History WesternAnimation / KungFuPanda4

* TheDoorSlamsYou: When Po walks out of the prison with Zhen, one of the two goose guards gets slammed against a wall by the door, and is seen still sticking to it afterward when the door slowly closes.

The film was released on March 8, 2024. Black's band, Music/TenaciousD also contributed a song for the film's end credits - a cover of Music/BritneySpears' "...Baby One More Time".

** When Po doubts his ability to be spiritual leader, Shifu rhetorically asks him what he's holding. While he's referring to the Staff of Wisdom - which Po inherited from Oogway - Po instead holds up his other hand to show the cookie he's eating.

** When telling Po about the Chameleon, Zhen claims that Po will need someone in the know to track her down. While she's clearly referring to herself - since she must know a lot about the Chameleon in order to explain all of this - Po instead asks if Zhen knows where he can find someone in the know.

** In both ''The Paws Of Destiny'' and ''The Dragon Knight'', Po and Ping have clearly taken residence in the Panda village as their new home with Ping even having a new restaurant there to continue his business, but this movie shows them still living in the Valley of Peace much like the previous movies and ''Legends of Awesomeness'', with this time being the inverse in where it's Li Shan who moved away from the village to live in the Valley of Peace (along with some other pandas).

* WasntThatFun: The movie opens with Po fighting a giant manta ray, and when defeated it spits the three children it was trying to eat. As their worried parents rushes to hug them, the laughing kids excitedly say that it was fun and want to do it again.

* VisualPun: The Juniper Police Force, entirely staffed by bulls, is chasing Po and Zhen, when they enter an antique shop. All of them slow down and thread carefully as to not damage the merchandise, the employee looking on anxiously before sighing in relief as they miraculously avoid breaking anything. That was a lot of bulls in a china shop...

* DesperateObjectCatch: Po spots Zhen sneaking into the Jade Temple and tries to catch the thief, but she distracts him by tossing around all the precious artifacts stored (among which the [[ContinuityNod Dragon Warrior Scroll]]) and forcing Po to desperately catch every one of them. This includes the Urn of Whispering Warriors (Po mentions having already broken it ''twice'') that Po saves at the last split-second from a fall by catching it with the Staff of Wisdom. But then it still gets broken by Zhen.

-->'''Zhen''': Why does everything come back to dumplings with you?

* LoopholeAbuse: PlayedForLaughs. While Shifu insists that Po must choose the next Dragon Warrior, he does not specifically say that it has to be ''someone else''. So naturally, Po - still wanting to keep his title - chooses himself, to Shifu's chagrin.

* MyopicArchitecture: The Chameleon manages to trap Po in a magically-enchanted cage that's too heavy for him to lift on his own and too tough for him to break out... but there's no bottom to the cage, so Po manages to escape by breaking through the stone floor of the Chameleon's palace.

* PlotParallel: When Shifu informs Po that he needs to choose a successor because he has now been chosen to become spiritual leader of the Valley (as evidenced by Oogway's gift of the Staff of Wisdom), part of his explanation is that all things change, and that only by becoming "more than what you are" can Po continue progressing in kung fu and fulfilling his destiny. Later, when Po admits that his determination to go with Zhen to face the Chameleon rather than choose his successor is because he's afraid of change and wants to stay the Dragon Warrior, both Ping and Li speak of how their lives have changed for the better thanks to knowing him, so that change is not always bad, and should not be feared. [[IronicEchoCut In immediate contrast]] [[spoiler:Zhen is told by the Chameleon that she only took her in because she saw potential in her as her tool, and would get rid of her if she ever stopped being useful...so "don't change." She eventually decides to defy her EvilMentor and follow Po's example]]. Best summed up by the lesson, "It's never too late to do the right thing."

* IceCreamKoans: A lot of Po's attempts at proverbs come out like this, proof in his mind he isn't meant (or ready) to be a spiritual leader and source of wisdom. Unsurprisingly, most of them end up being related to food, and even once he manages to achieve some eloquence in one of the movie's final scenes, he still ends up slipping back into this when he starts trying too hard.

* TheWorfEffect: After he's summoned from the Spirit Realm, Tai Lung lays waste to the Chameleon's army with ease, showing he's still quite worthy of being TheDreaded by everyone, but is in turn quickly dispatched by The Chameleon by getting his Kung Fu stolen and then hit with his own nerve technique.

* VertigoEffect

* GuiltRiddenAccomplice: [[spoiler:After TheReveal that Zhen has been playing Po all along to get his staff for the Chameleon, Zhen is visibly regretful for betraying Po's trust.]]

* ImpactSilhouette: When Mr. Ping and Li Shan walk into the Happy Bunny Tavern and ask around if the patrons have seen their son, they are pointed toward a Po-shaped hole in the wall, left from the panda exiting the tavern in a hurry during the previous brawl.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Po has this moment when Shifu is lecturing him about his new responsibility.
-->'''Po:''' What do I know about being a spiritual leader?\\
'''Shifu:''' ''[gestures to the chi staff Po inherited from Oogway]'' What is it you're holding?\\
'''Po:''' ''[holds up his other hand]'' A cookie.

** In a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt4iA5UOhDk new clip]], after Zhen tosses the Dagger of Denoa at Po, Po dodges it similar to how Shifu dodged it during his fight with Tai Lung.
** In the same clip, when Zhen toys with the Urn of Whispering Warriors (which is repaired again), Po laments that he already broke it twice. As expected, it gets broken again.

** [[spoiler:The film ends on a shot of the peach tree planted during the first movie, having grown so much... and a second tree having begun to grow next to it.]]

* CombatPragmatist: During her initial clash with Po, Zhen uses the environment to her advantage, and distracts Po by throwing valuable artifacts at him.

%%* VertigoEffect

** [[spoiler:After witnessing him defeat the Chameleon and liberate him from her control, Tai Lung bows to Po in respect, and part with him on good terms as he willingly return to the Spirit Realm.]]

* TitleDrop: It is the first film in the series to actually say ''Kung Fu Panda'' out loud, said by Po in this case as one of his titles when trying to make the people at the Happy Bunny Tavern to recognize him.

** Several scenes from near the end of the movie are shown in the trailers, such as the Chameleon transforming into a monstrous-looking version of Po, Zhen and Po fighting the Chameleon together, spoiling her HeelFaceTurn, and Zhen encountering Li Shan and Ping to rally together Juniper City's criminals against the Chameleon's army, all of which only happen in the last twenty minutes of the film.

!!''Kung Fu Panda 4'' contains examples of:
* AHeroToHisHometown: Zigzagged with Zhen. Although the people of Juniper City know she's a thief and con artist, she's very popular, and everyone who sees her smiles at her and greets her, even a pig ''painting her wanted posters''.

* AccidentalHero: Both Mr. Ping and Li Shan are on a mission to help Po but their stop at the Happy Bunny Tavern sees them liberate the bunnies from their harsh indentured servitude to Granny Boar as a side effect even though their mission objective was to help someone else.

** The return of Tai Lung, along with Creator/IanMcShane reprising his role for the first time since the original film, was a major selling point in the trailers and marketing. [[spoiler:He only appears sparsely in the first half as one of the Chameleon's disguises, while the real Tai Lung doesn't appear at all until the third act and spends most of it imprisoned - though to be fair, he's surprisingly impactful.]]

* BackForTheDead: While Tai Lung's role is slightly more significant out of everyone who was brought back, at the end of the day [[spoiler: all of the major villains simply return without words, only to be sidelined straight after when their powers are taken. When the Chameleon is defeated, they all return to the Spirit Realm anyway, [[DraggedOffToHell taking the Chameleon with them.]]]]

* TheBusCameBack: ZigZagged with the Furious Five, Shifu, and Kai, as while they were present in the previous film, they were largely absent from the franchise overall for 8 years as they weren't featured in the [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaThePawsOfDestiny two]] [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaTheDragonKnight series]] that were released in-between ''3'' and ''4''. Played straight with Tai Lung and Lord Shen, who hadn't been seen since dying in the first and second movies respectively.[[note]]While Tai Lung did technically appeared in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'' that was an illusion created by Po.[[/note]]

* CallBack:
** In a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt4iA5UOhDk new clip]], after Zhen tosses the Dagger of Denoa at Po, Po dodges it similar to how Shifu dodged it during his fight with Tai Lung.
** In the same clip, when Zhen toys with the Urn of Whispering Warriors (which is repaired again), Po laments that he already broke it twice. As expected, it gets broken again.
** [[spoiler:The film ends on a shot of the peach tree planted during the first movie, having grown so much... and a second tree having begun to grow next to it.]]
** [[spoiler:The training montage during the end credits takes place in the training hall, with several moments from the first movie recreated with Zhen. However, Zhen is slowly getting the hang of it. At the very end, both Po and Zhen are training at the roof top and the two bow to each other.]]

** While travelling with Zhen to Juniper City, Po claims he has never had to work with a wanted criminal before, and is horrified when his association with her gets him his own wanted poster. This makes it abundantly clear that the events of ''The Dragon Knight'', which also revolves around Po becoming a fugitive - including getting a wanted poster - and teaming up with other criminals, is not part of this continuity.
** At the end of ''The Dragon Knight'' which was the last ''KFP'' iteration before this movie, Mr. Ping [[spoiler: ended up with the pirate queen Forouzan as an OfficialCouple, with Forouzan essentially becoming Po's stepmom]]. In this movie, all of that is overridden and Mr. Ping is single again, spending most of the movie on misadventures with Li Shan.
** In both ''The Paws Of Destiny'' and ''The Dragon Knight'', Po and Ping have clearly taken residence in the Panda village as their new home with Ping even having a new restaurant there to continue his business, but this movie shows them still living in the Valley of Peace much like the previous movies and ''Legends of Awesomeness'', with this time being the inverse in where it's Li Shan who moved away from the village to live in the Valley of Peace.

** In ''The Paws Of Destiny'', Ping still saw Li as a rival for Po's affection and does not get along with him, yet in this film Ping sees Li as an equal and both help each to co-parent Po.
** The last time Oogway's tree was seen was in ''Legends of Awesomeness'' episode ''Enter the Dragon'' in where its disintegrated, however it shows up fine and well in this film.
** Po comments that he broke the Urn of Whispering Warriors twice as shown in the first and third movies, even though it would be three times its broken as it was broken once in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness''. [[note]]Though to be fair Li broke it in the third film and not Po, while Po accidentally destroyed it in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'', so he's technically not wrong that he broke it twice if one were to take the show into account.[[/note]]

'''Shifu:''' ''(gestures to the chi staff Po inherited from Oogway)'' What is it you're holding?\\
'''Po:''' ''(holds up his other hand)'' A cookie.
* ContinuityNod: One of the objects in Hall of Heroes is the Dragon Scroll.
* CooldownHug: [[spoiler: After fighting Po to try and stop him from encountering the Chameleon, Zhen finally hugs him to prove how worried she is for him.]]
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: After [[spoiler:discovering Zhen was secretly working for the Chameleon the entire time, and had tricked him into handing the Staff of Wisdom over, Po realizes Shifu was right: if he hadn't gone on this adventure to stop the Chameleon and just let one of the Furious Five handle it, the staff never would've been able to end up in the Chameleon's hands to begin with.]] On the other hand, [[spoiler: if he hadn't gone with Zhen, he wouldn't have discovered his successor as the Dragon Warrior, or settled into his role as a spiritual leader and mentor]].

** One of the forms the [[BigBad Chameleon]] takes is a huge, ferocious looking Asian elephant. She uses the form to blackmail the crime lords of Juniper City to give her 60% cut of their money and uses her trunk to [[StaircaseTumble push one of them down a flight of stairs]].

* CunningLikeAFox: After seeing Zhen's pictures on [[WantedPoster wanted posters]] which are hung around the city, Po learns to his shock that she is a criminal. Unfortunately for him, Zhen poses in front of a large wall covered in them, showing that her cunning most likely helped her evade the law.

* DeadpanSnarker: Zhen doesn't seem to be afraid when Po wants to use his Staff Of Wisdom against her:

-->''(thinking)'' Inner Peace. Inner Peace. Dinner, please. Dinner with peas in a sesame soy glaze. Snow peas... ''(out loud)'' This is not working at all.

** [[spoiler:Despite being advertised to appear in the movie in some capacity according to interviews, the Furious Five only appear at the end of the movie during credits to help Po train Zhen and get no speaking lines[[note]]Only Creator/SethRogen has a voice credit, and it's because Mantis uses archival grunting[[/note]], despite being more prominent supporting characters in the previous movies]].

* DoWithHimAsYouWill: [[spoiler:After the Chameleon is defeated and the stolen Kung Fu skills are returned to their rightful owners, Po sends the deceased Kung Fu masters back to the Spirit Realm, and also allows [[DraggedOffToHell them to take the Chameleon with them]] in [[TheDogBitesBack revenge for stealing their Kung Fu and locking them up in cages]]. [[VillainsWantMercy The Chameleon begs Zhen to save her]], only for [[IronicEcho Zhen to throw her third rule of not caring about anyone's feelings back at her.]]]]

* FaceDeathWithDignity: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Having already died before being abducted by the Chameleon, Tai Lung and the other previously-deceased masters, villainous or otherwise, have no qualms about returning to the Spirit Realm after her defeat, with Tai Lung outright asking Po to "send [them] home". Subverted with the Chameleon, who begs Zhen to save her and screams in terror as Tai Lung takes her with him to the Spirit Realm.]]
* FiveAcesCheater: When Po and Zhen arrive at the Happy Bunny Tavern, Zhen asks to play mahjong with the boar lady manager and wolves saying she's never played and ends up winning a buffet for herself and Po under the excuse of beginner's luck. Po gives her a pat on the back causing mahjong pieces to fall out of her tail.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:After Zhen briefly beats Po in their first encounter, as soon she grabs the Staff of Wisdom she turns to leave the Hall of Warriors, then come the third act of the film and Zhen is revealed to have been working with The Chamaleon and was tasked with stealing the Staff of Wisdom.]]

* IfIHadANickel: When the Chameleon makes a NotSoDifferentRemark to Po, he responds "If I only had a dumpling for every time a villain talked about how much we had in common."
* IllTimedSneeze: As Po and Zhen attempt to sneak past a squadron of sleeping iguana guards, the latter's tail tickles Po's nose, causing him to begin sneezing. Zhen holds it in, but the sneeze makes its way through Po's body and out his butt, making a fart loud enough to wake the guards.

* {{Jerkass}}: The Rabbit Triplets, PlayedForLaughs. Despite their young age and cuteness, they're sadistic, bloodthirsty criminals who talk about how much they love violence.

* KillerRabbit: Literal case with bunny triplets - when Po tells them to be careful with fireworks, they growl at him while barring sharp teeth and moments after that attack him. They later say that "[[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior violence makes their tummies tingle]]".

** Most of the marketing implies that the Chameleon [[spoiler:already has the ability to summon Tai Lung and other past villains from the Spirit Realm, with this enabling her to take on their forms. In the actual film, she's already taking on their appearances from the start - with her impersonation of Tai Lung being the opening scene - and actually needs Po's Staff of Wisdom to access the Spirit Realm to summon the real masters, which doesn't happen until the third act.]]

* PaintedCGI: Downplayed. While not as explicit as previous [=DreamWorks=] Animation films with this trope, particularly ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys2022'', the combat scenes briefly using ink-brushed painted backgrounds.

-->''"Aw, man. Are my adventures really that regional?"''

* RedemptionRejection: Po follows Shifu's advice in his confrontation with [[spoiler: the Chameleon, trying at least once to appeal to her better nature and offering her redemption. She turns it down and he gives up, falling back on combat.]]

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The movie's BigBad is a female chameleon named [[ADogNamedDog Chameleon]], who also has army of iguana guards.
* RepurposedPopSong: The first trailer is set to a dramatic remix of "Seven Nation Army" by Music/TheWhiteStripes.

** One of Zhen's flashbacks shows [[spoiler:The Chamaleon giving her a seed-shaped jewel from her fake tree, while in the present narrative, Po gives her the pit of a peach that he had been eating earlier. Although the Chameleon's gift seems shiny and valuable, it's ultimately false and transactional, while Po's gift - albeit more mundane and humble - is completely genuine and holds the promise of actual growth.]]
** In the original film, Shifu planted the pit of a peach in the ground during his last conversation with Oogway, with the latter telling him the tree can be nurtured and guided to grow over time, a clear parallel to his relationship with Po. [[spoiler:In this film's ending, that seed - representing Po - is shown to have grown and matured into a peach tree of its own, with a smaller, younger tree - representing Zhen, [[PassingTheTorch Po's own protege]] - now growing alongside it]].

* SamusIsAGirl: Po witnesses a hooded thief breaking into the Hall Of Warriors to steal some artifacts, and refers to them as "Dude" during their fight. During a slow-motion shot, the hood is removed and Po is surprised to see that the thief - Zhen - is actually female.
* SavedByThePlatformBelow:
** Li and Ping are climbing up a series of steps built on what seems to be a high mountain side. Suddenly, the step Li is standing on gives way and he falls... and lands on a path six feet below.
** [[spoiler:Po survives falling off the Chameleon's palace by latching onto a branch. It's about to give way when Ping and Li arrive to save him.]]

* ShapeshifterMashup: [[spoiler:During the final showdown, the Chameleon takes on an amalgamated form composed of pieces of all the masters whose powers she stole.]]

* ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler: Po shuts down the Chameleon's attempt at a villainous speech by revealing he already knows her plan, and trying to appeal to her better nature.]]

* SongsInTheKeyOfLock: As Po and Zhen are fleeing the Juniper Police, they end up in a dead end alley filled with drums. Zhen starts playing the drums and one of them opens up leading them to an underground community to evade the police.

* TheToothHurts: When Li Shan tries to play himself off as an intimidating force at the Happy Bunny Tavern, he chews on some mahjong pieces- but ends up spitting out some of his own teeth.

* TheUnintelligible: The pelican that helps Po and Zhen get to Juniper City. She can only squawk, and no one understands what that means [[IntelligibleUnintelligible except her son]] (a fish).
-->''"Wait, why are they leaving? You said yes."''
* VertigoEffect

Hit me, baby, one more time! ♫]]''

* NoOSHACompliance: The Happy Bunny is perched precariously on a cliff, which Po points out. [[spoiler:It takes Li to finally send it falling into the water.]]

* NeverTrustATrailer: Most of the marketing implies that the Chameleon [[spoiler:already has the ability to summon Tai Lung and other past villains from the Spirit Realm, with this enabling her to take on their forms. In the actual film, she's already taking on their appearances from the start - with her impersonation of Tai Lung being the opening scene - and actually needs Po's Staff of Wisdom to access the Spirit Realm to summon the real masters, which doesn't happen until the third act.]]

* WasItAllALie: [[spoiler:When Zhen decides to turn against the Chameleon and reuinites with Po, she tries desperately to apologise for her betrayal. Po is understandably skeptical whether Zhen is being honest this time.]]

** [[spoiler:After witnessing him defeat the Chameleon and liberate them from her control, Tai Lung and the other past villains - even including Lord Shen - all bow to Po in respect, and part with him on good terms as they willingly return to the Spirit Realm.]]

** Po comments that he broke the Urn of Whispering Warriors twice as shown in the first and third movies, even though it would be third time its broken as it was broken once in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness''. [[note]]Though to be fair Li broke it in the third film and not Po, while Po accidentally destroyed it in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'', so he's technically not wrong that he broke it twice if one were to take the show into account.[[/note]]

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:The Chameleon reveals that, [[NotSoDifferentRemark like Po]], she was once looked down upon and underestimated for her appearance, and her attempts to learn Kung Fu were met with rejection and mockery. Out of spite, she has now resorted to abducting others masters in order to forcefully steal their abilities for herself, and intends to vanquish the legendary Dragon Warrior and conquer the world to cement herself as the greatest Kung Fu master, as well as get revenge on everyone who disrespected her.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:After Zhen briefly beats Po in their first encounter,as soon she grabs the Staff of Wisdom she turns to leave the Hall of Warriors, then come the third act of the film and Zhen is revealed to have been working with The Chamaleon and was tasked with stealing the Staff of Wisdom.]]