Kung Fu Panda 3 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Kung Fu Panda 3 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

The third installment in the DreamWorks Animation popular 'Kung Fu Panda' franchise makes its 4K UHD debut with 'Kung Fu Panda 3 4K' courtesy of Universal. The film features the return of the core voice cast including series star Jack Black ('Nacho Libre'), Angelina Jolie ('Lara Croft: Tomb Raider') and Michelle Yeoh ('Everything Everywhere All at Once'), among others. The third chapter features a lovely 2160p presentation alongside an impressive Dolby Atmos track. A Blu-ray disc, an embossed slipcover, and a Digital Code redeemable through Movies Anywhere are also included.

Kung Fu Panda 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kung Fu Panda 3 4K's HEVC-encoded 2160p presentation with Dolby Vision looks fantastic in motion. The fur of Po and and his father looks terrific, with each strand being defined and discernable, and the same holds true for other creatures/characters. As the pair make their way through the Hall of Heroes, the armor his father wears displays impeccable texture and detail. Palpable rust appears on metal elements, intricate markings are clearly defined, as are age, wear, and dirt. The helmet, chest plate, and other components are provided with nuanced and realistic shading, and the colors, especially the reds, are very well saturated. The greens visible within the area, and in the jade zombies our heroes fight provide a similarly impressive gamut of greens and realistic gradations and shading to make them look almost life-like. The roof tiles on which part of their battle is pitched delights as well, with each tile being well-defined and possessing of unique characteristics in terms of color and condition. Wooden elements are also eye- catching, with authentic grain patterns and textures visible. Blacks are deep, and whites can be brilliant, with the image possessing excellent depth and dimensionality. Overall, the 4K iterations of the Kung Fu Panda films have been consistently visually impressive, and that tradition certainly continues here. Fans of the franchise should be extremely pleased.

Screenshots are sourced from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and are in SDR.

Kung Fu Panda 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kung Fu Panda 3 4K's Dolby Atmos track is as consistently immersive a track as a film fan could hope for. Relentlessly busy, objects and characters consistently run, fly, get thrown, or explode through the field, moving seamlessly and are precisely trackable. Various ambient sounds emanate from surrounds also, such as equipment from the training room and the associated flame pots, voices of villagers, sounds of the natural world, and, of course, the underscoring. Music is handled exceptionally well, with delicate winds, stings, and keys rendered with great clarity and helping to manipulate moods in quieter scenes. When music is allowed to dominate, the film's more energetic moments receive a bombastic boost to help drive their impact. Voices are consistently clean and free from defect, whether they be Black's higher, more excited voice that characterizes so many of Po's lines, or Hoffman's deeper, and occasionally gravely stoic voice that exemplifies Master Shifu's calm ethos. Bass is deep and pleasing, adding depth to the sound of heavy doors closing, thunder, explosions, and characters and objects impacting the ground. It's a terrific track.

Kung Fu Panda 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The on-disc supplements included here are a mix of legacy and new features, with some legacy features being deleted from the 4K UHD disc. For information on the legacy features, please follow this link. However, all of the previously included legacy features are found on the Blu-ray disc packaged with this release. The content on the 4K disc is as below.

• NEW! Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five (24.39) - Using the Furious Five as examples, Po teaches kung fu to some energetic students.

• Deleted Scenes (7.50) - Legacy feature.

• Panda Paws (2.23) - Legacy feature.

• Everybody Loves a Panda Party - Karaoke With Po (2.34) - Legacy feature.

• Po's Posters of Awesomeness (3.30) - Legacy feature.

• Play Like a Panda (4.44) - Legacy feature.

• The Origin of "Skidoosh" (2.21) - Legacy feature.

• New! Mash-up of Awesomeness: Slo-Mo (3.04) - A montage of slo-mo moments from the first two films

• New! Mash-up of Blunders (2.52) - A collection of Po's "worst hits" from the first two films.

Kung Fu Panda 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jack Black's enthusiasm for and commitment to the character of Po is undiminished here, and the same holds true for the other returning cast members and newcomers like Bryan Cranston ('Breaking Bad'). This installment is noteworthy for finally fleshing-out Po's backstory while also providing him further development in his present. The original Blu-ray presentation, as my colleague Martin Liebman observed in his review, looked and sounded terrific. From my perspective, however, the new 4K release with Dolby Atmos bests it. Accompanied by a healthy assortment of extras, for fans of the franchise, Kung Fu Panda 3 4K comes highly recommended.