Jack Black fans are excited to see the actor return as Po in Netflix’s upcoming series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, even if some fans of the franchise are underwhelmed at other aspects of the show.
According to the trailer’s synopsis on Netflix’s YouTube channel, the bamboo-loving martial artist “teams up with an elite English knight on a global quest to rescue magical weapons, restore his reputation โ and save the world!”
Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight is slated for release on Netflix next month and stars not only Black, but the legendary James Hong and Rita Ora, among others. And while the return of headlining cast members was praised by many, one fan’s assessment compared the animation unfavorably to a previous show in the franchise, Nickelodeon’s Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011-2016), which starred Mick Wingert as Po rather than Black (via IMDb).
“The animation looks stiff, the voice acting here seems odd (it might be some splicing for this trailer), and Po caring about a title is odd as well,” one fan wrote of the new trailer. “On the plus side.. Jack Black. And it seems to have a story.”
However, Black’s return alone was enough to pique the interest of many.
On the other hand, a lot of people were concerned about the absence of the fan-favorite Furious Five.
One commentator acknowledged that while the animation looked “great,” it seemed to be a lower-budget effort than some of the previous movies, such as the characters and landscape lacking detail.
Another fan remarked, “the animation is worse than the first movie made back in 2008 ๐ญ.”
Indeed, the trailer raised eyebrows for many, and not in the good way.
Another fan contended that while they thought the show “doesn’t look that good” Po is such a charming character, they “will watch” anyway.
However, there were plenty of others who seemed unambiguously excited at the new series.
Another fan simply seemed happy to see producer Jeffrey Katzenberg’s “initial dream for the franchise to consist of six entries” to finally be coming true.
We’ll have to see how Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight turns out when it hits Netflix July 14.