Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight (2022–2023) User Reviews

Average, but promises more

[gamergunk42 · 5/10 · 20 July 2022]

I read other reviews, and while I do think some points are exaggerated in their quality, I understand where people are coming from. Dreamworks had hyped up Jack Black being on the project a lot, portraying this show as an unofficial Kung Fu Panda 4, when in reality this was just another generic kids show based on a Dreamworks property.

Are all Netflix Dreamworks shows bad? No, their other action shows like Kipo are one of my favorites as a matter of fact, but this show does little to stand out from others in its genre. The characters aren't doing anything for me despite having good backstories. Blade, for example, has a neat backstory regarding her brother, but her personality is the by-the books hardened and stoic type. Po is a lot less endearing and more annoying, but this isn't a complete character assassination (although the way he handles his status really irks me). As always, Mr. Ping is the best character.

The animation is pretty inconsistent. If the show aired 5-10 years earlier, it would be alright, but it didn't. The lighting and set design look really good and are the highlight visually. The new character designs suck and the villains especially look dog****. The actual animation feels off. IDK if it's because it's animated on twos or somsthing, but it felt less impactful.

Overall, a pretty average show that a 7 year old might like, but nothing beyond that. They could've executed this better.

Decent worth watching

[thismayverywellbea · 7/10 · 14 July 2022]

Show progresses slowly. Animation is good for a DreamWorks TV show and voices original actors such as Jack black. Story is similar to Avengers: Infinity War. Po was tasked to get the Gaunlet but two bad guys attempt to steal it first. Their plans backfire but Po accidently let them get away with the town surrounding the gaunlet being destroyed, leaving people injured. Po is then not loved anymore and no one is his fan anymore. The emperor of China even revokes Po's title of Dragon Master. Po meets an English Knight who is tasked to retrieve the gaunlet to save England. Po sees this as an opportunity to team up with the knight to save the gaundlet in order to reclaim his title for Dragon master and to be loved again. The story is too simple however and feels as if it drags on. The episode feels like it could be 11 minutes instead of 22. Plot is good but the pacing of the plot is too slow. Acting is good animation is good directing is good. For some reason Po is seen as gullible and dull here but in the movies he was stronger and had developed to be a true master. I wonder why he had been downgraded in this show. The movies had already been a great ending for the franchise as Po had fully developed and became a perfect person. Otherwise, it is worth watching. 7/10.

Does a perfect trilogy need a spin-off?

[lovemichaeljordan · 6/10 · 14 July 2022]

Po is undeniably an audience favorite and a spin-off series with Po voiced by the legendary Jack Black sounds like a good idea. But is it? The animation is poor with a few good-looking frame. You get used to it after a while and it's definetly watchable. Kids will like it.

The story is basically Infinity War. The trilogy was already perfect and it showed Po grow into a true master, and now this is what he acts like? It's however not the biggest deal since there's been Kung Fu Panda spin-offs before. It's a fun watch but nothing close to the movies, but kids will enjoy it.

Milking the name

[sumtim3s00n · 15 July 2022]

The animation seem somehow bleak and cheap, trying to make the scenes as curtailed and limited, no detailed background teaming with life and color. The now supposedly master has reverted a few steps back into buffonery with jokes that will not make anyone but a small child smile. In general one feels like watching once favourite characters do their thing again and jump up and down the screen but in quickly put together , subaverage plot with recycled jokes so that kids can maybe smile at seeing them again and ask their parents to watch it again. Thats it at best, for kids and the cut off age low.

This show is just about making money , nobody seemed to care to make it also good.

Need powerful po

[megavithu · 7/10 · 28 July 2022]

Tired of seeing a dragon master as weak and helpless We want him as a proper teacher not a cry baby Give him cool chi powers of oogway Story is good except weak po but too long Poor animstions 2008 movie is better No budget for fight choreography?

It's ok but not as good as Legends of Awesomeness

[TheTruthofItIs · 7/10 · 6 August 2022]

"Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight" (S01, 11 eps, 24-mins, Netflix) is a disappointing sequel series to KFP: Legends of Awesomeness (2011-16). First, you'd think Jack Black voicing Po would be great, but I really prefer Mick Wingert who voiced Po in Legends and other KFP series and video games. In fact, Jack Black is an EP for this series and he seems to have banished Mick and the others that voiced the Furious Five. The only carryover character is Po's "father" Mr Ping still voiced by the same guy. Anyway, there's new villainess "Veruca" the weasel who's voiced with an annoying Cockney accent so you despise her even more. Though the series lacks supporting characters - only Luthera really, and lacks the "heart" of Legends, the animation is still excellent, and the story is pretty decent with a good hook for its sophomore season as Po continues his evolution from Dragon Warrior and Dragon Master to Dragon Knight.

Good story, bad animation

[marksspricis · 6/10 · 29 August 2022]

Kung Fu Panda: the dragon knight is the newest Kung Fu Panda tv show, it tells the story of Po going on a journey with a British knight Luthera. The animation is absolutely awful probably the fault of the small budget which is a shame because I think the storyline in the show is pretty good and it is interesting to see how everything is connected and jokes are pretty funny - the same humour as in the movies. I don't know if I wanted more Po but this wasn't bad as animation quality would make it seam. All in all Kung Fu Panda: the dragon knight is very unnecessary cartoon and it would probably work better as a movie but this show is fairly watchable especially if you're a fan of Kung Fu Panda franchise.

Really tested my patience

[vluckylkv · 3/10 · 14 July 2022]

Story progresses so slow that if you miss several of the middle episodes still it will create no impact on the storyline. PO is so strong in movies and here he's shown very weak and immature. Kids will definitely love it but as a kung fu panda trilogy fan I didn't liked it at all.

By the end of it, I was sad that it was over

[A-Shekhar · 8/10 · 13 September 2023]

All the other reviews are correct too, I didn't start watching this series because I wanted to but because I had nothing else to watch and yes the animation is of lower quality, the first season kind of feels like okay-ish, Po seems weak and the Villains have no strength but if you manage to push through to the 2nd season and then the 3rd, the Villain (I don't want to name them to avoid any spoilers) shows a strong character and the adventures kind of start gripping you, you kind of start admiring the team and by the end of it, I was sad it was over, this was a lot of fun and I wish they had invested a little more into this series.

Worst Kung Fu Panda production

[Metern-Chaao19 · 3/10 · 24 July 2022]

This series is terrible. The way it's told is so bad i could not enjoy watching it And the animation extremely cheap and look awful.

Only two of the characters from the movies was in the series (Poe and his dad).

I really hope this is not the future of Kung Fu Panda.

Finally something that gave back my childhood!!

[cspadafino · 10/10 · 17 July 2022]

For everyone that's shtting on this show because of the artstyle. Just appreciate the show for real. I mean I get the frustration but I was happy that there was a new chapter in the Kunf Fu Panda saga so I started watching the show with mixed feelings. I get the hate on buget artstyle but still I gave it a fair chance. As happy as I was that they dropt new Kung Fu Panda content. As happy I was after I wachted everything. Say what you want but this show has a great old school Kung Fu Panda vibe with excellent deepness and story building. I watch a lot of shows and never leave feedback but this show needs way more love then it gets. Please give us a Season 2 !!

Sorry for bad English.

Starts atrocious...but turns around

[mtnvid · 7/10 · 13 December 2023]

7 is a more generous rating (more accurately like a 6.5), but I will say this show has gotten more hate than it deserves.

First to quickly address the elephant in the room for fans of the movie trilogy when watching this, this does a lousy job fitting anywhere in the story. Supposedly takes place after Kung fu Panda 3, but Po has the skills and maturity of maybe post Kung fu Panda 1. Even then, how competent or mature Po is is determined by how mature or immature the story *needs* him in the moment. No Shifu, no furious five, none of that.

SO, with that being said, if you disregard this as a continuation of the story, and moreso just a fun side spin off with elements and certain characters from this IP (like a certain spin off show of this IP from the past), it gets rather enjoyable.

The first season (especially the first few episodes) are hard to sit through. It took me awhile to get through them just because there wasn't much substance. The animation was terrible, voice acting was phoned in, the plot was paper thin, it was hard to watch.

However, if you make it through that, you are rewarded with better animation (not amazing, but no longer displeasing to the eye), better voice acting, a more engaging (yet somewhat convoluted) story, improvements to the characters, better music, and an overall fun experience that even made me a bit sad it was over by the end. The same feeling I would have gotten if I had just finished playing at a friends house as a kid, and was told I had to go home.

It's not amazing, and I would not blame anyone for not picking it up because that first season is indeed pretty bad. However, there are surprisingly some more intense scenes than I would have expected, and some moments that were more emotionally charged than I would have initially given this show credit for.

For some reason, it seemed like the creators of this show began putting effort into its creation in the last two seasons, where as the first definitely reads "cash-grab".

Long story short, if you want more Kung Fu Panda, and you don't mind parting this in your mind as its own separate thing from the movies, this show *becomes* an enjoyable experience after the first season. Especially for kids. Whether or not you feel that is worth sitting through a very lack-luster almost annoying first season is up to you.

Character Assassination

[kariverson · 1/10 · 15 July 2022]

Another Franchise fallen. Empty (where are the pandas), soulless character assassination of Po the Dragon Master. An Incompetent, useless, stupid Dragon Master Po that seems to have come from before the first movie.

Of course he also lost to a girl knight right at the get go for good measure.

Watch "Paws of Destiny" if you haven't yet.

Fine Spinoff Animation Series

[RECB3 · 6/10 · 10 February 2024]

This is a fine spinoff animation series for all viewers to watch. The series is different and unique but it could have been better. The crew could have added a bit more strength in creating this spinoff animation series. The storyline of this spinoff animation series needed something else. The cast selection was good enough. They really committed to their respective characters. The chemistry that Jack Black and Rita Ora display between each other is strong. This spinoff animation series reveals to viewers the lengths everyone can go for teamwork. I have never been a part of a real team so I do not know what it is like. This is an alright spinoff animation series for everyone to watch.

Sound very cheap scripting!

[only-kader · 1/10 · 15 July 2022]

Script was very disappointing. Watched the season with a lot of expectation that did not meet at all. Too much stupidity shown in the characters. Unnecessary scenes and dialogues. Do not spoil the dragon warrior's fame please.

chill and fun series with a bit of laugh

[bestorpoketrainor · 9/10 · 23 July 2022]

If you take this seriously you will not enjoy it - a good laugh with a fun action packed story line and some silly humor. Looking forward to season 2!

Throwing Character development in the Garbage

[riverraft · 1/10 · 17 July 2022]

I have been watching this franchise since I was kid and I admired Po's tenacity, inner strength and the love he held in his heart. All the characters went through development and at the end none of them were as they used to be at start. Even the Antagonists were realistic and relatable.

And then they basically took all that butchered it, chewed it and spit it out in the garbage. None of Po's aura from the first movie was in there.

Hell he even lost to a basic knight after going head to heat with the likes of Tai Lung, Shen and General Kai AND mastering Chi on top of that.

Where is all that development?

Where is Master Shifu and The Furious Five who were with him every step of his journey. Dreamworks just thrashed all these important characters.

And they replaced Tigress with this cheap copycat character of Luthera the Wandering Blade. Po and Tigress's friendship dynamic was one of my favourite things about this franchise and now it's ruined. We will never get Po's legends of awesomeness back.

Thankyou Dreamworks for ruining another of my childhood favourite franchises.

Could have been better the animation but plot didn't disappoint!

[cowthecows · 9/10 · 4 October 2023]

I really ejoyed Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. It was a beautiful and compelling story of most famous Panda. Kung Fu Panda is just not an animated show but more than it. It has everything that needs to get entertained and keep you hooked into continuing watching the story. The only thing that stood out and probably not for the best, was the animation. It looked like it was made in a game engine which was from the 2005-2010 era but it didn't stop anyone that liked the story to quit. Animation could have been better even since it comes from a great animation studio like Dreamworks and it seems that every Kung Fu Panda movie or short movie which is out of the main line of Kung Fu Panda series doesn't get much attention to animation. I hope only for that we could have something better.

Just because animation is not good it should not stop anyone to not love this masterpiece!

Was This Series Really Necessary?

[jeremycrimsonfox · 2/10 · 18 July 2022]

After a failed attempt to stop a gang of weasels from stealing the WuGao Gauntlet goes bad, Po's reputation is destroyed and he is stripped of his status as Dragon Master. Now he must go on a quest to recover the gauntlet and restore his reputation, gaining help from a new character named Luthera, a female bear who is a knight from the land of. Landreth who is also after the weasels, Klaus and Veruca, coming all the way from England by order of the Queen.

Okay, as a fan of the Kung Fu Panda movies, even I have to ask what the purpose of this series is other than to milk money off a classic franchise whose third movie gave Po's story a great ending? Here, the first episode basically puts Po's character through character assassination, as he is devoid of the power and character development he got throughout the movies and nerfed to the point where he cannot defeat Landreth. I mean, really, he has gone up against evil threats like Tai Lung and Kai, but he is easily defeated by a female knight who does not have supernatural powers or kung fu training? Also, he is only in this to restore his title and honor, which is way off character, as Po is portrayed as a good-hearted panda in the movies.

Also, on the note of Landreth, she feels like she does not belong in the Kung Fu Panda series, as being a knight and all, it makes her look like she walked into the wrong cartoon. She's basically a Mary sue, as she seems to be more of the hero while Po is somewhat demoted to comic relief (plus seeing her makes me think this is the result of turning Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon into a Kung Fu Panda character), and feels like this show was originally going to be a new IP before some Dreamworks big wig decided to slap the Kung Fu Panda name and its hero into it, which shows as other than Po and Mr. Ping, his adopted father, no other character from the movies or past series make an appearance. No Shifu, no Furious Five, not even the four pandas introduced in Paws of Destiny (which was a better show that continued the story compared to this cheap cash grab).

Also, the writing is so horrible, as the stories for the episodes sound like they were written by people who either never watched the movies or didn't care about continuity, as it basically replaces Po with Landreth as the main hero (and making her a loner who attacks Po for any misunderstanding), and the weasels are good villains, although the WuGao Gauntlet, one of the four McGuffins of this entire series, sounds like Dreamworks decided to rip off the Infinity Gauntlet from the MCU. Also, the animation feels like it was made on a Playstation 2, as it is not exciting.

Now, I get this was made for kids, but let me tell you, kids deserve better cartoons than this cheap attempt to continue milking money off a franchise that had a perfect ending. The only good thing is Jack Black returning to voice Po, but sadly, not even the wonder boy of Tenacious D can use his power of rock to save this spin off from the mucky muck of horrible movie-based shows. If this had just been about Landreth and her quest to stop the weasels from gathering the gauntlet and the other three weapons, without any connection to the Kung Fu Panda universe, then Dreamworks could have had a fresh new IP. But with character derailment, bad writing, dated animation, and lack of returning characters, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon is nothing but a cheap, horribly written attempt to continue to milk money off a franchise that should have ended with Kung Fu Panda 3, which was already the perfect way to end Po's story. Avoid this even if you are a fan of the movies.

Just about got through it but ...

[rjmthomas · 4/10 · 15 July 2022]

I felt this was a major step back from the original films. Jack Black is great as ever but the rest of the cast just take this to a different level, in a bad way ... the original films had some seriousness to them with a great cast and were easy and very fun to watch as an adult. This feels like it should be on CBeebies with some of the voice acting and animations, as it seems more tailored for children rather than the audience that enjoyed the original films.

Also ... why have they made the Kung Fu Panda far less powerful? It really annoyed me during this that everything he learned from the films was lost!

Fun and funny.

[fenialagiou · 10/10 · 16 July 2022]

Great sense of humor as always. Well written story and the kids will love it. I actually liked it very much. It's not a "10" of course but I hated so much the fact that people were so harsh with it for no reason so I raised my markl. I 've watched all the episodes in a day and had a really nice time.

Ouch

[blades-8 · 1/10 · 18 July 2022]

The trilogy is so masterfully crafted in story and progression, you could just teach someone their 3 principles (imho, 1-be humble and follow your passion, 2-find your inner peace, 3-embrace who you really are) and you can create quite the human being.

If I say the series offer nothing like that, that would be an understatement.

The story drags on (and seems like hey I watched Avengers, let's copy that somehow), and most of the time the villains laugh and Po's gang are just taking the blows. On top it, it makes a joke of everything Po had accomplished so far. Overall, it just pains to see the character you have known to like dragged through the mud from start to finish...

This is not why I watch stories like these... I felt less after I finished S1.

I think I will forget this ever happened and have a watch of the original trilogy.

Time spent for a rubbish ending!

[paradoxhell · 1/10 · 29 July 2022]

If the producers read this, you should just cancel the series. It's the worst script and characters in the history of 3D animations. The utterly garbage Veruca and Klaus acting, and voice, plus the laughing... I barely made it to the end to see it done, and yet, you made the stupidest ending. Why would you mock a 10* series with this rubbish? This is the future of filmography? Really?

I literaly am so serious by telling you people and even your kids that this is a true disappointment. No good ending, nerv breaking characters, and tons of out of sense scripting.

You destroyed a good franchise.

Entertaining as 10/10

[sollenavion · 10/10 · 7 August 2022]

It's apparently not canon but takes from the original so it's best to watch like you barely remember anything of the series... Which is yeah basically what I did. I watched the films as they got released growing up from a kid lol so barely remember much

Was wondering why the five aren't here but maybe that'll be explained next season - still enjoyable though imo even if that was a bit confusing as to why the five didn't appear

Got a lot of laughs from me, Po's dad took the damn spotlight in the last few episodes imo - really liked how they handled loss and grief briefly as well in the other episodes. I felt like it was all appropriately done - the characters and plot are interesting and honestly did not see some of things that ended up happening! Pleasantly surprised

Can't wait for the next season, and yeah utter nostalgia - Needed that thanks.

Totally Disappointing

[lotifurshabbir · 1/10 · 26 July 2022]

This was the worst among all the Kung Fu Panda. If u want to kill your time please watch it. Otherwise, watch a review on YouTube that will be enough.