Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Season 1 welcomes Jack Black as the voice of Po and is filled with epic action and a fantastic story.
Jack Black is back as Po in Netflix’s Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight and all is right in the world. While the franchise has continued on without him, he truly is Po. Having him back in this new series makes this new series that much more special, and a complete joy to watch.
The Dragon Knight follows Po as he must fight against a couple of weasels who are trying to track down the most powerful weapons in the world. He pairs up with newcomer Wandering Blade, voiced by Rita Ora, to ensure that they are never used. What follows is a family friendly adventure that fans of all ages will enjoy.
Finding something that parents can enjoy along with their younger children has always been difficult, but Jack Black and the team behind The Dragon Knight ensure that Kung Fu Panda continues down that path with the latest addition to the franchise. Unafraid to tackle some adult themes as well, this series puts the story first, which is part of what truly makes it shine.
It is always appreciated when the writers give kids credit to fully understand darker and more mature themes. It always makes the series better, and that is exactly the case with The Dragon Knight as well.
From hilarious hijinks to surprising life lessons, seeing Po back in action is fun from start to finish. Jack Black has always been a comedic genius, which is once again proven in Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. But it isn’t all fun and games, Po has to deal with a lot of emotional moments too. This is his journey to go on, and it is easy to fall right back into loving him and rooting for things to work out the way he wants them to.
While Jack Black is amazing, and very clearly the heart and soul of this series, he isn’t even the best part of it. Animation fans will be in awe of what the team behind The Dragon Knight has accomplished. The visuals are absolutely stunning, from the large scale set designs right down to the tiniest little detail.
Being Kung Fu Panda, there are a fair amount of fight sequences involved. The animators excel at creating an immersive experience that is not only hilarious to watch at times, but also filled with edge of your seat intense moments. Eyes will be glued to the screen as kids and adults alike cheer on their favorite panda and his new friend, as they work hard to take down those pesky weasels.
This series welcomes back fan favorites, while at the same time giving viewers new characters to fall in love with (as well as those that fans will love to hate). Ensuring that the newcomers fit into the previously established world isn’t easy, but the writers pull it off by setting aside time for character building. This is something that all too often bogs down a story and makes it drag on too long, but with The Dragon Knight being a series instead of a film, this is easily accomplished.
At the end of Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight season 1, things are wrapped up neatly enough, while still leaving the door wide open for the story to continue. There is a whole world to explore here and fans will be eager to do so with Po and Wandering Blade, so fingers crossed Netflix allows this story to go on for many more years to come.
Get ready to welcome Jack Black back to the franchise while also falling in love with the latest additions to the cast when Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight season one drops on Netflix with all episodes July 15th.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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About Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight
Jack Black returns to Kung Fu Panda in the new series “Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight.” When a mysterious pair of weasels set their sights on a collection of four powerful weapons, Po (Jack Black) must leave the comfort of Panda Village on a globe-trotting quest for redemption and justice that finds him partnered up with a no-nonsense English Knight named Wandering Blade (Rita Ora).
Together, these two mismatched warriors will set out to stop the magical weapons from ever being used. James Hong will reprise his role as beloved character, Mr. Ping, Po’s adoptive, over-protective father who is always filled with pride for his boy.
Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight hits Netflix on July 14th!
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.