All spoilers are unmarked.
Although as Lighter and Softer as Kung Fu Panda 3, this installment is not devoid of dark and terrifying moments..
- The part where Zhen reveals she's been secretly working for Chameleon all along, who was her mentor and person who initially took her in. For the entirety of the movie Zhen and Po spend their time working together, with the latter thinking she's his friend...until she unexpectedly betrays him, slinking backwards with the staff Po had just given her to prop up the cage he is trapped within. The revelation is harrowing, really driving home the later statement that no one can be trusted.
- The fact that the Zhen's alliance was kept hidden from the audience until now makes for a chilling fake-out, as following The Reveal, Zhen, who has been nothing but sassy Plucky Comic Relief the whole film beforehand, suddenly becomes quiet and icey stoic, acting like a militant servant to the Chameleon as the latter elaborates her plan to Po. It is effective in putting the audience in the same perspective as Po and making them believe the character we got aquainted with all this time was just the act of a sinister mercenary. It is only as the Chameleon starts toying with Po in an increasingly sadistic way that we see Zhen transition into quiet remorse and eventually horror after she seemingly kills him, making clear she was a Guilt-Ridden Accomplice.
- The Chameleon herself. An absolutely cold-hearted reptile sorceress, she wants nothing more than to gain power and conquer all the lands, pretty much using Zhen just to get Po's staff and intimidating others into following her orders. And to match her shapeshifting, she is a Power Parasite of such caliber that even the previous three films' Big Bads are helpless against her. Yikes.
- After "getting rid" of Po, Zhen learns from Chameleon that she wasn't taken in as a child by her out of kindness or love... Chameleon took her in because she saw her as a tool. She never once cared for Zhen and only raised her in order to get a use out of her, and Chameleon even openly admits to her that she'll stop being useful if she changes. Her revealing this is extremely disturbing, in that she has absolutely no empathy and would leave a helpless child to die on the streets if she can't benefit from saving them.
- Chameleon summons dozens of warriors from the spirit world — including Tai Lung, Lord Shen, and Kai — and steals their power, after which Po finally manages to get back to challenge her and is shortly joined by Zhen. By this point it's been shown many times that Chameleon is capable of Voluntary Shapeshifting, and so, with her newfound powers, she turns herself into a monstrous amalgamation of multiple warriors she'd taken powers from. Said amalgamation can best be described as looking like a hideous, mutated dragon.
- After being knocked down even in her "dragon" form, Chameleon doesn't stop her shapeshifting there. Rather, she turns into Po, specifically, she turns into a duplicate of Po himself... and in a horrifying way: her Po form being similar in appearance to the genuine article, but sporting an absolutely psychotic face with sharp teeth and the creepy blue eyes as when she uses her shapeshifting powers. Chameleon's Po form further twists his appearance by being covered in scales, even having scaly spikes jutting out to simulate hairs standing on end, making her Po form that much creepier because of how dissonant it is from the brave, lovable panda hero. And if this wasn't terrifying enough? She speaks Po's trademark word in a rather demonic and chilling tone, genuinely hammering in how nightmarish she can be.Chameleon!Po: We're not so different, you and I... Skadoosh.
- During their battle, Chameleon jumps onto Po and tries to bite him. Though the moment is brief, in that moment she's not just fighting him; she's savage and outright primal, like a scary wild animal, showing her desire to cause bodily harm outside of beating people with kung fu. Not helping is that her teeth are long and pointy.
- Throughout the final battle, she also menaces and threatens a visibly intimidated Zhen multiple times, making fully apparent she intends to stick to her earlier threat, and when it culminates to just the two, she attacks her in a visceral rage. The fact she does so in her normal un-transformed state and still manages to do a pretty vicious number on Zhen for a while gives some really unpleasant vibes of an Abusive Parent.
Chameleon: *smacking Zhen* You ungrateful little urchin! After all I've done for you, you betray me? For the panda???- Her shapeshifting sequences are not obscured at all; they show her body parts transforming into that of her target shape, and what's more is that her scaly texture remains visible which adds an unsettling sense of dissimilarity from the real deal (especially evident when she turns into Po). There's the part where she's gradually turning into an elephant, but rather than going in all at once, her body parts transform individually one after another, with her head being the last to transform and giving way to a rather freaky elephant face in the end.
- The Chameleon’s final fate: she gets taken to the Spirit Realm by Tai Lung, and she’s going to spend the rest of eternity stuck with all the evil kung-fu masters she attacked and captured, who will no doubt be eager to pay her back for it.
