xi5ob]

Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate is a tv pilot so we can excuse its bad animation (it’d be expensive to animated every episode with the best animation) but that is no excuse for its bad writing

[@porkyminch1640]

no, were not, clone wars had a movie before the show as well and both were great.

[@Dora-xi5ob]

@@porkyminch1640 i know nothing about Star Wars but that’s what I’m saying. The bad animation is excusable but a tv pilot is no reason for it to be bad

[@Patch-lz9yi]

I did like KFP4, but I could also feel a lot of the movie's untapped potential. The Wild Robot looks absolutely gorgeous. (And also, glad to hear the Lego Monkie Kid mention! I'm very excited for season 5!)

[@musicmixer112]

Honestly the most hype i am in yhe video is knowing that i can watch Monkie Kid 3 and 4

[@MysticDiamonds5566]

Kari Whalgren does a great job as Tigress in Legends of Awesomeness.

[@Valigarmanda]

"Guy used to be a villain but is learning how to be better" Unironically is better done by Gru than Megamind in Megamind 2.