While Pixar Animation is known for their emphasis on storytelling, its rival DreamWorks Animation makes more commercial movies. Despite this, the animation studio still manages to put out a great movie once in a while such as the first two “Shrek” movies, the “How to Train Your Dragon” movies and the “Kung Fu Panda” movies.

“Kung Fu Panda” may be the ultimate “do not judge the book by its cover” movie. On the surface, it looks like an adorable movie about a panda. However, it actually have serious moments along with slapstick-based humor. “Kung Fu Panda 2” was even better with its great story and its well-developed villain. How does “Kung Fu Panda 3” compare to the first two movies?

Just like the first two movies, “Kung Fu Panda 3” has a great story to tell. Sequels nowadays will repeat formulas just to make a quick buck at the box office. In addition to the movie’s flair for slapstick humor, the film has some genuine heartfelt moments. “Kung Fu Panda 3” picks up exactly where the previous movie left off. Once again, Jack Black is perfect as Po. His voice acting brings a lot of energy to the franchise as a whole. The supporting cast isn’t half-bad either thanks to the talents of Bryan Cranston, J.K. Simmons, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie amongst others. The Chinese-influenced animation is also quite exquisite with its detailed characters and landscapes.

However, the film seems more reliant on the gags this time around. Although this isn’t entirely a bad thing, they occasionally distract from the overall plot. I liked J.K. Simmons’ performance as the villain Kai, I felt his character to be a little underdeveloped. This is a stark contrast to the previous two “Kung Fu Panda” movies.

Although it’s not as good as the previous movie, “Kung Fu Panda 3” is still a worthy entry into the overall franchise.

SCORE: 4/5