STACK #233 March 2024

CINEMA FEATURE

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I n this fourth hilarious, butt-kicking animated adventure, our beloved black-and-white hero - AKA the Dragon Warrior - is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. Naturally, this poses a couple of obvious problems. Firstly, Po knows as much about spiritual leadership as he does about the paleo diet. Secondly, he needs to quickly find and train a new Dragon Warrior before he can assume his new, lofty position. Following an almost ten-year absence, comedy icon Jack Black returns to the big screen voicing Po - everybody’s favourite furry kung fu fighting panda. Words Gill Pringle KUNG FU PANDA 4

”T hat movie was like a crosshair aimed at me, as an impressionable and movie-obsessed boy,” recalls Kenan, who became enthralled by the film’s parapsychologist trio of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and the late Harold Ramis. “I went gaga for it. It terrified me, it made me laugh - although I’m not sure I understood all the jokes.” Fast forward four decades and Kenan, now 47 years old, is equally wide-eyed as he directs the franchise’s fifth film, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire , promising to take audiences right back to the heart and spirit of the original. A sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife , the new film sees the descendants of Ramis’ Egon Spengler - portrayed by Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace, with Paul Rudd as enthusiastic accomplice - arrive in New York, having now embraced their legacy as Ghostbusters. “But they are soon met with the realities of what it means to arrive in the big city, after living a provincial existence in Oklahoma,” explains Kenan. “More importantly, we ask: ‘What's it like to define yourself within your family as a Ghostbuster?’” Teaming up with Murray’s Peter Venkman, Aykroyd’s Ray Stantz, and Ernie Hudson’s Winston Zeddemore, the family learns how the original Ghostbusters have now developed a top-secret research lab to take ghostbusting to the next level. “Those moments are incredibly challenging,” recalls the director, pinching himself. “These are people who you love and respect, but you need them all to do the exact right thing at the same time,” he says, adding how excited he was to reintroduce original characters from Annie Potts and William Atherton to this new story. “I started out my directing career as somebody who just went to the movie theatre and loved movies, and Writer/director Gil Kenan will never forget his dad taking him to see the original 1984 Ghostbusters at Hollywood’s famed Grauman’s Theatre, when he was just eight years old. Words Gill Pringle GHOSTBUSTERS

Even worse, there’s been a recent sighting of a wicked, powerful sorceress, Chameleon (Viola Davis), a tiny lizard who can shape-shift into any creature, big or small. And Chameleon already has her beady eyes on Po’s Staff of Wisdom, which would give her the power to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm. What to do? With his loyal sidekick - Angelina Jolie’s Tigress - notably absent in this instalment, Po remains surrounded by familiar friends and foes, including Dustin Hoffman’s Shifu, James Hong’s Mr Ping, Ian McShane’s Tai Lung, and Bryan Cranston’s Li Shan. But Po is going to need some serious help if he's to find a worthy successor in time. He finds one in the unlikely form of Awkwafina’s quick-witted thief Zhen, a corsac fox who really gets under Po’s fur, but whose skills will prove invaluable. In their quest to protect the Valley of Peace from Chameleon’s reptilian claws, this comedic odd couple duo are forced to work together. And, in the process, Po will discover that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places. Director Mike Mitchell describes Kung Fu Panda 4 as a love letter to the first film, claiming Chameleon as a mirror to Po in that both characters were underestimated by society for their appearances, but went on to gain high status. "So Po has become the greatest hero, and now [Zhen] is the greatest villain,” he teases.

wanted to find a way to be one of the people who told stories on the screen. And I still feel that way when I'm looking at the monitor.”

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is in cinemas March 21.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is in cinemas March 28.

MARCH 2024

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