When we see him on Earth, Po is having trouble enough taking over the martial arts school from supposedly retiring master Shifu. His quest will end, he proclaims, when he bests the last earthly master of chi, who happens to be our hero Po.

The movie opens with Po’s former master Oogway (Randall Duk-Kim) relaxing in the spirit realm, where he’s unfortunately confronted by bullish warrior Kai, who’s on a mission to rule all being and non-being by stealing the “chi” (life force) of a panoply of masters. “Be the best you you can be” is this movie’s message, and writers Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger, and directors Alessandro Carloni & Jennifer Yuh heed their own advice throughout this brisk romp. This panda doesn’t pander-there are scant, if any, nudging pop-culture references soliciting laughter from knowing grown-ups.

The colors are beautiful, the design of the varied realms is ingenious and pleasing, the animation fluid and graceful. “Kung Fu Panda 3,” in spite of its abundant action-and for all the interspecies mashups, this is as much an action-adventure animated movie as it is a funny-animal animated movie-is a pretty relaxing experience for the adult viewer.

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