Kung Fu Panda 3

Starring the voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, J.K. Simmons and Bryan Cranston. Rated PG for cartoonish violence.

Dreamworks There are some good moments in “Kung Fu Panda 3” – yeah, about three. It seemed like an indulgent sequel made for the sake of having a sequel (not to mention critic-proof box office $$$). In a phone conversation from Los Angeles on Monday, Aibel and Berger said the four years of production it takes to complete an animated feature is vital in establishing the film’s heart.

In “Kung Fu Panda 3”, Po, left, reunites with his father, Li. “When I told him, “Hey, we’re doing Kung Fu Panda 3”, he was like, ‘Can I be in it?’ I said, ‘I’ll see what I can do, I’ll try to get you a line, ‘ and I was able to pull some strings!” It’s hard to say anyone doesn’t get their money’s worth, even as the story strains under the weight of it all. Po loves his adoptive father Mr. Ping (James Hong), proprietor of a small noodle restaurant. In that movie, Po learned that he had to unlock the secrets of his past in order to gain inner peace. Po even experiences the charms of flirtatious ribbon-dancer Mei Mei (Kate Hudson). But Po’s time away is costly, leaving the home front vulnerable to a literal raging bull, chi-stealing baddie Kai (J.K. Simmons, not quite getting “Whiplash”-nasty material this time)”.

All of Po’s animal gang are back, with Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen) and Crane (David Cross) setting off on a new adventure.

Po confesses to Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) that although he’s now the Dragon Warrior, he doesn’t really know what that means or who he really is. Like the martial arts masters themselves, the film achieves a seemingly effortless balance, with a light, graceful touch that encompasses silly comedy (mostly delightfully so, though making fun of a character with bad teeth is questionable), self-aware humor (beginning with a joke on the studio logo and continuing with commentary on “the power of a dramatic entrance”), warm-hearted lessons learned, and skillfully-orchestrated action. The thing is, nobody actually knows who Kai is until he mentions his past with Oogway, which adds a humorous element to him.

The comedic actor has always gone over well with young audiences, with bits of juvenile humor still a part of his over-the-top arsenal at age 46, and the pudgy, powerful panda named Po is one of his best roles. Po remains a charming bumbler – excited to learn, for example, that other pandas don’t eat with chopsticks.

This is one of those animated flicks intended for kids but with enough cleverness and little flourishes to keep the adults fully engaged, too. At times, “Kung Fu Panda 3” feels like watching a 95-minute movie trailer.