When Master Shifu announces his retirement, he designates Po as his successor. The dragon warrior panda is at first surprised, soon finding out he can’t lead Tigress, Viper, Crane, Mantis and Monkey, aka the Furious Five. Then the evil Kai returns from the spirit realm, bent on stealing the great masters’ power and ruling the world. At the same time, Po’s father reappears out of nowhere after years of absence and they travel together to a village full of pandas, hidden in the mountains, who Po trains to beat Kai...

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Dreamworks Animation is a well-oiled machine. Shrek, Madagascar, The Croods, How to Train Your Dragon, as well as sequels and spin-offs like Puss in Boots and Penguins of Madagascar all work according to the same successful formula, starring a colorful menagerie of characters that easily transform into stuffed animals on a child’s bed. The third installment in the 2008 franchise, Kung Fu Panda 3, is therefore exactly what you would expect, from its simple plot to its finely tuned but obvious gags, its sensitive moral and foreseeable twists – there are no real surprises here. But still it works, and that is why Dreamworks has magic, even for the most cynical audiences. Even though it is completely simplistic, the adventure easily offers laughter, emotions, great action scenes, and you have to be pretty jaded to resist its draw.