“Kung Fu Panda 4” is all in fun: moan-and-groan inducing puns, animation action and pretend martial-arts mayhem galore.

The fourth animation feature installment again stars the lovable giant panda named Po (voiced by Jack Black), a martial-arts expert and Dragon Warrior with a heart of gold and a brain not as reflective.

Po is tasked by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), a red panda, to become Spiritual Leader and to choose his successor as Dragon Warrior.

Po goes up against The Chameleon (Viola Davis), a shape-shifting sorceress, who brings back to life those who Po had vanquished to the Spirit Realm.

Po is joined in the battles by Zhen (Awkwafina), a fox, also skilled in martial arts.

There’s a lot more to the convoluted plot, but I will spare you. I spared myself and sat back and enjoyed the terrific animation, impressive voice talents and humorous dialogue.

The film’s DreamWorks Animation is tremendous. The background settings are colorful, lovely, lush and often breathtaking.

The animation action in the martial-arts style fight scenes is exciting. The animation is traditional in its depiction of the characters. The detail in the character animation is impressive. Interesting camera angles, editing and pacing brings a heightened sense of energy to the Computer Generated Imagery (CGI).

The character of Po, presented as an adorable doofus, is excellently realized, as is nearly every character by Director Mike Mitchell and Co-Director Stephanie Stine.

Mitchell directed “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” 2019; “Trolls,” 2016; “Shrek Forever After,” 2010; “Surviving Christmas,” 2004, and “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” 1999.

Stine, in her feature movie directorial debut, was a Storyboard Artist for “Raya and the Last Dragon,” 2021.

The “Kung Fu Panda 4” screenplay is by Jonathan Aibel (Primetime Emmy Award, “King of the Hill,” 1999; screenwriter, “Trolls,” 2016; “Kung Fu Panda” and sequels, 2008, 2011, 2016; “Monsters vs. Aliens,” 2009), Glenn Berger (Primetime Emmy Award, “King of the Hill”; “Kung Fu Panda” and sequels) and Darren Lemke (“Gemini Man,” 2019; “Shrek Forever After”) with additional screenplay material by David Lindsay-Abaire and Lillian Yu.

The dialogue is as fast and furious as the animated karate chops. Some of the quips are groaners, but appeal to my corny sense of humor.

The production design by Paul Duncan, as well as the art department and visual effects, give the film a quality look. The animation includes homages to shadow puppetry and cut-out animation. The editing by Christopher Knights is superb.

Composer Hans Zimmer (12-time Oscar nominee; Oscar recipient, original score, “Dune,” 2022; “The Lion King,” 1995) is joined by collaborator Steve Mazzaro for the soundtrack, which includes a fully-orchestrated score that includes Chinese woodwinds.

The voice talent is memorable, especially that of Jack Black (“Kung Fu Panda” series; “School of Rock,” 2003), whose faux obnoxious persona informs the drawing and animation of the character Po who he voices.

Awkwafina (“The Farewell,” 2019; “Crazy Rich Asians,” 2018) is also recognizable as the character of Zhen with her trademark precocious assertiveness.

Outstanding voice characterizations are by Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong (Mr. Ping, a Chinese goose), Bryan Cranston (Li Shan), Ian McShane (Tai Lung, a snow leopard) and Ke Huy Quan (Han, a Sunda pangolin).

If you’re a fan of the “Kung Fu Panda” animation film series, “Kung Fu Panda 4” should be enjoyable. It can be recommended for adults, teens, parents and children.

“Kung Fu Panda 4,”

MPAA rated PG (Parental Guidance Suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.) for martial arts action, mild violence, scary images and some mild rude humor; Genre: Action, Adventure, Animation; Run time: 1 hour, 34 minutes. Distributed by Universal Pictures.

Credit Readers Anonymous:

The closing credits of “Kung Fu Panda 4” include Jack Black’s duo, Tenacious D’s version of Britney Spears’ 1999 “ ... Baby One More Time,” which is also the movie’s music video. In an end credits scene, Po and the Furious Five (Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, Crane) help Zhen to become the next Dragon Warrior. “Kung Fu Panda 4” composer Hans Zimmer must have had fun scoring the songs, “It’s Pronounced Skadoosh,” and an instrumental version of “Crazy Train,” originally sung by Ozzy Osbourne on his “Blizzard of Ozz” (1980) solo debut.

At The Movies:

“Kung Fu Panda 4” was seen in the standard format at AMC Center Valley 16. There were a few sequences that might merit seeing the movie in the 3-D format.

Theatrical Movie Domestic Weekend Box Office,

March 22-24: Fans called “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” opening at No. 1 with $45.2 million in 4,345 theaters, stopping the two-week No. 1 run of “Kung Fu Panda 4,” dropping two places to No. 3, with $16.7 million in 3,805 theaters, $133.3 million, three weeks, as “Dune: Part Two” stayed at No. 2 with $17.6 million in 3,437 theaters, $233.3 million, four weeks.

4. “Immaculate,” opening, $5.3 million in 2,354 theaters. 5. “Arthur the King” dropped two places, $4.3 million in 3,003 theaters, two weeks. 6. “Late Night with the Devil,” opening, $2.8 million in 1,034 theaters. 7. “Imaginary” dropped three places, $2.8 million in 2,513 theaters, $23.6 million, three weeks. 8. “Love Lies Bleeding” dropped two places, $1.5 million in 1,828 theaters, $5.6 million, three weeks. 9. “Cabrini” dropped four places, $1.4 million in 1,765 theaters, $16.1 million, three weeks. 10. “Bob Marley: One Love” dropped three places, $1.1 million in 1,26 theaters, $95.3. million, six weeks.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of March 24 is subject to change.

Unreel,

March 29:

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,”

PG-13: Adam Wingard directs Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Hayes, Dan Stevens and Kaylee Hottle in the Action, Adventure, Science-Fiction film. It’s a clash of the titans on Skull Island.

“Asphalt City,”

R: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire directs Sean Penn, Tye Sheridan, Katherine Waterston and Mike Tyson in the Drama Thriller. A young paramedic and a seasoned veteran on the night shift in New York City.

“In the Land of Saints and Sinners,”

R: Robert Lorenz directs Kerry Condon, Liam Neeson, Desmond Eastwood, Bernadette Carty and Ciarán Hinds in the Action, Crime, Thriller. In an Irish village, a father fights for redemption.

Movie opening dates from Internet Movie Database as of March 24 are subject to change.

Three Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes